Achilles Stretching: What if it hurts?

YouTube Viewer Asked:
What if your achilles gets irritated ?

Dr Blake's comment:

If you are doing achilles stretching exercises, and you feel that the tendon is getting irritated, you must back off. There are many ways to do this. You can try spending less time (say 20 seconds not 30 seconds). You can try going a little less deep into the stretch. You can use heat before (or massage) stretching. You can ice for 5 minutes after the stretch. Once you find the appropriate stretch that does not irritate, gradually increase the stretch over the next few months. Hope helps. Rich

Another YouTube Viewer Wrote:
I read that these stretches can be done with pain and can improve the pain.

Dr Blake's comment:

See my comment above. Pain is so subjective. Yes, pain between 0-2 on a scale of 10 is probably okay since you are stressing the tissue. However, your level 2 may be my level 5 and someone else a 0. We all have different pain levels. That being said it really boils down to you listening to your body and feeling what is good pain and what is bad pain. 25% of people are natural at this, the other 75% really do not get the idea so online advice has to be somewhat conservative. Hope this helps Rich

Achilles Stretching Technique

Proper Stretches for the Achilles Tendon are a vital part of every pre and post activity, and especially with injuries to the achilles, calf, plantar fascia, and hamstrings. Please refer to the post entitled "Generalizations in Stretching". There are two muscles, gastrocnemius and soleus, that make up the achilles tendon. These two muscles can be stretched separately by first having the knee straight (gastroc stretch on the left photo above), and then having the knee bent (soleus stretch on the right photo above). With both stretches, it is important to keep the heel on the ground. Hold each stretch for 30 to 60 seconds, or 8 deep breathes. Deep breathing gets oxygen into the stretch, a good yoga principle. Do not bounce, ballistic stretching. It is never good to jerk the muscle or stretch through pain. You want that good ache feeling. Try to stretch several times a day to actually gain in flexibility, even on days you do not do your normal activities. When non-athletes complain of cramping in their calves, often low potassium or dehydration is blamed. Have them try stretching 2 or 3 times a day and many will experience complete elimination of the cramps.