Running injury - achilles tendon, advice needed on recovery

[iamrcb]

Im a regular runner and around 6 weeks ago I felt a pain in my Achilles tendon after a short, but quick run. There was no pain when walking, but only after running. There was also some creaking in the tendon after running.

I went to see the doctor, who told me to stop exercising for a few weeks and to stretch the tendon daily. Ive left it four weeks and I can still feel slight pain and creaking if I keep stretching the tendon. Still no pain when walking normally, no pain in the morning, only when it is stretched repeatedly or after long periods of exercise. Im going to leave it another two weeks before trying to run again.

Could the aching after stretching just be part of the healing or is it still damaged?

Should I wait until there is no pain, tightness or creaking, or just slowly build up the exercise to stretch it until it hopefully goes away?

[rog007]

I've always subscribed to 6 weeks complete rest, then a 4 week progressive programme from then for most MSK injuries, including Achilles. Resting for 4 weeks, trying it and finding it not ready so adding another 2 weeks does not count; 6 week clock starts ticking again if you're after a full and sustainable recovery. Good luck!

[iamrcb]

Thanks, that's very helpful.