Tendonitis

[ktchnofdngr]

Howdy from Leon, all. I am currently about one week into my Camino from Burgos, and after taking the train from Sahagun to Leon today, found out from the doctor that I have tendonitis. It seems to be a mild case, but I'm currently on rest and he told me that, after my rest is over, I shouldn't walk more than 10km per day. Does anyone have experience with walking after getting tendonitis, and if so, how set in stone is the above distance? It doesn't look possible to stick to ~10 km per day and stay in albergues all the time (although under 15 km seems to work). I will be kicking around Leon at least until the 8th, so any help with deciding whether to attempt going further or to fly home would be nice.

Thanks!

Ruth

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Tendonitis does not get better with use, so rest, ice, and anti-inflammatory drugs are the only cure. When you walk, do not go to the breaking point; you will just have to sit down again. Taxis and buses can keep you on schedule, so do the 10km, then ride.

 

[jsalt]

I agree 100% with falcon, the only cure for tendonitis is rest. (I had a serious case earlier this year and made it worse by trying to keep walking.) If the pain starts after only 1 km, get a bus or taxi. It will get better as the days proceed, but only if you give the inflammation a chance to heal itself by resting it.

 

[SYates]

You also need to drink a lot (water! ;-) ) and yes, lots of rest with elevated feet is important. Hope you get well soon, SY

 

[Icacos]

You have my sympathy, Ruth. On Day 21 of my Camino, in Carriόn de los Condes, I was diagnosed with tendinitis (lower shin) and told to take the bus to Leόn and rest there for five days. At the end of five days I continued, with extreme discomfort, to Villar de Mazarife, a distance of 22.2 k (according to Brierley). The next day I made it to Hospital de Orbigo (14.1), again with extreme discomfort, Murias de Rechiveldo the following day, and Rabanal del Camino the day after. Like you, I was very concerned about the future of my Camino.

Round about this time, I met a very generous couple from Alberta, Canada. The wife took pity on me and offered me a good portion of some of her prescription medicine (a topical cream) that had worked well for her and that she and her husband both swore by. I know that one is not supposed to take someone else’s prescription meds, but I was on the Camino and “normal rules don’t apply” so I gratefully accepted their help. Within three days, at least by the time I got to Acebo, my tendinitis was completely cleared up. I finished my Camino in forty days but I did not carry my pack after Leόn, and depended entirely on Jacotrans for transport of that.

As I recall, the medicine was Voltarin, 8%. Perhaps you could go to a farmacia and plead your case; I found the staff in the farmacias always very helpful, and they might be able to give you some anti-inflammatory ointment. I know from my own experience that it is possible to get over-the-counter meds in Spain where one would need a prescription here in Canada. However, a word of advice: Please see the following thread on this forum, as some persons are allergic to Voltarin. http://www.caminodesantiago.me/comm...Compostela+(Camino+de+Santiago+de+Compostela)

I wish you all the best; I can just imagine what you are going through. Think positive thoughts! And I will send positive thoughts your way too. Hang in there, and let us know how you make out. Best regards to Leόn – it’s a neat place to hang out (rest). Charleen

 

[PMSLAW]

My wife and I walked SJPdP to Santiago this last April/May. I began experiencing terrible tendinitis just before Lyon. I "toughed it out" with NSAIDs, and compression, because I didn't appreciate the seriousness of the situation, and its a "guy thing" to just soldier on. 5 days after my return to the States my posterior tibial tendon ruptured (complete) while I was walking across my office! You could have heard the "pop" in the next room. Surgery followed.
We are planning to walk the Portugese next April/May, but in the meantime I have learned two things: Listen to your body, and the Camino does take care of its Pilgrims! (Even foolish 61 year old ones)
Peace and Buen Camino. Pete

 

[Icacos]

Hi, it’s Charleen again. While we are on the subject of tendinitis, I might mention that when I got back from my Camino this spring I saw my physiotherapist about my shoulder which had been bothering me from the very start of my Camino at SJPP (well before the tendinitis set in) and continued to bother me even after I got home. It turns out, according to my physio, that my shoulder muscles were not working right, which caused me to shift my shoulder downwards because of the weight of my pack, which in turn did something to my hip, which did something to my leg where the tendinitis eventually developed.

