A quick update on running with my Insertional Achilles Tendinopathy (IAT). As mentioned in previous posts, I was doing the eccentric heel drops, yoga, and foam rolling as well as a returning to running (run/walk) program.
I had advanced in the running program to the stage of running 3 minutes/walking 5 minutes. I wasn’t having any pain with this at all. But, I was also advancing in my yoga practice as far as getting deeper into the stretches and poses. I started having some tenderness at the back of my heel which was very concerning. I decided to take a few days off from both yoga and running, because I didn’t know which was the contributing factor. I did, however, continue the heel drop exercises and the foam rolling.
So, today I returned to my running program. After the warm-up, I decided to go really easy and only run 2 minutes out of every 5 but after a couple of those, I felt okay to bump back up to three minutes of running and 2 minutes of walking. I felt great and was able to run without any pain or tenderness. Right now, I think I will stick to only running, heel drop exercises, and foam rolling.
I LOVE yoga, but I have read many articles on IAT and most recommend not stretching an injured tendon. I do Bikram yoga and most of the poses seem to either stretch the tendon or put stress on it. I will definitely miss going to yoga, but I need to rule out what is causing the tenderness in my heel.
I really hope it’s not the running!
Oh Yeah! Me too, I definitely want to continue yoga and I will eventually.