Excellent work! I have one question. He talked at the edges of this, but I don’t think directly. Are there any stretches or exercises that one can do to make a rupture, or Achilles tendinitis, less likely?
I’ve been recovering from Achilles tendinosis (inflammation after a small tear) for the past six months so I’ve had a LOT of time to read all the research on this. As the doc said, the danger point is that “coming down onto your heel” movement or else the “one foot back, push off” movement. You can’t really strengthen the Achilles like it was a muscle but increased loads should lead to better organisation of the collagen matrix. But you need rest time for the fibres to reorganise.
The problem is more often the gastrocleus - gastrocnemius and soleus muscles (soleus is on the outside of your leg, gastrocnemius is the big inside one) being too tight, which amplifies the load on the tendon really fast.
The odd thing is that it’s the tendon rather than the muscle which seems to fail dramatically. This might be because of the physics - load intensified at the end of the lever.
But people do come back from these. In pro squash, Joelle King and Amanda Sobhy (Sobhy twice! Each leg separately!) have come back to the same level after Achilles ruptures, and that’s a sport where “one foot back and push” is a common move.
Thanks, an important topic. I would love if you continued to pursue the topic of injuries and injury prevention in tennis. When you think of how many potentially truly great players - Del Potro, Berrettini, off the top of my head; even guys like Hyeon Chung where who knows - were sidetracked by injuries, the amount one can read about it is so limited. I am quite interested in Djokovic's highly unusual (in its intensity and in fact he's been doing it consistently since he was a teen) stretching regime. Has that played a role in his comparatively injury-free run?
On personal front, I had severe deterioration of the achilles on both sides, massive calcification such that I could barely walk by the end. I had surgery on both of them during Covid a year apart, which meant detaching them, decalcifying them and reattaching them. In both cases, it was about three months until I could walk decently, six months to sports and about a year to feeling strong on them. However, both are currently doing better than they have since my 20s (I'm 62). I had them done at Brigham and Women/MGH in Boston by a surgeon who does mostly these so presumably one of the best in the world. He said we know very little about why achilles deteriorate and that the tight calves explanation has no evidence behind it.
it would be interesting to tally "total matches played" & "total points played" for players to see if the schedule really is more & how much surfaces/balls/pace are affecting wear & tear.
While I am loathe to turn to AI, it mIght be an interesting analysis of what injuries athletes had going into an Achilles tear, to “predict” but probably not prevent future injury.
Thanks - great article. Seeing that semifinal was simply horrific. Holger knew in a few seconds that the match was over, and possibly more. I have (temporarily) lost any interest in watching tennis. Seems meaningless. But I “recovered” from Federer’s retirement, so this will happen here.
Excellent & timely.
Excellent work! I have one question. He talked at the edges of this, but I don’t think directly. Are there any stretches or exercises that one can do to make a rupture, or Achilles tendinitis, less likely?
I’ve been recovering from Achilles tendinosis (inflammation after a small tear) for the past six months so I’ve had a LOT of time to read all the research on this. As the doc said, the danger point is that “coming down onto your heel” movement or else the “one foot back, push off” movement. You can’t really strengthen the Achilles like it was a muscle but increased loads should lead to better organisation of the collagen matrix. But you need rest time for the fibres to reorganise.
The problem is more often the gastrocleus - gastrocnemius and soleus muscles (soleus is on the outside of your leg, gastrocnemius is the big inside one) being too tight, which amplifies the load on the tendon really fast.
The odd thing is that it’s the tendon rather than the muscle which seems to fail dramatically. This might be because of the physics - load intensified at the end of the lever.
But people do come back from these. In pro squash, Joelle King and Amanda Sobhy (Sobhy twice! Each leg separately!) have come back to the same level after Achilles ruptures, and that’s a sport where “one foot back and push” is a common move.
Thanks, an important topic. I would love if you continued to pursue the topic of injuries and injury prevention in tennis. When you think of how many potentially truly great players - Del Potro, Berrettini, off the top of my head; even guys like Hyeon Chung where who knows - were sidetracked by injuries, the amount one can read about it is so limited. I am quite interested in Djokovic's highly unusual (in its intensity and in fact he's been doing it consistently since he was a teen) stretching regime. Has that played a role in his comparatively injury-free run?
On personal front, I had severe deterioration of the achilles on both sides, massive calcification such that I could barely walk by the end. I had surgery on both of them during Covid a year apart, which meant detaching them, decalcifying them and reattaching them. In both cases, it was about three months until I could walk decently, six months to sports and about a year to feeling strong on them. However, both are currently doing better than they have since my 20s (I'm 62). I had them done at Brigham and Women/MGH in Boston by a surgeon who does mostly these so presumably one of the best in the world. He said we know very little about why achilles deteriorate and that the tight calves explanation has no evidence behind it.
it would be interesting to tally "total matches played" & "total points played" for players to see if the schedule really is more & how much surfaces/balls/pace are affecting wear & tear.
While I am loathe to turn to AI, it mIght be an interesting analysis of what injuries athletes had going into an Achilles tear, to “predict” but probably not prevent future injury.
Is it possible to limit your emails about Zoom meetings to just founding members. Thanks.
Yes I didn’t realize that would go out to everyone, apologies. Substack in general has been sending far too many emails lately…
Thanks - great article. Seeing that semifinal was simply horrific. Holger knew in a few seconds that the match was over, and possibly more. I have (temporarily) lost any interest in watching tennis. Seems meaningless. But I “recovered” from Federer’s retirement, so this will happen here.