I am 60 years old, and believe me, I trained for months with an increasingly heavier pack prior to embarking on my Camino, but it took the Camino’s daily rigours to bring out these latent problems. It seems I should have visited my physio to have my gait checked even before I started to train.

 

[peregrina2000]

Round about this time, I met a very generous couple from Alberta, Canada. The wife took pity on me and offered me a good portion of some of her prescription medicine (a topical cream) that had worked well for her and that she and her husband both swore by. I know that one is not supposed to take someone else’s prescription meds, but I was on the Camino and “normal rules don’t apply” so I gratefully accepted their help. Within three days, at least by the time I got to Acebo, my tendinitis was completely cleared up. I finished my Camino in forty days but I did not carry my pack after Leόn, and depended entirely on Jacotrans for transport of that.

As I recall, the medicine was Voltarin, 8%.

Voltaren cream is sold in every pharmacy in Spain and does not require a prescription (even though the box may indicate otherwise). I always bring a tube or two home from the camino because it has done wonders for all sorts of aches, pains, and inflammations for me and my family over the years. I believe it is now approved for sale in the US but requires a prescription -- for years it was available in the US but only for use on animals.

If the problem is tendonitis, I echo others' recommendations of icing (I frequently ice as prevention, bars are very happy to fill up my plastic bag as I sit and have a drink after my walk), and elevation also helps. Asphalt walking is EVIL!!!! I once read someone's comment that it is impossible to get tendonitis walking on uneven unpaved paths because it's the force of the constant repetitive foot strike that creates the problem. Even if this is an extreme and incorrect generalization, the core of truth there is that pavement is a potent contributor to tendonitis.

And of course it goes without saying that you should listen to your body and decide whether you're pushing it to dangerous levels.

p.s. hope things are going well for you, Ruth!

 

[ktchnofdngr]

Thank you, all, for your advice. I am enjoying my stay here in Leon, and am working on removing weight from my pack in the hopes that it will make walking more bearable. I will also look into the cream before I leave here, and have decided to skip ahead to O'Cebriero and finish my Camino from there. That means walking less than 15 km most days, although it looks like I have no choice but to do 20 km my next to last day on the Camino (santa Irene to Monte Gozo), since there aren't any albergues in the interim. That is almost 2 weeks from now (assuming my plan doesn't fall apart again, and we all know how that works on the Camino, my worst day will be sept 19), so hopefully I will have healed enough to handle it. I have thought about skipping on to Sarria, but my guide seems to show that stopping every 10-11 km isn't possible on a 25 euro/day budget...(lavacolla is 40€\night, for instance). Doing anything else will remove the little bit of reserve that I have, and, while I have trip insurance, they reimburse me, so I need that in case I have to see a doctor again. Even with the injury, I wish I could stay on the Camino forever!

Ruth

 

[Nadine le Roux]

Howdy from Leon, all. I am currently about one week into my Camino from Burgos, and after taking the train from Sahagun to Leon today, found out from the doctor that I have tendonitis. It seems to be a mild case, but I'm currently on rest and he told me that, after my rest is over, I shouldn't walk more than 10km per day. Does anyone have experience with walking after getting tendonitis, and if so, how set in stone is the above distance? It doesn't look possible to stick to ~10 km per day and stay in albergues all the time (although under 15 km seems to work). I will be kicking around Leon at least until the 8th, so any help with deciding whether to attempt going further or to fly home would be nice.

Thanks!


Hi. Maybe I'm particularly stubborn. I had tendonitis in both legs. I took anti inflammatories and ibufen 5%. I did not rest. I just kept walking mindfully. I didn't have ankles until just before Santiago. I'm not saying that this is right for everyone. But we ended up averaging 27km per day. And we walked from SJPdP. Enjoy your walk. You realise you can do anything. xxx

 

[dmantony]

Ruth,
I am so sorry for your situation. Heed all of the good advice you have been given and I will keep you in my prayers.

