Achilles Tendonitis
 

My left Achilles Tendon is often sore and even a bit lumpy after I exercise - are there any stretches I can do to help? I am in the process of losing weight and am exercising more, but I am concerned about this. (I am considerably overweight, but have been in good shape in the past)

It's ok when I walk, by the way. Just when I exercise.

Any ideas?

intense1,

i had something similar to this years back; i found that some particular yoga poses helped quite a lot; both with ankles and knees. if you have any familiarity with yogic practice, let me know and i can be more specific. that said, i found that generally elevating the legs twice a day for approximately 5 minutes a piece helps, and do stretch that both elongate the back of the leg, hamstring and achiles, as well as stretches for the top of the foot and quads. i occasionally have a little soreness in my left achilles, but honestly its just another sign that i need to get my yoga practice back up.

not sure if i can be of any further help, but will check back in. oh, and good luck with getting back into shape.

The achilles is one of the easiest tendons to stretch in the entire body, so this should be fairly easy for you to do. The classic one is to basically push a wall with one or both feet angled behind you until you feel the stretch. Don't point your feet at an angle and lean in until you can feel it, then slowly lean farther in as the tendon adusts.

You can also stand at the edge of a curb with one or both heals off the edge and slowly drop one heal. It's not as good, but it stretches a larger section of the calf so if you're having muscular issues as well, this might be the way to go.

Two other pieces of advice - whenever stretching any muscle group, don't bounce and always hold each stretch for at least 15 seconds, if not longer.