Achilles Tendinopathy: Why Achilles Hurts When Running

Should shoulder exercises be painful?
Some mild discomfort during rehabilitation is often acceptable, but exercises shouldn't cause severe or progressively worsening pain.
How often should I do my shoulder exercises?
This depends on your injury and stage of recovery. Your physiotherapist will prescribe a program suited to your individual needs.
Can resistance bands replace weights?
Resistance bands are excellent for early rehabilitation, but many people eventually benefit from progressing to free weights or gym equipment.
Should I copy exercises from YouTube?
Not always. Exercises that are appropriate for one shoulder condition may aggravate another. It's important to know what you're treating before beginning rehabilitation.
Why Choose The Addison?
At The Addison Physiotherapy, we believe rehabilitation should be individual - not generic. We assess your shoulder, identify the underlying cause of your symptoms and prescribe exercises based on your goals, lifestyle and stage of recovery.

Whether you're aiming to return to the gym, sport or simply everyday life without pain, we'll help you build a stronger, more resilient shoulder.

What is happening to the tendon?

The Achilles tendon connects the calf muscles to the heel and deals with substantial forces during running.

Problems often develop when the tendon is exposed to more load than it currently has the capacity to tolerate.

This might follow:

increasing kilometres
adding speed work
increasing hills
returning after a break
changing sports
suddenly increasing gym or plyometric training

Why is it so stiff in the morning?

Morning stiffness is one of the characteristic features of Achilles tendon problems.

It is also useful for monitoring your response to training. If morning pain and stiffness are progressively increasing, it may indicate that your current running and rehabilitation load needs adjusting.

Should I stretch my Achilles?

Stretching is not necessarily the main answer.

For most Achilles tendinopathy presentations, the priority is improving the strength and load tolerance of the calf-Achilles complex.

That usually means progressive calf strengthening rather than endlessly stretching the painful area.

Can I still run?

Often, yes.

Some runners can continue with modified training while completing rehabilitation. Others need a temporary reduction in running load.

The decision depends on symptom severity, function and how the tendon responds over the following 24 hours.

Achilles rehab takes time

Tendons adapt slowly.

Good rehabilitation typically progresses from controlled calf strengthening towards heavier loading, single-leg work, faster contractions, plyometrics and eventually the demands required for running.

The goal isn't simply to make the pain disappear. It is to make the tendon capable of handling running again.