Why My Achilles Tendon Hurts When I Wake up?

Achilles tendon pain is a common problem for runners and athletes. But what causes this pain, and why my Achilles tendon hurts when I wake up? I will now look at various reasons for this and what we can see what we can do to try to help it.

Why My Achilles Tendon Hurts When I Wake Up?

1. Nothing is worse than waking up in the morning; the first thing you feel as soon as you put your weight on your foot is a pain in your Achilles tendon. This is a result of having tendonitis in your heel. The Achilles tendon will hurt first thing as the tendon will have contracted during the night as you rest due to circulation being limited at rest. When you walk first thing in the morning, your Achilles can be pretty stiff due to your suffering from Achilles tendonitis.

What Is The Achilles Tendon?

The Achilles tendon is a band of tissue in the back of your leg. This tendon connects your calf muscles to your heel bone. You have 2 Achilles tendons, one in each leg. The Achilles tendons are the strongest and biggest tendons in your body.

“Achilles tendons can handle a person’s body weight about four times. But people commonly experience Achilles tendon injuries because of the stress put on this tendon. Almost 1 in 4 athletes have an Achilles tendon injury during their lifetime.

The Achilles tendon is a large tendon that connects the calf muscle to the heel. It is the strongest and thickest tendon in the human body and is what allows us to push off the ground when we walk or run.” (Cleveland Clinic)

What Are The Causes Of Achilles Tendon Pain?

There are various causes of Achilles tendon pain, and I will explain each one briefly:

Wearing worn-out shoes that have lost their support and cushioning – if your shoes lose their support and cushioning, this can lead to various injuries, including injuring the Achilles tendon

We should always warm up properly before exercise by doing some dynamic exercises as it helps prevent injuries.

We should never increase the intensity of any exercise too quickly, and we should only add 10% to our mileage each week as a runner.

Running on concrete continuously can lead to Achilles tendon pain

Overpronation is another cause of Achilles tendon pain, overpronation is when we have flat feet, and our ankles roll in as we run.

How Can You Treat Achilles Tendon Pain?

The best way to treat Achilles tendon pain is by using the recommended techniques of R.I.C.E.

Rest

As soon as your Achilles tendon starts to hurt, you should rest your leg immediately and refrain from the activity that caused it. By doing this, as soon as it hurts, you will prevent a long layoff.

Ice

Ice the injury for 20 minutes every 3 to 4 hours for a few days to reduce swelling.

Compression

Wear a compression sock to try and reduce any inflammation.

Elevation

When you are icing your leg, you should try and keep it elevated. Also, it would help if you kept your foot elevated on a cushion or pillow in bed.

Physical therapy

It may be worth getting checked by a physical therapist who will confirm if it is Achilles Tendonitis and offer treatment and exercise advice. They will also try and use massage to relieve the Achilles tendon.

How To Prevent Achilles Tendon Pain?

The following are the best prevention tips for avoiding Achilles tendon pain when we wake up in the morning.

Warm-up

Before any exercise, we should always warm up properly. This will generally involve doing dynamic stretches to loosen our muscles and tendons.

Cool down

After exercise, we should always cool down properly by doing some static stretches.

Increase in activity

Always increase activity slowly from one week to another, never by more than 10%.

Strength Training

It is essential to strengthen our leg muscles, especially our calves.

Final Thoughts

I hope you understand better why your Achilles tendon hurts when you wake up in the morning, the causes, how you can treat it, and the prevention tips you should follow. If there is any other treatment or prevention technique, please feel free to add them in the comments section below.