I have not been very good blogging for a while… Thought I tell you about my experience with Achilles Buritis.
Four years ago I begun having really bad pain in my right achilles – it was very sore and tender around my heal and a bit spongy. I ignored it and kept running as the pain usually went away a few minutes into my run when my muscles warmed up. But after my run, when I had cooled down it only become worse. It got more painful and stiff and I had problems walking the day after a run.
I finally went to see a specialist who told me I had bursitis (inflamation in the bursa). The bursa acts as a cushion and lubricant between tendons or muscles sliding over bone. There are bursas around most large joints in the body, including the ankle. He told me stop running and start rehabilitation, the chances were it could become chronic. To live with that pain for the rest of my life was a scary thought.
So I stopped running and did the daily exercises I had been given and went for regular massages and I joined a pilates class at the Pilates Studio in Cobham.
It was a long recovery but 12 months later I was back running again. However, I now made sure I was stretching more before and after every run and got myself a foam roller which I used on a regular basis for my quads, hamstrings and calves (believe me, it was very painful the first 14 days) I also joined Cobham Pilates.
Then I got sloppy again with my regular stretches and I stopped going to regular pilates classes – the pain in my achilles returned!
Running definitely puts a lot of strain on my joints and I now feel quite stiff the next morning if I skip my stretches. Must be age as well….. I now try not to run more than a few days a week and I have just started to go to Speedflex which is a new fitness concept which has just opened up in West Byfleet. Speedflex run regular sessions throughout the day from 6 am to 9 pm. It is high intensity, low impact whole body workout in a group session to music with a personal trainer. Great fun and very effective and it does not put any strain on your joints! I will aim to go 2 – 3 times a week. You should check it out – I can highly recommend it. I also enjoy spinning at Ride Studio in Cobham once in a while. If I had more free time, I would also join one of Luma Zaki’s Yoga Classes in the Medicine Garden in Cobham. You really need to find something that you enjoy doing otherwise you will not keep it up. Anyway, I have now got rid of my bursitis!
Many injuries like for example bursitis does not start from one day to another. It is a build up for weeks or months. Once you get pain that is when the body can’t cope any more and tells you it is time to stop and think and deal with it. I do think it is important to make sure you do a variety of activities to work all muscles in your body in order to stay balanced. Stretching is so important to do on a regular basis and why not add a regular massage.
All to keep the body in balance and stay away from many injuries.