FLRC Presents: Jason Tuori’s “Managing Achilles Tendinopathy” on 11/23 at 6:30 PM

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In our ongoing FLRC Presents series, physical therapist Jason Tuori is moving on from runner’s knee (watch now, if you missed it live) to the second-most common injury among runners, Achilles tendinopathy, or, as it used to be called, Achilles tendinitis. If you’ve ever had pain on the back of your heel, where the Achilles tendon connects your calf muscles to your heel bone, you know how debilitating it can be.

In this free Zoom presentation on Monday, November 23rd at 6:30 PM, Jason will explain the relevant anatomy of the lower leg, how you can differentiate Achilles tendinopathy from other conditions that cause pain in the foot and ankle area, what commonly causes it, how you can treat it, and how you can avoid it in the first place.

As always, we’ll have time for questions after the presentation, and Jason will also answer follow-up questions on the FLRC forum. We’ll post a recording of the talk the next day for those who have schedule conflicts with the live presentation. Sign up today!

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Along with a graduate degree in Physical Therapy, Jason is a certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist, a certified USA Track & Field Level 1 Coach, a certified USA Weightlifting Level 1 Coach, and an accomplished runner and triathlete who has dealt with his own share of injuries.

The presentation is free to attend, but registration is required. You’ll receive the Zoom connection details in your confirmation email, which will also prevent the possible Zoombombing of the talk by random trolls.

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Oooooh, good one! AT was my first diagnosed running injury back in 2016. (Turns out racing hard at the Chili Challenge 5k and then running 12 miles back to Ithaca in Altras wasn’t a great idea.)

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One of the things I’m definitely planning to ask @JTuori about is the role of heel drop in Achilles tendinopathy, both in terms of causing it and preventing it. It would seem related, given that the larger the heel drop, the less the Achilles tendon stretches on each foot strike.

For those who don’t know, “heel drop” refers to how high above the toe the heel is—a zero heel drop shoe is completely flat, whereas some shoes have as much as a 12mm heel drop. We’re not talking about high heels here (4-inch heel drop?), but even a small difference can have an effect when multiplied across hundreds of thousands of foot strikes.

Altra notably makes zero heel drop shoes, as does Hoka One One (despite their massive cushioning, they’re essentially flat). I’ve long run in Saucony Kinvaras, which have a 4mm heel drop.

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When I had my injury I went to Andy Getzin and he told me the zero drop was most likely the cause. I forgot to mention I also ran a 100-mile race in Altra’s least cushioned trail shoe a month before I had signs of tendinosis. Fortunately the recover period was only 3-4 weeks once I knew what I was dealing with, and I didn’t have to stop running altogether.

Every major shoe brand makes some low drop or no drop models. Altra is the only major brand that is exclusively no heel-toe drop across the board.

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We’ll see what Jason says, but my gut tells me that the main thing with zero drop shoes is not to switch to them too quickly so your Achilles has time to adapt. I can’t see any reason why zero drop should be a problem evolutionarily, but after years of adapting to a higher heel drop, the switch could be tough. How long had you ben running in Altras before your 100 miler?

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About two years, but I rotated them with other shoes on both roads and trails. The brand even recommends a gradually “breaking in” period when you first start using them—just walking in them at first and then slowly building up running mileage. I’m looking forward to this presentation. As my first real injury, Achilles tendinosis will always have a special place in my heart :heart_eyes:

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