For a few weeks I've had increasing pain in my left Achilles tendon, with no associated injury. I have pain and stiffness in the morning, and pain with walking or any raising up on my toes. There is a small, palpable nodule that is particularly painful, which is closer to my calf muscle that my heel. It seems to me that this is either tendinitis or tendinosis, but what confuses me is that I'm not doing any sort of activity to cause it. I'm fairly sedentary, due to work taking up 11 hours of my day. Really the most physical activity I get is a 30 minute walk during my lunch break, and I'm no weekend warrior that plays sports aggressively during my days off. I would rest my tendon, but I don't do anything in the first place to aggravate it!
I've actually had pain exactly like this before, under very similar circumstances, with no activity or injury to cause it. Strangely enough, it got better when my living situation changed and I was much more active (walking 3 miles a day, horse-back riding several times a week, going to the gym often).
I've been treating my tendon with heat, stretching, and anti-inflammatory medication, but I'm wondering if I should start working out, as that's what seemed to work last time. Has anyone ever had a similar situation? I'm afraid I might end up doing more harm then good if I go out running on it. Does anyone have any other ideas to treat it?
Tags: