For a good four years now (warning: whining! ), in addition to all my other health problems, I’ve been struggling with pain in my right heel, or rather, at the right Achilles tendon insertion. Funnily enough, it started when I started exercising. My orthopedist at the time diagnosed a heel spur at the Achilles tendon insertion and recommended shock wave therapy.
How It All Started: From Exercise to Injury
5 treatments at €60 each. A total of €300. A lot of money, but it helped a bit. A physiotherapist suggested I try MBT shoes. However, I had to take a break from Nordic walking, which I was doing at the time. Since cycling was “allowed” by the doctor, I started biking again. All in all, after a while, I was pain-free again and could walk so well with the MBT shoes that I could even start jogging.
The Setback: A Fall and a Return to Pain
Until, yes, until my fall two years ago, I had everything under control. After that, or rather, after a long recovery period with lots of lying down and little exercise, the pain unfortunately started again. It was worse than before. Running or walking became torture after just a few minutes. Even the MBT shoes, unfortunately, didn’t help me anymore. At that time, I sought out another orthopedic surgeon who prescribed insoles and recommended stretching exercises.. Luckily, that helped a bit. The pain was manageable. And since I was pretty fed up with doctors at that point, I left it at that.
Summer 2012: A New Low Point
Until the summer of 2012. I often walked barefoot or in sandals without the insoles, and the pain was back. Worse than ever. At that time, I went back to my old orthopedist and got an injection in the affected area for the first time. The orthopedist immediately said that if that didn’t help, we’d have to try shockwave therapy again. However, the price had since risen to €80 per session, for a total of €400. Fortunately, after a day of just screaming with pain, I was practically pain-free.
Spring to Summer: Chronic Flare-Ups Return
Until last spring, when it slowly started again. By summer, it was unbearable again, and I went back to the orthopedist. This time, I went back to the same doctor who had prescribed me the insoles in 2011. €400 for a minimal chance of helping me even a little was too much. This time, I was prescribed manual therapy, and I stretched and exercised like crazy, but it only got worse. By then, my heel was extremely sensitive to the touch. The slightest pressure on it and I could have burst into tears. Since that didn’t help, I was “allowed” to have another MRI. Diagnosis: severely inflamed Achilles tendon attachment with deposits on the heel. Now there were two options: rest my foot and wait. Or get an injection. I opted for the injection. It helped once. After that, it was two weeks without any sports (which wasn’t too difficult, since I was also struggling with other health issues at the time), and as little strain on my foot as possible. Luckily, the injection helped this time, too. I wasn’t/am not completely pain-free, but it’s considerably less than before. However, my orthopedist recommended that I avoid mountain biking and instead focus on flat terrain for the time being.
The Second Injection and Recovery Strategy
He also suggested a so-called photometric and functional posture and movement analysis to determine the source of my problems. He suspects that something is wrong with my posture, which is why my Achilles tendon keeps getting inflamed. Of course, this analysis isn’t covered by insurance, but at just under €160, it’s a bargain compared to shockwave therapy. This is also because they tell you afterwards which exercises can help you get the problem under control. Since I’ve already spent a lot of money on all sorts of pointless examinations and therapies in my life, I wanted to take some time to consider whether to do it or not.
Looking for Long-Term Solutions
Today I decided to have this analysis done and got an appointment for Monday afternoon. Why today? Well, for one thing, I’ll be getting my Christmas bonus soon. And for another, today I felt really bad pain for the first time in about four weeks. And that was probably only because I ran a very short distance with Leni this morning to catch the mailman. Or was my run yesterday perhaps too much again? But since I don’t want to give up cycling, I’ve been avoiding jogging since May because of the pain—it’s about time something was done. I just hope something comes out of this that will help me in the long run. Right now, I could just puke.
