Achilles tendon pain

[Rust&Dust]

Hi all,

At age 39 I've just started boxing a couple of months ago.
One month in and I got pain in both feet, especially the right foot in the Achilles' tendon. So into the 2nd month till now (4 weeks after) I'm not training. I'm 1.95 and 111 kg. The jumping rope, burgees and jumping squats have put a lot of stress on my feet it seems.
It's especially my right foot's Achilles' tendon that hurt the most and I suspect it's from the repetitive pivoting when throwing a straight right.

Does this kind of injury happen often in boxing? Do you think it means I shouldn't jump rope at my age/weight? I really want to get back into boxing training just concerned this is going to be a problem.

Thanks

[Richard P]

You do have boots dont you, you are not doing this barefoot as they do profide vital support? also if you do have boots, it is worth investing in decent quality boots (upwards of £100/$120 i would suggest) the cheap crap ones from your local sports store tend to have crap support, and rubbish soles.

dangerous territory the Achilles. without being rude, at your age/weight/height i would maybe seek some pro medical advice from your Dr. I wouldn't like to advise anything wrong, could be a stress fracture or worse, but it shouldn't hurt too much if you are doing things correctly.

[Rust&Dust]

Thanks Richard P,

Yes, I am going to see a doctor about it as I don't feel I'm getting any better.

I trained wearing running shoes, which obviously are the wrong shoes for boxing training. For sure that didn't help, either. I will get proper boots before training again - after we see what the doc has to say.

I was just wondering how common an ailment amongst boxers this is, though.

thanks again.

[Richard P]

The boots should help, The Arch will support your foot helping you rotate on the balls and the ankle support should be nice and stiff and snug to help with all that rotation.

I have seen a guy train in ****ty old Converse high tops before and he did all right.

I always go with Adidas boots, as i know what to expect and i have quite narrow feet (which tend to fit adidas shape)

[Richard P]

Personally, when i talk to the 'older' fighter (im not that far behind you by the way) its more the knees that people struggle with over the Achilles - no old school injury or anything that could be rearing its ugly head again?

[Rust&Dust]

Richard,

I sprained both ankles badly (basketball) at age 30. Got Chondromalacia in the right knee. But never any Achilles' trouble. The main problem is I've lead quite a sedentary life in my 30s and started training boxing all of a sudden. Jumping rope for 10 min and ending training with burpees and jumping squats was definitely not the right way to go. I'm going to a special sports rehab clinic to see what's what in terms of rehab, how soon I can get back into training, and most importantly, how to train so as not to get any such trouble again in the future - injuries ain't fun and they ain't cheap either.
My main concern - since this happened in my right foot, is whether all the repetitive pivoting from the straight right punch, is mostly to blame - with all that force going through the foot as it pivots. It could be that + the jumping.

[Madison Boxing]

Hi all,

At age 39 I've just started boxing a couple of months ago.
One month in and I got pain in both feet, especially the right foot in the Achilles' tendon. So into the 2nd month till now (4 weeks after) I'm not training. I'm 1.95 and 111 kg. The jumping rope, burgees and jumping squats have put a lot of stress on my feet it seems.
It's especially my right foot's Achilles' tendon that hurt the most and I suspect it's from the repetitive pivoting when throwing a straight right.

Does this kind of injury happen often in boxing? Do you think it means I shouldn't jump rope at my age/weight? I really want to get back into boxing training just concerned this is going to be a problem.

Thanks

it will be from a combination of both i suspect. tendinopathy is overuse injury, if you didnt gradually grade your activities up youve probably just been using the tendon too much. IN terms of treatments, main one is simply to rest (but not completely) by reducing training load. Calf stretches may help too but the main crux of it is that you are going to have to reduce training load for a certain period of time and slowly build it back up. Do some specific eccentric heel drops too, i think they are meant to help with the healing process too, helps with collagen deposition in the tendon.

[Jovanny]

I'm 11 years younger and still get this a lot, also a beginner boxer. Speaking about myself, I think one problem is that my tendons are weak as they aren't used to any rapid movement. There are simple workouts you can do to make your tendons stronger without risking getting hurt again. Another possible cause is that instead on balls of your feet, you tip-toe too much (I don't know if you do, obviously, but that's how runners often get Achilles tendon injuries). Also, I have noticed -- and can't recommend it to you directly of course -- that training doesn't make the pain actually worse. But generally, my attitude is that most pain I get from boxing now is a result of my body being still too weak.

Just a couple of ideas.

[Rust&Dust]

Back from the doc,

Turns out it’s inflammation caused by me having (slight) Haglund deformity in my heel plus very stiff tendons. Doc said the latter is the biggest issue of the two.

Furthermore, he diagnosed Turf Toe on the right foot. It’s the result of an injury 10 years ago and the pain came back with a vengeance after starting boxing training. He said it could lead to arthritis. Therefore, when I do heal up, I think I’ll have to switch from orthodox to southpaw to pivot off the left foot to avoid aggravating the Turf Toe in my right foot.

[Rust&Dust]

So it looks like the Turf Toe / Hallux limitus has more to do with the flare up in my heel than anything else. Basically, skipping inflamed it, and I subconsciously started to step differently, placing increasing tension on my heal, and making the Achilles tendon stiffer and stiffer.
Bottomline - if you've stubbed your big toe, go check it out, it might be affecting your whole kinetic chain - ankle - knee - hip and up.