Some of the most common and potentially chronic running injuries involve the Achilles - don’t allow yours to become your body’s Achilles heel.

Being aware of the contributory factors behind Achilles problems, and performing regular mobility exercises, as recommended by our expert physiotherapist and former GB athlete, Jenny Blizard, can help your Achilles become a strong, powerful tool in your body’s armoury.

Having suffered with Achilles issues in her own running career, as well as being an expert in the Maitland Concept of physiotherapy, Jenny has written at length on the subject on a number of occasions.

Two major factors that stand out in terms of how Achilles injuries occur are: one, issues with body’s nervous system; and two, lifestyle.

The former factor is inevitably intrinsically connected to the latter - the nervous system is affected by the way we live our lives, so preventing - or trying to treat and prevent the reoccurrence of - an achilles injury, is not a quick fix scenario, and instead requires the athlete to take a step back and be honest about how their lifestyle could be contributing to burning sensations, pain, tightness or swelling in that area.

Reducing stress levels, improving posture when sitting, a more nutritious diet, better hydration and sleep, as well as positive thinking, self massage, and often daily easy runs, can all help to relieve the ‘stickiness’ of the body’s nervous system, which can lead to Achilles issues.

Keeping the connecting muscles and tendons flexible and strong is also another key component in rehab or pre-hab in this area, and one of the main muscle areas to be mindful of is the calf.

The most important phrase to use when considering maintaining muscle group’s flexibility is ‘mobility exercises’, and not simply ‘stretch’. Here Jenny explains how to perform a great mobility exercise for the calf:

“The key is to maintain hip extension throughout, and just move from knee flexion through to full knee extension. This mobilises the tibial nerve behind the knee.

“Traditional calf stretches maintain knee flexion or extension, and move the ankle joint instead. The difference is the mobilisation of the nerve that supplies the calf and Achilles whilst tensing the calf muscles.”




It is also important to self-massage the calf muscles regularly, ideally after a bath, helping to reduce sensitivity in the nerves surrounding the area.

If none of those methods help to relieve the Achilles discomfort, contact the clinic to book an appointment with Jenny, Caroline Hennigan or Matthew Newton, our experienced physiotherapists, who will perform the appropriate manual therapy as part of a structured rehabilitation programme.