Achilles Tendonitis Risk Factors
Runners that have rigid feet and supinate
Run on the outsides of their feet from heel to toe)
Runners that are run more on mid-foot or forefoot
Puts more stress on calf and Achilles tendon
Improper running shoes (old or new)
Weak foot/ ankle

How to Prevent Achilles Tendonitis?
Receive professional running gait analysis
Purchase supportive running shoes
Strengthen foot/ankle
Use resistive bands in sitting.
Pump ankle forwards, backwards, to the inside and to the outside
(3 sets of 20 reps)
Heel raises and toe raises in standing with toes facing forwards, outwards, and inwards
(3 sets of 10-15 reps)
Single leg balance on couch cushion or foam
(60 seconds on each leg x 4 reps)
Stretch
Calf stretching, with knee straight and bent (30 seconds x 4 reps each position)
Use massager on calf (Tiger Tail, The Stick,Tennis Ball,Massage ball)
Ice massage
5-7 minutes per episode right after activity

KEY!!! Listen to your body!!!!
Take rest day, cross-train, variety each day: distance, pace, surfaces!

• Proper running shoes: Running gait analysis before you start training
• Strengthen arch and foot: Such as arch curls, heel and toe walking.
• Stretch your calf (gastroc/soleus complex): 30 seconds x 4 reps 2-3 times a day
• Stretch your plantar fascia: Tennis or hard rubber ball massage (3-5 minutes a day)
• Ice massage with water bottle (5 – 7 minutes after run)
• Variety is KEY!: Surface, pace, distance, cross- train, rest days
• KEY: Listen to your body!!!! Do not run through pain

Further questions? Call Susie at Corpore Sano PT in Kenmore, WA!

Susie brings a wealth of expertise in running and running gait evaluation.

Susie Roley PT, DPT- Susie has been running competitively since 1996 and currently participates in road races in the Seattle area. She also has coached high school cross country and track for two years. For six years Susie has worked at Super Jock N’ Jill analyzing client’s walking and running gait for optimum performance. Susie has 20 years of dance experience from Pacific Northwest Ballet, Turning Pointe Dance Center, and Scripps College where she earned a minor in Dance. Her background in gait analysis, coaching, running and dance have given her great tools to help rehabilitate you back to your sport effectively and efficiently. Susie received her Bachelor of Arts in Human Biology from Pitzer College, and her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Western University of Health Sciences. In addition to running and dancing, Susie enjoys cycling, and hiking.

A recent client who came in for gait evaluation

This year I am working on my brain. I had read that professional athletes credit visualization as part of the reason for their success, but I was skeptical. How much of a difference could it really make? But at the Seattle Half Marathon last fall, I had an experience that made me realize it was worth looking into. Here’s the long version of the story. I started consistently running in 1999, and that fall I did the Seattle Half in 2:03. I didn’t do it again because of two knee surgeries over the next 5 years. Once those were healed, I started running consistently again in 2006. I did an half marathon in 2007 with a time of 2:25. I did the Seattle Half in 2008 with a time of 2:18. I was not really surprised my times were slower because I was running slow and working on building my running base. Plus I was almost 10 years older! In 2009 I worked with a coach who felt it was time to add speed work back into my running. That was tough! The plan was to do the Seattle Half again. I did some 5K’s and 10K’s leading up to the race, and saw a lot of time improvement in those races compared to the previous years. Knowing those times and what training I had been doing, my coach set my goal time for the half to be under 2 hours. Under two hours? I was incredulous. She has got to be kidding, I thought. No way can I do that – I’ve never run under two hours, and that would be a 15 minute improvement over last year! Impossible. Not only that, I was really tired, my back hurt, blah, blah, blah.

Now you see how I set myself up for failure! I ran the race exactly according to my race plan. Start out slow, build, don’t kill myself on the hills, go all out the last 3 miles. And you know what, I did it in 2:01. To my surprise I beat my 1999 time, a half marathon PR! And as excited as I was about that, I had the nagging thought that I actually could have ran it under 2 hours. Shame on me for not believing in myself. Shame on me for telling myself I could not do it. Allowing negative thoughts to influence me.

Now I am reading and learning about what I can mentally do to train myself. I’m setting time up every day to mentally train. I’m working on relaxing, visualizing, developing positive words and phrases to use when things get difficult in my workouts. And because I am working on this everyday, I’ll be prepared in the days leading up to a big race. I won’t get anxious, I’ll have gone over the course in my head, I’ll have felt the success of crossing the finish line with a great time. I’ll be totally prepared!