Transitioning Achilles Tendons to Vibram and Barefoot Running … First and most important step is patience!
Vibram Five Fingers Sport Treks that I use to run the rocky trails in the Kettle Moraine State Forest.
Transitioning to barefoot or Vibram running from the traditional running shoe involves some time. The number one requirement is Patience, especially true for those of us who are used to going out and sailing through miles of trail at a time.
I’ll tell you what …, after being patient (or kind of patient) now for almost four months since my maiden voyage run in Vibram Five Finger Sprints (a 9 mile run that was too much probably out of the blocks) I am finding so much joy in the transition. I find frustrations and then I’m thrown a bone and have a great run. I’ve learned to listen to my body more than ever.. I have to.
Where most people have issues with their calves being sore, my “achilles heel” is my achilles tendon. It’s slowed me down enough to keep me holding back the reigns to transition so that I will experience running for another 31 years + another 31 years – ”au naturale”! ..
I never had the sore calves that most people claim ownership of while running bare or darn near it. My tendons have been sore to the touch but are getting stronger with the right holistic and patient approach. …
My favorite Vibram Five Fingers: Sprints. The sole is 2 mm compared to 12 - 13 mm soles of the traditional running shoe. I can FEEL the earth with these .. and barefoot is 0 mm!
Barefoot and Vibram running will help to cure what ails you in many cases. We weren’t born with shoes on .. we were born to run bare. Many muscles and bones engage themselves in a barefoot runner’s run. Put shoes on and just like over medicating, the body gets lazy. Just like the immune system slacks when the body is over medicated, many muscles and bones in the legs and feet atrophy as they let shoes do the work for them. … This does not make the body or the feet and legs stronger. What was intended to strengthen or help us (medicine, shoes, etc) actually weakens us. If we trust the capabilities of our amazing bodies we will find out that we are capable of so much more in mind, body, and spirit than we ever give ourselves credit for.
Back to Vibram and Barefoot running. .. My arches are amazingly strong compared to what they were when I was a shod runner (and I’ve been running for 31 years). My toes are straighter, I don’t have bad runs anymore, I feel the earth as well as rocks or roots and I don’t trip over them anymore. My foot feels around them and reacts quickly to avoid tripping.
Why is my achilles tendon sore? Your achilles tendon has been shortened by wearing high heeled running shoes (12 – 13 mm average sole vs 2 in vibram sprints or 0 barefoot) for years. This means it will take time for the tendons to lengthen and stretch back to where they want to be. It really takes time. They stretch and this makes them sore.
What do I do for sore tendons?
1. I listen to my body. I’ve backed off the milage and I listen to what my tendons will give me each run. If they are sore, I stop.
2. Arnica massage tendons to get rid of scar tissue. Scar tissue presents itself as small bumps on top of the tendon. This is what makes your tendon feel sore.
3. Eccentric Calf stretches.
4. Massage calves to loosen any tightness. Looser calves help the tendons to stretch!
I think you should be very careful. Tendonitis is a real risk, and so is tendinosis. Overuse will create a line of fatty infiltrate in the tendon. You cannot feel it until suddenly your Achilles snaps and you collapse in agony. Please try NOT to be 5 miles out when this happens, as crawling home is difficult.
Strengthening your feet is a great goal, but to gain strength you need to do high loads and low reps (ask any no-neck in a gym). Try raising up on your toes barefoot with 20% bodyweight loads in a vest, or a barbell on a squat rack. This is how you get your intrinsic muscle stronger, and the bone mineral density of your metatarsals. You cannot strengthening any muscle very effectively doing an endurance activity–the molecular signaling cascade builds fat metabolizing enzymes, not actin-myosin proteins. For this you need high forces that trigger alpha-actinin-2 or -3 that are located in the z-disc.
The German Orthopaedic Society is tracking Achilles tendinitis, tendinosis and metatarsal stress fractures and have already seen an increase in these injuries. Who get these new maladies? Barefoot runners.
Like any exercise, adequate rest and appropriate loading dose is the key. Don’t through away your running shoes just yet. Cross-train instead.
Hi Michael,
I appreciate your caring reply to my post. I’m always researching and interested in what professionals have to say about tendinitis or Achilles tendons in general.
I’ve been doing bent knee eccentric calf raises but adding some load is a great idea. Additionally I massage my tendons (with arnica) and calves, scrunch towels with my toes and use tennis balls under my arches. I’ve been seeing a great chiropractor as well who’s been helping me lots as I’ve been transitioning to minimalist and barefoot running.
I’m no stranger to Achilles tendinitis..I’ve had it twice in my running history and it’s absolutely something I’m keen on avoiding!
Thanks again Michael for your thoughtful response.
Thank you for post! This week I have switched from regular running shoes to vibrams, and I was liking it so far, untill today when I started feeling a sharp pain in my achilles heel. So I googled it to find out what I could do and I came across your helpful post. I’m a junior in high school and running distance track. I took note of your comment about backing off and running less mileage. It’s just that I really want to make it to state for the first time this year, and I don’t want to back off training and not be in the condition that I need to be in to make my goal. I noticed that this was posted back in October and I wanted to ask if there is any other advice you can give me?
Thank you for your post! … You bring back memories to me. When I was a Jr in High School I had achilles tendonitis before my state meet. I managed to get through it but by the old fashioned way of cortisone.
Anyway, my tendonitis seemed to come on then from racing in spikes after training in regular running shoes. I had the same problem in collegiate track & cross country.
