- You’ll feel a burning and piercing in the tendon above your heel and it can even make a crackling sound when you move it. Any higher up your calf and it’s more likely that you’ve strained or pulled a muscle. Rupturing your Achilles tendon is a exceptionally painful experience and you’ll know when you’ve done it.
- Your Achilles tendon connects your calf muscles to your heel bone and is made of thousands of individual fibers of collagen. Restricted blood flow to this area slows repair and pain will worsen if you keep training.
- Four important factors in healing the Achilles are: rest, ice, compression and elevation. If your tendon is harmed take a break from all weight bearing sport (except swimming) for at least 2 weeks. You can recover from mild injury in a couple of weeks but a severe one can take 5 months.
- In order to prevent Achilles injury in the first place Increase your running, cycling or rowing distance by no more than 5% each week and if your feet turn inwards when you run, buy inner soles or orthotics to correct this. Also try running on grass and stretching your calves after workouts to keep them flexible, then add the strength moves to your routine.
You don’t have to sit back and just passively put up with insects, particularly those that like to bite like mosquitoes or wasps. Eat asparagus and your sweat will expand an odor that repels insects. Or apply a piece of lemon oil to your skin.If you are bitten, there are natural substances to soothe the irritation. Aloe vera has astonishing powers of soothing skin disorders. It is available in forms for both internal and external application in most health and beauty stores. If you have one of these remarkable plants growing at home, cut the tip off one of the leaves. Put the pulp and juice to the itching or swollen area. Lightly boiled cabbage or leek makes an excellent analgesic poultice. Of course, if you are hiking in the woods, you might have a little problem finding cabbage. Plantain is another plant that also works well. Cut it and rub it to get to the juice then apply it to the harmed area.