Would a saddle that is too high cause achilies pain?

birdy247

Hi

I injured my achilies from over doing it during a week of running in overused trainers.

At the same time, I changed my bike saddle which I think has slighlty raised my saddle height. When I am cycling, my achilies is not aggrevated, but after I finish, the affected achilies gets quite sore.

I am wondering if the slight raise in saddle height is putting extra stress on the injured achilies. Would this make sense.

I am taking 3 days off the bike now, and have lowered the saddle by 2mm and will assess again on Monday.

Is this a typical symptom of a saddle that is too high.

p.s. If I spin at around 125 RPM I do bounce in the saddle a bit.

Zachariah

Saddle bouncing at higher RPMs is usually a sign of the saddle being slightly too low (the maximum extension of your leg near the bottom of the pedal-circle is done with such force that it forces the rest of the body upwards unless the saddle is already high enough to allow for this).

Having said that, Sheldon Brown's site (I'm repeating myself from another thread somewhere recently) and my own recent experiences suggest that Achilles pain can indeed be caused by a saddle being too high.

Experiment...Gently.

chrishd883

I'm afraid that this isn't a question where we can give you a definite answer.

I eventually gave up 5-a-side football, primarily due to recurring achilles problems. Where I could once play every week, week in, week out, I now needed to take rest periods.

With regards to saddle hieght the general symptoms are:
Too high? Lower Back pain
Too low? Knee pain

I have had both of the above problems above. Stretching and strengthening exercises cured the back and thankfully a few days rest cured the latter and in both cases the seat hieght was changed.

I did once sufer from a brief spell where my left achilles was sore. I did change the seat - very slightly down - and the problem has now gone away.

There was never a problem when cycling, but I could feel slight discomfort afterwards. I don't thiink that the cycling caused it necessarily - I did have a few pairs of shoes with very thin soles and had done a lot of walking. I think the impact felt from walking in these shoes caused the problem, cycling put pressure on it!!

Yor old trainers may have caused the problem rather than the small change to the seat height.

Plenty of sites about seat hieght - and it's always worth keeping your eye on it.
+1 for small changes!!
When you ride concentrate on the lower back - is this moving as you pedal? Are you stretching the lower back muscles as you ride? Lower the seat height?

As for bouncing on the saddle - at such high cadence - this can be down to technique.

My cadence can be higher than a lot of the people I ride with, but if I don't regularly spin at the higher rates, then my technique can go slightly awry. But it comes back with practice.

Good luck!

birdy247

I have the same feeling. cycling doesnt cause it, I dont even feel it during cycling, only after. it was 100% caused by running too far in old trainers.

I have lowered the saddle by 2mm and will see how I get on with that.

Thanks

chrishd883

I did go to a local physio when the achilles problem really flared up.
The treatment was friction and ice!
2 minutes of friction (pushing hard on the achilles to break down scar tissue with the knuckles), followed by 2 minutes of ice (rub the ice cube along the same spot)
Repeat 5 times.... hence 10 minutes a day!!

It helped but time is a big factor - rest!

birdy247

How long did your take to clear up?

also, did you ride at all or take it completley off the bike?

Thanks

simianwatching

I've had three bouts of achilles tendonitis over the last 15 years. Once you have had it once, you are more likely to get it in the future. You must sort this out quickly - do not aggravate it as the achilles in notoriously slow to heal (if you cause reasonable damage it is going to take 3 - 6 months to heal).

If you ask your GP, he will tell you that the most likely cause is some sort of 'mechanical' aggravation - in the general public this will be caused by new footwear in the main.

For cyclists, another cause will be having your saddle too high, or your cleats too far forward on your shoes (so your feet are postioned further back on the pedals) So, in sort, yes having your saddle too high could definitely cause this. Also, if you haven't been cycling or exercising for a while, you may find that your hamstrings and calves are too tight and this will put extra strain on your achilles too.

The other sports-related cause is a dramatic increase in exercise levels.

In terms of recovery I would recommend:
1) Finding out the source of the problem and sorting it out asap. It's pretty obvious if you have dramatically increased excercise levels, so if you can discount this, I would start with new footwear, then check saddle height, cleat position.

2)
Rest - as much as you need. This will inevitably take much longer than you think.

3) I find taping up your achilles with sports tape really helps

4) I would advise not to do any achilles stretching exercised until your achilles is mainly healed. In my opinion and in my experience it delays recovery.

hope this helps

rick_chasey

I know that pedalling with a fixed foot (i.e. no movement in the ankle) is better for your achilies.