Training After Achilles Tendon Injury or Damage

People often ask how to stay fit while injured and achilles injuries are among the more common exercise and sports injuries. In terms of training with an achilles injury, you should still be able to do full upper body training in the gym - with a few adaptations. I am sure you will realise that your legs are involved in almost everything you do, even the bench press - but you probably can still train if you do everything very slowly and if you use machines so that you don't have to hobble across the gym to pick up or return weights.

I had an upper body injury once and it made training even my legs next to impossible - the body is a really coordinated machine and the muscles work synergistically, so any 'break in the chain' will affect all your training.

However, you may even be able to train the legs, to an extent, using leg extensions - despite an achilles injury. But this is a trial and error issue because you may find that any change in tendon length will cause problems and it may be impossible to do even a leg extension without the achilles tendon moving slightly. It is okay, with such serious injuries, to accept that no training at all for the lower body is a possible necessity and to accept that only therapeutic training will be possible for the legs for a few months to come.

When injuries heal it should be possible to reach your previous fitness levels easily. The secret is not to rush things. Don't set time-related targets on recovery from illness. Just aim to recover fully and to become 'normal' again. Aim to enjoy training first of all and let your intensity grow naturally - after you are able to train without modifications or pain. Follow the orders given by your physiotherapist and doctor - physiotherapy will be the key to your recovery after an achilles injury. Follow their advice to the letter.

Idai Makaya
www.idaimakaya.com