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Tendonitis or Taking the rest of the year off

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  • December 11, 2017 at 10:21 pm #27914
    Organon

    This year I have been struggling to ride further than I have ever before. I had a target of 9000km, but was up to 31km a day needed as of last week when one of my gear cables snapped. I spent a frustrating weekend fishing around inside a muddy frame [first time I’ve had to replace internal cables/how does the mud get in there?] and still need to index my gears. I am just riding to work and back in fixie mode, no extra mileage. I just need to go to work to reach last years total of 8500km~ish.

    Sad though I am not to meet my rather arbitrary target (one that many of you probably bust out on a Sunday morning before walnut cake,) it might be a blessing in disguise. I was planning having a go at 10,000km next year which means no slacking in January. However since this summer I have been suffering with tendonitis in my left Achilles tendon. It has quite a lump I can feel on it and can get sore on longer rides. I did a 100km in September where it was quite painful.

    I tried doing some stretches, but this made it worse. 

    I could see a doctor about it (assuming it is not ankle cancer) but what exactly could they say or do about it? “Why do you need to cycle so much?” might be one question. “Rest it.” She is hardly going to get me an operation. I am not a pro athlete who gets his tendons regularly rinsed out with a power hose. I haven’t changed my shoes or set up, it is just something that set in over the course of a few months.

    Just to be clear, the pain is a niggling annoyance some of the time. But it is not going away and I don’t want it to get any worse. Does anyone else have any chronic issues like this and how do you cope whilst ‘still going.’

    Long time lurker here, hope you fellas can give some good advice.

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  • December 12, 2017 at 5:58 pm #907613
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    HalfWheeler

    Started cycling as a young

    Started cycling as a young teenager in the mid eighties, I dearly love the sport, but the last three years have been hellish. A year off with IT band syndrome in 2015/16, then a year of pain after a knee operation and then last 7 months off high hamstring tendinopathy. Never known anything like it. No end in sight. So believe me, taking up to a month off to let things settle down is nothing, absolutely zilch.

    Take the opportunity to see a physio privately (don’t waste your time with the NHS with a sporting injury). Will cost you £40ish each time but three appointments or so should do the trick. Use the month off to do stretching and strengthening exercises, go swimming (yeah, it sucks but if it’s only twice a week for 4 weeks…), any exercise that doesn’t aggrivate it.

    In May 2015 when all my leg issues started I remember thinking “I might have to take a month off…nightmare!”.

    If only it were a month off…

     

    December 12, 2017 at 1:25 pm #907611
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    Jackson

    Thirded or fourthed on going
    Thirded or fourthed on going to see a physio. And if it hurts, stop riding until you’ve done so.

    December 12, 2017 at 11:54 am #907609
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    jaysa
    rjfrussell wrote:
    … Eccentric heel drops;

    Static stretches;

    Daily foam rolling on the calves.

    This. And see a sports physio who actually rides, who can watch you ride a static bike.

    You are stretching properly daily aren’t you? Regular mileage will make you stiffer, then asymmetries and old injuries will show more and set you up for problems.

    Rest will reduce the symptoms, but not the cause.

    Respect tendon trouble and understand/fix where they come from.

    December 12, 2017 at 10:17 am #907607
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    peted76

    Yes go and see a physio or

    Yes go and see a physio or sports doctor. Echo the fact that enforced rest will give you the best chance of recovery (once you determined what exactly it is and that it can be healed). Tendon’s are a right pain to heal, a decade and a half of skateboarding taught me that tendons heal slower than bones. 

    December 12, 2017 at 9:40 am #907605
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    rjfrussell

    Bit of time off the bike;

    Bit of time off the bike;

    Eccentric heel drops;

    Static stretches;

    Daily foam rolling on the calves.

    December 12, 2017 at 9:33 am #907603
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    CygnusX1

    Are you strapping up your

    Are you strapping up your ankle? This can cause/exascerbate tendonitis – or so the nurse practitioner told me when I took my sprained wrist to the local minor injuries unit after noticing a lump in my forearm.

