Your hips may be your achilles

The source of your tendon pain may not be what you think, and the same goes for the solutions.

Reduced hip mechanics could be the problem.

Pain in your achilles tendon could be linked to stiffness in your hips, according to a team of Australian researchers reporting in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise last year. For their paper, the team from the University of Melbourne and the Australian Catholic University compared the hip biomechanics of runners with and without achilles pain. They found that those with achilles tendon problems had reduced hip mechanics and suggested this might force them to compensate their running style so that greater loads were placed on the ankles and tendons with each stride. Release tight hip flexors by kneeling down and extending your right leg into a lunge position on the floor. Place hands on hips and keep your torso upright. Tuck your glutes under the pelvis and bend the right knee to feel a stretch in your left leg. Hold for up to 60 seconds, repeat on the other side.

Eat some jelly

For years, athletes have claimed that taking vitamin C and gelatine supplements helps to heal damaged tendons — and they may be right. Two amino acids — glycine and proline — found in collagen, the protein that is vital for the building and repair of the body’s tissues, are also found in gelatine. And with vitamin C also important for collagen synthesis, scientists have shown that having the two available in the bloodstream before exercise can enhance absorption into tendons. In a study at the Australian Institute of Sport, published last year in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers showed how taking a 15g dose of vitamin C enriched gelatine powder mixed into blackcurrant cordial — it also could be made into jelly — an hour before a workout had benefits for tendon injury prevention and repair.

Daily heel raises

One exercise that studies have shown to be consistently successful in strengthening and reducing pain in afflicted achilles tendons is the heel raise. There are various progressions — and always see a physio if in doubt (or in pain) — but start with the isometric hold. Stand sideways to a wall or support (for balance) and lift on to your tiptoes, hold for about 45 seconds and lower heels back down to the floor. “Hold the pose with the heel at different distances from the floor to gain strength through a range of positions,” suggests physiotherapist Paul Hobrough, author of Running Free of Injuries. Repeat four times. As you become stronger, move on to concentric calf raises: place both hands on a wall and raise up on to tiptoes before lowering. Hobrough suggests 3 x 15 repetitions for three weeks.

The Times