This brings up a question I have has. If I arrive in a town by taxi or bus am I still allowed to get a stamp and stay in an albergue?
Deborah

 

[kathrynwb]

You can buy Voltaren cream in North America from Amazon.com. Good luck!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

If I arrive in a town by taxi or bus am I still allowed to get a stamp and stay in an albergue?

In some cases, yes. Private albergues are not particular, so head for them. Some xunta and parochial albergues can be particular.

 

[unadara]

. I will also look into the cream before I leave here,
Ruth
I would advise get the cream now and use at least 3 times a day, massage also helps, and ice 3 times a day too. You can buy Voltaren patches in some farmacias (I got them twice) these you use like plasters, are slow release, and work really well. Many people I walked with suffered, many took ibubrufen every day to prevent pain, or just brufen, the farmacias are brilliant, only in one place did someone get a "homeopathic" cream which in everyone's !!opinion wasn't worth using.
Walking too far and too fast causes injury, If you can slow down, take more rest breaks, some transport you should be able to move on.
Hope all goes well. I have lovely photos of kinesiology tape used by a therapist (on me) on my first camino trip (in Rabanal-wonderful place El Pilar ?).

 

[Vicky Hunter]

I feel your pain... You don't mention where the tendonitis is - but I'm guessing the shins because that is quite common on the Camino. I reached a very low point in May, where it was so cold and I had such terrible shin splints. I also considered going home. For the shin splints you have to rest (I literally lay on a hotel bed for a whole day, rubbing in Voltaren and taking Ibrufen. I also discovered a yoga stretch that I am convinced played a significant part in getting rid of the splints. Standing with your feet together, lift your arms up over your head so that fingers touch (stretch to the sky - like you're forming a steeple), then, keeping your heels on the ground, bend your knees as far as you can before your heels start lifting. I did that stretch every half hour or so. I hope that your tendonitis goes away and that you can enjoy the rest of your journey unencumbered by it!

 

[PEI_Heather]

Hi Ruth,
I'm sorry you are enduring tendinitis--it's an overuse condition that hangs on and continues to exacerbate until you rest the area that is inflammed. The standard treatment for tendinitis is RICE (rest, ice, compression and elevation). One thing about the ice: DON'T put an ice bag/pack directly on your skin. You can burn (frostbite) the area very easily, so always put a tea towel or something like that between your skin and the ice. (Ice 15 minutes on, 15 minutes off; do this three times but end up with the ice. Ice as often as you can during the day.) After a few days of completely resting your injured area, gently move it through its full range of motion to maintain joint flexibility you don't end up with stiffness in your joints. It's also important to stretch before and after your walking, especially with tendinitis. You actually didn't mention where it is: achilles tendon? Knee? Any of the tendons in the calf? One leg or two? If only one, then you probably have some compensation happening (one side of your pack is heavier, for example; you have one leg that is much longer than the other--everyone has a longer leg but usually not too noticeable). Maybe another thing you can do, until you get to Santiago, is to send your pack forward, and only carry what you need on the day? And I would listen to the doctor's recommendation of only walking 10 km a day. That will ensure you'll have lots of rest time when you are not walking.
(I've been a Registered Massage Therapist since 1994 and have treated a lot of overuse injuries, such as tendinitis in that time.)
Good luck, Ruth! You'll get there; just take it easy on your body!

 

[Rebekah Scott]

I saw Ruth in the Sahagun train station, smiling right through the pain. I can attest to her real "Can-Do" attitude!
Keep up the good work, peregrina, and drink TONS of water!

 

[p3nny]

After twice taking over 10 hours to walk 17-19 kms, my aching knee finally screamed ENOUGH in Navarette. I stayed two nights at El Cantaro in Navarette, then taxied to Burgos. My husband will arrive in Burgos from Canada today (our 3 month wedding anniversary) and we were to finish the Camino together. The doctor in the new Burgos hospital ordered 3 full days off my knee. I had to be pushed in a wheel chair. Yup. It's that bad. Here I sit in Hostal Lar, and I'm so very sad. Sure need some straight talking from Camino Forum friends. I'm scared and weepy. So very unlike me.

