stretching the achilles

[Guest probablydancin]

my apologies if this topic has already been started

 

I have achilles tendonitis and when I'm well again I want to make sure the achilles dont become tight again. I know that putting your heels down all the way in demi plie and when jumping is a good strech for them, but I mean a stretch you can do out of class. Thanks!

[Dancer06]

I also suffered from achilles tendonitis, and, although it was minor, used this stretch to help me. I would go into a lunge(sp?) (parallel fourth position with the front knee bent and the back leg straight) and hold that for about thirty seconds, and then I would slowly bend my back leg as well, and hold that for about thirty seconds. I found that it helped if I did this stretch against a bar or a wall so I could push against it to really get a full stretch throughout the tendon. Hope that helps!

[Guest Herrera dancer]

One thing that I did to help my achilles tendonitis, is to sit on the floor, lift your leg up, grab your toes, and pull them towards you, so it's like flexing the foot. I have heard a little bit of this being an inneffective strech though, so maybe one of the moderators can help me out with that. Good Luck! I'm sure other people will have tons of suggestions.

[ABT Wannabe]

The one that herreradancer listed is one that I know I have used and is commonly used at my dance studio. I haven't heard much about that being bad for you or inefficient? But it could be. It seemed to have a big effect on me! But thats just me.

[Guest pirouettes8943]

Something I find quite effective is to slowly practice jumping at home, and then rolling through the feet. Literrally feel your heals on the floor. I remember I had tight achilles at once too, and this really helped. The other exercizes listed above also helped.

[Victoria Leigh]

One of the very best things to do for the achilles is "release demi pliés". This is not a technical term from the balletic vocabulary, but it is my term for these particular pliés. Face the barre, in first positiom, do a demi plié, and then two more gentle pliés without straightening in between, sort of like a "pulse" in the plié. Relax into the bending. Let the feet and the thighs relax, but hold onto your alignment. Do 3 gently pulse, or release pliés and then straighten the knees. Repeat several times.

 

Also, do a demi plié and straighten as you peel one foot off the floor, like jumping but not jumping, and then press that foot back down and into the demi plié again. Do this slowly, and repeat several times with each foot. You can also do this following several release pliés.

[Guest probablydancin]

thanks for the replies everybody I will be sure to try all those streches.