So the correlation is that Vibrams are akin to spikes and racing flats. If you only wear them to race or you transition suddenly you are going to wind up with sore tendons because you will naturally run the way we were intended to run … on the balls of our feet (toe running).
To run naturally on the balls of the feet is GREAT! Feet strengthen and since my October post I’ve healed (still sometimes feel slight soreness in my right tendon that goes away after I run and doesn’t bother me while I run) and my feet are incredibly strong which is HELPFUL in racing! Arches are amazingly strong and higher … and all I run in are Vibrams!
Ok, now to the issues with your tendon. You don’t need to back off the mileage, unless you have tendon problems and pain … Back off the speed in which you transition. Don’t go from regular running shoes to vibrams without a transition. Run most of your mileage in running shoes and a small amount in vibrams. You will transition but honestly, it takes awhile. You will understand what I mean once you have fully transitioned.
In the meantime, ICE your tendon, warm it, and stretch it with eccentric calf stretches. .. Run most of your miles in your old training shoes and go slow in the vibrams at the start. It’s best to go slow in the vibrams so that you will sooner rather than later be running exclusively in them. … Summer will be a great time to transition fully and you will ..
Good luck in your track season! Keep me posted please!
Michael, do you have any tips for a runner w/ a long history of on-again, off-again Achilles tendinitis? It will be 20 years this November since my first bought of it. Clearly I’ve got bio mechanical issues that I’ve never been able to get under control despite a range of treatment, rehabs, orthodontics, etc.
I think you should be very careful. Tendonitis is a real risk, and so is tendinosis. Overuse will create a line of fatty infiltrate in the tendon. You cannot feel it until suddenly your Achilles snaps and you collapse in agony. Please try NOT to be 5 miles out when this happens, as crawling home is difficult.
Strengthening your feet is a great goal, but to gain strength you need to do high loads and low reps (ask any no-neck in a gym). Try raising up on your toes barefoot with 20% bodyweight loads in a vest, or a barbell on a squat rack. This is how you get your intrinsic muscle stronger, and the bone mineral density of your metatarsals. You cannot strengthening any muscle very effectively doing an endurance activity–the molecular signaling cascade builds fat metabolizing enzymes, not actin-myosin proteins. For this you need high forces that trigger alpha-actinin-2 or -3 that are located in the z-disc.
The German Orthopaedic Society is tracking Achilles tendinitis, tendinosis and metatarsal stress fractures and have already seen an increase in these injuries. Who get these new maladies? Barefoot runners.
Like any exercise, adequate rest and appropriate loading dose is the key. Don’t through away your running shoes just yet. Cross-train instead.
Michael
Foot and Ankle Researcher
Hi Michael,
I appreciate your caring reply to my post. I’m always researching and interested in what professionals have to say about tendinitis or Achilles tendons in general.
I’ve been doing bent knee eccentric calf raises but adding some load is a great idea. Additionally I massage my tendons (with arnica) and calves, scrunch towels with my toes and use tennis balls under my arches. I’ve been seeing a great chiropractor as well who’s been helping me lots as I’ve been transitioning to minimalist and barefoot running.
I’m no stranger to Achilles tendinitis..I’ve had it twice in my running history and it’s absolutely something I’m keen on avoiding!
Thanks again Michael for your thoughtful response.
Thank you for post! This week I have switched from regular running shoes to vibrams, and I was liking it so far, untill today when I started feeling a sharp pain in my achilles heel. So I googled it to find out what I could do and I came across your helpful post. I’m a junior in high school and running distance track. I took note of your comment about backing off and running less mileage. It’s just that I really want to make it to state for the first time this year, and I don’t want to back off training and not be in the condition that I need to be in to make my goal. I noticed that this was posted back in October and I wanted to ask if there is any other advice you can give me?
HI Ashley,
Thank you for your post! … You bring back memories to me. When I was a Jr in High School I had achilles tendonitis before my state meet. I managed to get through it but by the old fashioned way of cortisone.
Anyway, my tendonitis seemed to come on then from racing in spikes after training in regular running shoes. I had the same problem in collegiate track & cross country.
So the correlation is that Vibrams are akin to spikes and racing flats. If you only wear them to race or you transition suddenly you are going to wind up with sore tendons because you will naturally run the way we were intended to run … on the balls of our feet (toe running).
To run naturally on the balls of the feet is GREAT! Feet strengthen and since my October post I’ve healed (still sometimes feel slight soreness in my right tendon that goes away after I run and doesn’t bother me while I run) and my feet are incredibly strong which is HELPFUL in racing! Arches are amazingly strong and higher … and all I run in are Vibrams!
Ok, now to the issues with your tendon. You don’t need to back off the mileage, unless you have tendon problems and pain … Back off the speed in which you transition. Don’t go from regular running shoes to vibrams without a transition. Run most of your mileage in running shoes and a small amount in vibrams. You will transition but honestly, it takes awhile. You will understand what I mean once you have fully transitioned.
In the meantime, ICE your tendon, warm it, and stretch it with eccentric calf stretches. .. Run most of your miles in your old training shoes and go slow in the vibrams at the start. It’s best to go slow in the vibrams so that you will sooner rather than later be running exclusively in them. … Summer will be a great time to transition fully and you will ..
Good luck in your track season! Keep me posted please!
My Very Best!
Kristen
Michael, do you have any tips for a runner w/ a long history of on-again, off-again Achilles tendinitis? It will be 20 years this November since my first bought of it. Clearly I’ve got bio mechanical issues that I’ve never been able to get under control despite a range of treatment, rehabs, orthodontics, etc.
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