 

[mspath]

After twice taking over 10 hours to walk 17-19 kms, my aching knee finally screamed ENOUGH in Navarette. I stayed two nights at El Cantaro in Navarette, then taxied to Burgos. My husband will arrive in Burgos from Canada today (our 3 month wedding anniversary) and we were to finish the Camino together. The doctor in the new Burgos hospital ordered 3 full days off my knee. I had to be pushed in a wheel chair. Yup. It's that bad. Here I sit in Hostal Lar, and I'm so very sad. Sure need some straight talking from Camino Forum friends. I'm scared and weepy. So very unlike me.

p3nny,

I am sorry to learn of your troubles. Many, many pilgrims suffer from tendinitis over the years. It is good that you did see a doctor; do follow his advice. Below are some past Forum threads for you to scan for varied suggestions on what to do, what not to do and how to slowly feel better. One simple helpful suggestion is to always remember to drink lots of water throughout the day.

See >> http://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/tendonitis.20306/
and
http://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/tendinitis-experience-thoughts-and-tips.14395/

Try to relax, rest and let nature take her course.

Margaret Meredith

 

[p3nny]

Thank you for this. As long as the iffy wifi connection holds, I will check this out.
I know I can take only one moment at a time, but I sit here alone worried that this might be the end of my Camino. Not the worst thing, but the possibility sits heavily on my heart. I blessed every single peregrino/peregrina I passed from my taxi. How I wish my feet were on the path.
I'll read your links. Thank you again.
~Penny

 

[p3nny]

Thank you for your wishes and for sharing your story with me. Soon after you responded, my husband of three months (quite a way to celebrate a honeymoon!) arrived in Burgos. Then WiFi down for good. I'm still on my back, but now I'm in Leon with my husband and WiFi. Ahhhh, guilty pleasures.
My Camino is not at all what I'd planned or hoped for: two trips to the hospital, X-rays and blood tests for infection and a possible blood clot (none, thank God), crutches that I am ridiculously poor on, and more prescribed bed rest. Will I ever be able to walk any more of the Camino?
However, I'm learning to let go. Thirteen years ago, I travelled solo to India. I learned strength. I felt I could and should make my way as one tough-minded, independent, post-divorce-with-three-kids Gal. The Camino has taught me respect for my body, how one can be strong during vulnerability, and how to accept the many blessings from strangers. The Camino has also allowed me to really see another dimension of my husband. We've known one another for 14 years, but his selfless attention to me at the expense of walking his own Camino is, well, I'm at a loss to explain....
I apologize for the length and my emotion, but I am one changed woman after having walked only from SJPdP to Navarette. I'm not sure what's ahead. The physiotherapist is seeing me at 2. Yet, it almost doesn't matter. I am stupidly happy and peaceful.
God bless.
~Penny

 

[Deleted member 3000]

You will be successful! You mention that you walked for ten hours to cover 17 to 19 km. To succeed, stop walking at the five to six hour mark regardless of the distance covered. I think you simply overworked your body, then kept pressing it. I have maladies too numerous to mention, but I have learned to quit. After six hours, if I ask myself if I can go on, the answer is usually "yes." Then I ask myself "why keep going?" Unless I have a really good answer to that question, I quit. The less driven you are to accomplish a goal, the more likely you are to attain it. "There is a lot of 'quit' in that boy!" Be one of us...

 

[ktchnofdngr]

Hey, all!

I just wanted to update you and let you know that I got my compostela on the 19th, and am now home, contemplating when I can go back and do the whole thing. I am currently hoping to do so in honor of my 40th birthday in 3 years, but we shall see how things stack up. Thanks for your advice, prayers, and well wishes!

(If you saw me at the pilgrims office on the nineteenth, I was the one that started to bawl after getting my Compostela that morning!)

Blessings,

Ruth