Achillies pain when kicking

[crossthebreeze]

Hello, this pain has been annoying me for some time now so hopefully someone can offer some help!

Firstly I am 23 and male. I first noticed the pain around 6months ago, although I don't remember a specific time or incident that started it. I think it may be more of an overuse injury as I was playing 5 a side soccer twice a week and squash once a week, normally three days in a row. These are both sports that are tough on the ankles!

The pain is on my right achillies, literally right at the bottom where the tendon and bone meet. It is on the outside of the tendon. The strange thing is it ONLY hurts when I kick the ball with my foot straight on, and occasionaly if i stop/turn sharply and quickly using that foot. Maybe that happens only once every 2 games. The kicking pain is pretty much everytime I kick powerfully and straight on, however if i avoid kicking like that it very rarely hurts from kicking. The problem is that I want to be able to kick properly! The pain when aggrevated lasts usually a couple of seconds and it doesnt stop me from running although again it stops me from kicking.

When not exercising especially if i havent aggrevated the injury in the previous game I very, very, rarely feel pain. When I circle my foot I can feel it click at the point where it hurts but again I dont feel pain there. Also my other foot clicks albeit not as severely and I have never had problems with it. When I stretch my tendon so the outside is stretched it sometimes hurts, also when I pull it back it sometimes hurts but only a little and it again depends on when it was last aggrevated. Now for example it doesnt hurt, but I had last weekend off and haven't played for 8 days.

Additional information: In May it was worse then it is now, at the point where it would get aggrevated maybe twice a game although I could still run fine. I then had 6 weeks off for travelling and when I came back it was ALOT better, though I could still sense it was there, it has gotten a little worse since then although no where near how it was in May.

Anyway I know it doesnt seem that bad as it rarely causes pain when I'm not kicking a ball, and even then only when I kick a certain way, but I really want to be able to kick properly again! Also I have checked the ankle problems on the website but I cant seem to make any fit.

Thanks any advice will be appreciated.

[Heidi]

Hi
It doesn't sound like your typical achilles tendonitis type injury. These usually cause problems after periods of rest, feel stiff and achey in the tendon, usually a little higher up the tendon, although they can be at the bone too.
Because you say it is on the outside of the tendon, I wonder whether it is either the bursa, or (depending how far over) the peroneal tendons.
Either way, what I think you should do initially is to stretch the calf muscles lots and to get a gait analysis to make sure you have the right footwear or support for you activities. This can make a massive difference with ankle injuries.

[stu4thfc]

Hi there,

I have had the same pain which started possibly around 1 year ago. At first I thought it may have been growing pains but have seen this thread and now realise I should probably start doing something about it. I am a 21 year old male and play semi professional football. When trying to kick the ball with power, I feel a tweak in my Achilles also which restricts for the remainder of the game. After seeing this message I was wondering if you have found any thing that has helped you at all or anything you may recommend me doing.

I did sprain my foot a year ago which put me out of action for around 8 weeks. Since the club physio has cracked the foot back into place and it has been a lot better. It cracked 6 times but is still not 100% and I am not confident it is going to repair itself. Should I be looking into an x-ray or continue stretching it. The ligament that was believed to be sprained/strained was the posterior talofibular ligament.

Many thanks, I really hope your injury has cleared up. I appreciate any assistance and your time.

Do you think these may help? http://www.foot-orthotics.co.uk/achilles.htm or are there any others you think would suit better.

Once again, thanks

Stu

[Heidi]

Have you had any direct treatment to the achilles tendon? Usually achilles injuries respond well to sports massage, ultrasound, stretching and eccentric heel drop exercises.
The insoles you mention may help but it does depend on the cause of you particular problem. They are arch support insoles for people with fallen arches (flat feet) or those who overpronate. If you do this then yes they should help. If not then they probably won't make any difference!

[stu4thfc]

I have not had any direct treatment on my achilles. I am still growing so I am still convinced that this has something to do with it. i have started doing stretching religiously for the last 5 days to help and having my heels hanging off the edge of a staircase and raising and lowering.

I do have an infra-red heat massager. Do you think this will this help at all?

Thanks again for your help and I look forward to your reply.

Stu

[Heidi]

The infrared may help so worth a try, although make sure you have read all of the information and guidelines about using it first.
Stretching and the exercises are great, just stick with it for 2-3 weeks and you should see a big improvement.

[stu4thfc]

Thank You Heidi. I appreciate your help

Stu