The Achilles tendon is a thick, powerful band of tissue connecting your calf muscles to your heel. It’s built to absorb force, spring you forward, and handle thousands of steps, jumps, and pushes.
But when it gets irritated? Everything slows down.
Whether it’s a nagging ache in the morning, tightness after training, or full-blown tendinopathy, Achilles pain is frustrating, partly because it’s slow to heal, and partly because pushing through it tends to make it worse.
Here’s what to know, and what to actually do, when your Achilles starts acting up.