I got an e-mail from a fitness professional that was looking for some suggestions on Achilles tendonitis.

She was off to Italy for a few weeks and had to do a lot of walking and did not want Achilles tendonitis to slow her down.

Great question, the catch was, she wanted suggestions other than stretching, icing and massage.

Hmmmm?

Here you go Janice.

Three Tips to a Happy Achilles Tendon while Walking in Italy

#1 – Little Bit of Olive Oil and Candle Light

I saw a massage therapist once and she recommended if I wanted to do self massage, to use a little olive oil.

My parents are Croatian and they love olive oil. They go threw about 1 liter a week.

Yes, just my mom and dad.

Yes, 1 liter.

While growing up, they never taught me to massage with olive oil. If you are going to Europe, it maybe and interesting thing to try. I know the olive oil is amazing in Italy.

Let me get to my point, self massage is huge. It would be nice to have access, time and the funds to get a massage every day for your achilles tendon. For most of us, it is not possible. If you have Achilles tendon issues, I recommend self massaging your calf (Gastrocnemius). I recommend you spend one to two minutes massaging different parts of the calf looking for sensitive areas and using the self massage to help with the circulation to those sensitive areas.

The self massage is based on what I learned in Bill Huhn’s Understanding Trigger Points to Overcome Pain course.

#2 – Shoe Burning Party

Your shoes maybe part of the problem. If you plan to do a lot a walking in a day and your Achilles tendon is bugging you, you may want to add a little heel lift under the shoe insole.

When I was hiking across the USA, I did this with a piece of cardboard. It was low tech, cheap and did the trick. Another idea to change your shoe insoles so you have more of a heel lift. This will decrease the load and stretch on the Achilles tendon.

#3 – GET OFF YOUR FEET!!!!!!!!

I learned this when I was hiking for 5 months. When I was not hiking, I was sitting. Doing a half marathon a day hiking was a challenge but adding to the stress on my Achilles tendon by standing when I did not need to, put even greater stress on it.

If your Achilles tendon is bugging you, do less standing. Get off your feet and sit down on a bench, chair, the ground, on a rock or a hoarse.

If you or any of your clients have ankle and foot issues, I go threw an extensive list of exercises to help overcome the most common ankle & foot injuries in the Exercise Rehabilitation of the Ankle & Foot course.

I think that it is.

Have a great day.

Rick Kaselj