One of Lao Wang's friends started running a few months ago in order to lose weight, running several kilometers around the community every day.

After reading articles claiming the miracle of running 10,000 steps a day, he decided to increase his running volume and adjust his schedule to 10 kilometers a day to achieve his weight loss goal.

He thought that this amount of running would make him lose weight faster, but unexpectedly, it caused him to fall into pain.

Last week, he was running early in the morning as usual, but as soon as his feet hit the ground, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heels.

Unable to continue running, even walking became somewhat difficult. He could only walk part of the way slowly, and the pain gradually lessened.

However, every morning this week, a similar situation has occurred, preventing him from doing his usual morning running exercise.

My preliminary judgment is that he is most likely suffering from "Achilles tendinitis", also known as "heel disease". This condition is usually caused by excessive exercise.

Correctly identify Achilles tendinitis

Achilles tendons are the thick, sturdy fibers that connect your heel and calf muscles. Running and other repetitive muscle movements can cause tiny tears in the fibers of the Achilles tendon. Over time, these tears can trigger inflammation that can lead to Achilles tendinitis.

The main symptom of this condition is that after getting up in the morning or standing or walking for a period of time, you will feel a huge pain in the heel to the back of the calf.

Like Lao Wang's friend, he insisted on running 10 kilometers every day, but did not leave the body time to rest and repair.

This undoubtedly puts a lot of stress on the Achilles tendon, which increases the risk of developing Achilles tendinitis.

Considering that he is nearly 50 years old and lacks rich sports experience, his foot muscles are relatively weak.

Therefore, once onset, the pain will be more intense.

According to the 2012 Musculoskeletal Injury Synthesis Report, people aged 40-65 are at high risk for "Achilles tendinitis."

Treatment of Achilles tendinitis

Once we've identified Achilles tendinitis, we need to do the right thing.

First of all, if you feel any pain in the heel or back of your calf, it is important to stop your exercise immediately to give your Achilles tendon enough rest.

Next, you can try applying ice to the heel area to reduce inflammation and relieve pain. In general, you can apply ice for between 15 and 20 minutes at a time. Keep warm after applying ice.

It is also necessary to use appropriate over-the-counter medications, such as anti-inflammatory painkillers, under the guidance of a doctor to help with temporary pain relief, and it can also help you stay active when necessary.

In particular, superficial pain relief does not really solve the problem of Achilles tendinitis, and more thorough treatment needs to improve muscle and tendon coordination and flexibility.

Lao Wang's personal experience is: when your heel has recovered to a slightly painful but tolerable degree, you can start to go out running, but you should reduce the speed and reduce the running distance.

After completing your run, perform calf raises several times a day to help further recovery.

Before you rest at night, you can try to soak your feet in hot water. After soaking your feet, the heels will become soft.

Then, a fascia gun is used to make a deep impact on the heel pain points.

Finally, apply ointment to promote recovery.

Personally, I think this recovery method is relatively quick.

Although I haven't seen this method in a book, it has helped me successfully cure my Achilles tendinitis twice.

However, I must caution that this does not necessarily apply to everyone.

Although I have gained, each person's situation may be different. So think carefully before you try.

Running training strategies during recovery

For those runners who have begun to feel heel discomfort, the running training during the recovery period should be on the road to "ease".

You should reduce the speed of your running and, accordingly, the distance you run.

Far from discouraging your enthusiasm for running, it's more of a chance to give your tendons a cushion so you don't overtrain them and cause new damage in the meantime.

Achilles tendinitis is a kind of aseptic inflammation caused by acute and chronic strain. Therefore, in daily exercise, you should be careful to increase the amount of running and improve the running speed to adapt to the individual's ability to bear.

Running is a lifelong pursuit, and for amateur runners, staying injury-free is the key. It's definitely not worth it to trade physical injuries for PB (personal best).

Running injury-free is our ultimate goal, and whether you're a beginner or an experienced runner, we should all remember that being responsible for your body is also part of our passion for running.