Achilles twinges, ouch!

[wacocelt]

I stubbed my left foot on a rock two days ago and my left achilles tendon has been feeling like a hornet sting intermitently since. Does anyone know what type of injury/ailment this is and the best way to treat it(other than sitting in Damascus for a week)? I'm intending to do some 10's and 12's, rest alot during the day and sok my feet in a cold stream 2 or 3 times a day and see how it feels in Troutville in a few days. Thanks in advance for any input!

[MOWGLI]

I stubbed my left foot on a rock two days ago and my left achilles tendon has been feeling like a hornet sting intermitently since. Does anyone know what type of injury/ailment this is...

Was there a hornets nest under the rock?

[Footslogger]

First we need an answer to Mowgli's question ??? ...any hornets in the area ??

But seriously ...a sudden burning sensation in a tendon is most often associated with a tearing type injury. It may also have been what athletes call a "stinger". First question I would have is, can you dorsiflex (raise the toes) and extend (point the toes) the foot through the normal range of motion without pain or that burning sensation.

Pretty hard to tell you more without a better understanding of the mechanics of the injury and a good physical exam ...and possibly an MRI, but from the sounds of things you may have tweaked the tendon.

'Slogger

[Kerosene]

An insistent and point-specific pain could very well be signal some level of tear and is nothing to fool around with. General pain across more than a fingers-width of the Achilles is more likely tendonitis. Both of the potential to evolve to a fully torn Achilles; something that can disable you for quite awhile.

If it is the Achilles, there's really nothing you can do except rest, ice, and ibuprofen. If it's tendonitis, then the pain may ease up or disappear after you warm up, only to return once you cool down and perhaps at a greater level of intensity. You'd be able to hobble through the day, but it's not going to get better that way. If it is Achilles tendonitis, then always warm up, stretch (kind of like a calf stretch, but bend your knee slightly until you feel the Achilles), start out slow, and splay your toes outward as you climb to take pressure off the Achilles.

If it's a tear, then the pain isn't likely to diminish very much while you walk.

[wacocelt]

Yup, hiked out 4 miles and began experiencing the same sensation in my right ankle, looks like it's tendonitis. Time for a few days of RnR.

My apologies for not adding that the pain is slightly more intense when pointing my toes. Thanks for the input!

[Kerosene]

Sorry to hear that. I ran into Crazy Horse in southern Virginia who had already had 18 zero's due to Achilles tendonitis. It was surprising to me that no one had given him some tips on how to relieve some of the pressure on the tendon to keep it from recurring.

[fiddlehead]

I think most people get injuries because their bodies are not used to carrying the weight. If you want to hike with an injury, take some weight off your back. whether this means going ultra-light or slackpacking somehow, it keeps you out there. sometimes injuries can be walked thru and heal themselves. but not with a heavy pack.
I usually attempt to walk thru my injuries and 9 times out of 10 this works although i've had 2 instances where this didn't work. One was when my feet hurt so bad and i couldn't understand why so i kept going, eventually my knee swelled up like a balloon one day. I rested a week, got different shoes and everthing was ok. The other time was when i overdid it and hurt my back (big miles) and didn't take enough time off. This problem is still with me whenever i overdo it. I'm chalking this problem up to my getting older as i don't know how else to figure it out.
All the other pulled muscles, broken toes, losing numerous toenails (before i started wearing shoes 2 sizes too big), fallen arches, sore everything, etc. i've walked thru until they went away.
ps. i try not to take advil unless the problem is swelling. I don't want to mask the pain and i don't like what it does to my stomach. that way, if the pain gets too bad, i stop.