    December 12, 2017 at 8:56 am #907601
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    Sevenfold

    I’d take at last two+ weeks

    I’d take at last two+ weeks off. I have had a similar problem twice – could barely walk at one point. Rest, rest & more rest is what I found was the only way to get through it & then start again with only short rides before building up to my normal daily mileage. Sometimes you just have to listen to what your body is saying – it usually knows best…

    December 12, 2017 at 8:12 am #907599
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    Anonymous
    simonmb wrote:
    I’d take the rest of the year off – rest is hugely underrated. 

    And get a friend to help with the cable fix – a couple of beers is the magic tool you’re missing – and if that doesn’t work – try your LBS.

    Good advice but I reckon a lot of us are our own worst enemy. I had a knee problem (quad tendonitis) that I thought I’d be able to get round with physio and still going at it like an idiot on Strava. I really did think that physio meant you could just do the exercises they’d give you and carry on doing what you were doing.  The problem never went away.

    It was only when I was forced off for about three months by another illness that my knee sorted itself out and I’ve not had any problem with it since.  Warming up properly has also become part of my routine.

    December 12, 2017 at 7:28 am #907597
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    don simon fbpe

    Regarding the tendonitis, go

    Regarding the tendonitis, go see the doctor and physio. The physio will give you proper treatment.

    I have buggered tendons in both feet which is quite uncomfortable on a daily basis and up to excruciating at times. I have been through the whole physio, stretching, ultrasonic and rest treatments, to no avail.

    Physio simply says that I’m wearing out, so your age will be a factor. I live with it now…

    I would say screw the anual total in order to get the tendonitis sorted.

    Have another bash at a reasonable target next year and don’t forget that what you’ve done this year is pretty good.

    Have a word with the physio as they’ll help find the cause. It could be something bike realted, it could be something else.

    But also take the rest of the year off, be proud of what you’ve done and prepare for next year.

    December 12, 2017 at 7:04 am #907595
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    simonmb

    I’d take the rest of the year

    I’d take the rest of the year off – rest is hugely underrated. 

    And get a friend to help with the cable fix – a couple of beers is the magic tool you’re missing – and if that doesn’t work – try your LBS.

    December 12, 2017 at 6:51 am #907593
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    davel

    Fixie mode can’t be the
    Fixie mode can’t be the easiest, if you’re just trying to see the year out..?

    My advice is probably not what you want to read, but yeah, ‘rest it’. I don’t measure years in miles or kms though – more events/races (these days tris and runs, and more finishing in a respectable time than placing). That needs rest and periodisation.

    I’m just into my 2nd month of Doing Pretty Much Sod All. You’re not a machine, and you won’t thank yourself for overdoing an overuse injury. It’s the perfect time of year to put your feet up for a few weeks. Get to work another way, if you can, or sort your gears to take the ride really easy.

    December 12, 2017 at 12:20 am #907591
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    alansmurphy

    I measure miles in smiles. Ok
    I measure miles in smiles. Ok in the 4 years of Strava I have clocked more each year and this year had a bloody big mountain to work towards. However, in doing so I found different rides much more fun, hill reps, short flat blasts et al to go alongside the Sunday trundle.

    You say you haven’t changed your set up, this could potentially be a cause, some kind of RSI. I have 3 pairs of cycling shoes and though the cleats are positioned the same all the shoes are slightly different so doesn’t put all pressures on the same point. Alternatively, you may find that you did pull something or cause damage and a couple of weeks off may have been the answer, but if you’re not pushing too hard on the pedals you’d be unlucky for it to keep deteriorating.

    The stretches may hurt now but again when you recover perhaps incorporate it into the routine. Considering the endurance aspect it amazes me when you see most contact sports doing routines and cyclists not bothering. Another thing I love is the cold plunge pool and the sauna at the gym. The cold is meant to aid recovery so a bucket of iced water to dip your leg in on return could work. I’d also have a hot one on standby as I always prefer to finish warm and gently stretch out.

    If small changes don’t work then take a fortnight off, there’s no point in miserable miles, reaching the arbitrary target only lasts a few minutes and you have an injury that’s been impacting you for months!

    December 12, 2017 at 12:10 am #907589
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    Anonymous

    You could find a multitool

    You could find a multitool which includes a bone saw, and amputate your own leg [1], or you could read this:

    https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/tendonitis/

    [1] Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. I am a psychopath. Do not rely on medical advice you may receive from me.

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