Skiing with achilles tendonitis

[seatosky]

A question for Vinman or any of the other gimp experts around here...

My GF has been diagnosed with a fairly acute case of achilles tendonitis, brought on by running. She's had it for a few weeks and while it's improving, she can still feel it (not painful like it was before but still feels tight).

She's thinking of coming up this weekend for some skiing - usually snowboards but thinks that's probably out of the question.

Is this a really bad idea? She's been told by her PT that she can bike and swim, but they didn't talk about skiing.

[Vinman]

Since there isn't too much ankle motion in a ski boot, she might be able to ski without too much discomfort. As long as you aren't hiking for the goods I don't see why she woudn't be able to do some skiing.

maybe a slight heel wedge, 1/8 to 1/4 inch, might also help.

Remind her to stretch before and after and maybe again during lunch, ice after the day is over.

[bio-smear]

I sometimes get achilles pain in the tissue surrounding the tendon from skiing. I broke my left ankle when I was 17, and a few years ago severly sprained the same one in the same fashion (no break this time luckily.) The doctor who looked at the films the second time said he saw a lot of scar tissue in there and even loose bone chip. I was like SHIT? Since I moved to the Tahoe area and have been skiing with more frequency, the tissue pain has increased somewhat, mostly from leaning back too far in the pow. It feels like the tendon is going slack, and even compressing the tissue in that region a bit. If I don't ski a little more neutral, it will ache like a bitch at the end of a deep day.

Not sure how that helps you, but I feel better getting that off my chest.

[truth]

Jim "Sarge" Conway, lead guide for TGR, tore his achilles a few weeks back skiing. He previously tore his other achilles a few years back snowboarding. Acute tendonitis to me (and I'm 6 months post op on a complete achilles rupture) would be a signal to let it heal.