Achilles pain during swim
I have had some pain in my left Achilles during swim. I was fine just doing the free pace swim, and then, I did a master practice last week including some kicks and the pain has come back. I had to do the 2nd/last RR to swim 4200 yrd today, but had to stop at 2600 due to some sharp pain. I started slow, and not to do dolphin kicks off the wall as I usually do, but started to feel discomfort around 2000, and decided to stop as I didn't want to make it worse. I am in the last hard week of IM training and 3 weeks taper left before my IM Lou, and desperate to know what I should do at this point. I have made an appt with my podiatrist tomorrow and see what he says, but if there is anything I should/should not do, I would like to know. Appreciate any help. I did look at Leigh's video and stuff, and I am not sure if this is related to calf problem or not. I pulled my right calf muscle 6 months ago which prevent me from running for 6 weeks, and my calves have been very tight lately from all the training.
Comments
Really common for bikers/runners carrying lots of volume and cummulated fatigue to get calf and achilles pain with swimming. Both the calf and achilles are connected so if one is painful, the other is part of the problem. It's the tight muscles and then working hard in that plantar flexed ankle position does it. Ever gotten calf/foot cramps while swimming??
the good news is that it's a super quick fix- get yourself in for a massage and have them dig your calves out (gastroc, soleus, post tib and feet- plantar fascia). Will do wonders for you. Follow that up with some dedicated stretch time and do it yourself foam roller and you'll be good to go. In the mean time, ice that achilles and gentle stretching (think frequency versus stretch till it really hurts).
Save your cash on the podiatrist if you aren't having pain while running, biking, or walking. Doesn't sound like this is a mechanical problem (meaning foot, arch, etc). Just cranky muscles.
Hope that helps and keep us posted!
How much swelling is back there?? Is it a little bubble on the achilles/heel??
The first PT session went well. She is actually a friend of mine and an IM veteran. She gave me pretty deep massage on my calf, and the dull pain I had was gone after that. I don't see any visible swelling from outside, but it was clear that I had bursa in ultrasound picture. is what what you were asking? I went to a lake for a short swim, and I tried not to kick at all. I still get sharp pain if I kick and point my toe while I am sleeping, etc. I will continue to do gentle stretches, icing, massaging and 3x/wk PT sessions until my race. Hope I will be able to swim and also this won't affect my bike/run... Thanks for all your help again!
Yasko