Broken heel/torn Achilles from TC pros

Looking for some advice on what to do about a new Achilles pain I’m experiencing.

My situation is I got a new pair of TC pros over the winter, broke them in a little bit, and then intended to wear them for some long Yosemite days including some Dolt runs and a NIAD this spring. 

I wore them on 2 Dolt runs and after the first one felt some pain in my left Achilles. The second time I was experiencing a lot of pain while climbing and at the top, I was in a lot of pain and my left foot was spasming. No good! So I did some research and found a few suggestions to use a razor blade to cut the rand. I tried that and it did seem to release some tension. Next use was on the NIAD, where I wore them for half the route and it was the same pain and spasms when I took them off.

It has been 2 weeks since then and I have been mostly resting. There is a low level pain during activity, and pain when I put pressure on the area. I have only worn climbing shoes once since then, just as a test on the bouldering wall. Putting the shoes on hurt, and climbing was painful. Went on a hike to sentinel dome the other day and hiking uphill, when my ankle was flexed, felt painful.

I am wondering if anyone has any thoughts on if this is a sprain, Achilles tendinitis, or something else? Anyone experience anything like this? Or have any suggestions on recovery?

Thanks!

It sounds like heel bursitis from long days with the back of your heel compressed. I've had mild cases from uphill hiking that resolved pretty quickly (2-3 weeks) with laying off the activity and stretching. Heel Bursitis: Symptoms, Causes, & Treatment

I doubt you sprained your achilles if you don't recall a slip or something that would sharply load it.

I'd find a PT, foot/leg injuries suck.

Thanks Joe,

I will do some stretching and icing and continue to rest and hopefully it will feel better soon

I got achilles tendonitis... I believe from wearing my TC pros. Suddenly one day I couldn't move into dorsiflexion (heel down, toes up) without insane pain. So I had to stop climbing for about 6 weeks, wear a boot to walk, and do a 3 month Achilles PT program. It was surprisingly intense, all of it.... b/c there was no acute injury. After I recovered, I chucked my TC pros and got shoes with less aggressive heels. Later, I googled 'TC pros and achilles issues' and I was amazed at how many people have dealt with similar stuff. Too bad, b/c I love those shoes...

I've been having Achilles tendon pain while slab climbing with TC pros recently. At first I thought it was just the climbing style itself causing the pain, but this thread has me wondering if it's the shoes!

Achilles pain is a common complaint regarding TC Pros. I recently switched to the Yosemite Bums due to achilles pain from TC's and Miura's, but have only spent one 6 pitch day in them. The achilles did not flare up though. Usually,  the pain is most notable the morning after. Btw, I was quite happy with the comfort level and performance of the shoe otherwise.

You likely are experiencing tendinitis. Stretch your calf  by dropping your heal off the edge of the stairs for 1 minute a couple times per day. Also, use your good foot to unweight your left heel, raise it as high as you can while standing on the edge of the steps, weight and drop the heel as far as possible. 3 sets of 10 reps. Don't expect rapid results,  it can take up to 9 months to fully recover. 

I don’t have any advice about your Achilles being injured, sorry, but I used to hate TC Pros for this reason, especially when climbing in sun. Now I keep the laces much looser and I have no problems. 

You can cut the tension straps that run from the Achilles to the mid sole on you TC Pros. It will save your shoes, but it will not fix your Achilles.

Andrew Jackson wrote:

... I recently switched to the Yosemite Bums due to achilles pain from TC's and Miura's, ... The achilles did not flare up though. Usually,  the pain is most notable the morning after. Btw, I was quite happy with the comfort level and performance of the shoe otherwise.

Having worn La Sportiva and Evolv shoes, I can say that the Achilles support on Evolv shoes is much less. I don't have the YBs, but the Evolv General was / is my favorite long day shoe for this exact reason. LS shoes put a ton of pressure on my heel, but the General works pretty well, and doesn't tighten down on me too badly. It's entirely possible you've just got a higher volume heel than the TCs are designed to accommodate, so looking for a shoe that better fits would alleviate the symptoms. 

I’ve been meaning to update for a while but just got around to it. After about a month of tenderness and pain with no improvement, and more serious pain after walking, I decided to see a doctor who took an ultrasound scan and told me I have a stress fracture in my calcaneus bone and a partially torn achilles tendon. He told me that the bone spurs on the back of my heel combined with the pressure of climbing shoes for too many hours resulted in this damage. That day I got a boot to immobilize my foot and advice to rest and stay off my feet as much as possible. We scheduled another appointment in 2 months. I had a virtual visit with a second doc who said similar, although prescribed a less aggressive treatment plan.

I have been in the boot for about 7 weeks now. I sleep with it on sometimes but mostly it is really uncomfortable and cuts off circulation and I end up taking it off to fall asleep. I use arthritis cream and ice daily. I have been trying to stay off the foot but I still end up walking around a lot some days because of work. I used this time to actually learn how to hangboard, revisit old hobbies and hang out with my old and new friends doing non-climbing things, and still plenty of camping! My friends have been amazing in taking care of me and keeping me entertained.

Most days my foot still feels a bit sore at the end of the day. Before, I had a lot of pain when pressing on my heel. Now, there is still some tenderness but it is improving. My next appointment is less than a week away, and I am worried they will tell me I need to be in the boot longer. I have tentative plans for a big wall aid route this October and some desert climbing in November, pending I can heal up by then. Obviously I am aware that none of that may happen, as I already had to cancel and bail on a lot of cool plans this summer.

What I’ve learned here is that I need to be more careful when experiencing pain and not ignore it to reach my goals anyway. I am certain that most of the damage was done in those dolt runs and actually climbing the nose was painful because of the existing damage. On the plus side, I may be the first person to NIAD with a broken foot? Another highlight right now is my stoke for climbing is higher than it has ever been! I can’t wait just to get outside again. Even going for a short hike away from the road would be a dream. I am really looking forward to running, scrambling, big walls and trying really hard on the rock again!

Hopefully they tell me I can take the boot off next week and I can slowly get back to my normal activities, before introducing longer climbs again. I am really scared to wear climbing shoes and might proactively cut out the heels of shoes I plan to wear. I am also open to suggestions for shoes that don’t have as much heel tension. If anyone has experienced anything similar, please let me know as I have never heard of that level of damage just from wearing climbing shoes before, although it does make sense now. If anyone has any suggestions or advice for rehab and reintroducing myself to climbing, I would love to hear your thoughts as well.

Edited thread title to reflect injury

That sucks, but I’m glad you got a diagnosis.

Out of curiosity, did they check/mention haglunds deformity? Runners are now increasingly aware of how stiff, aggressive heel counters mess badly with some people’s feet. I wonder if an examination of climbing shoes is in order. 

Yes they did mention that and my heels definitely look similar to other pictures I’ve seen of haglunds. The doctor explained that my bone is growing more bone to “protect itself” from the pressure from climbing shoes. He said the deformation is contributing to the Achilles tear. In 6 years of climbing I have never had an issue but I will definitely be more selective about shoes in the future and will probably steer clear of tc pros, even though they do rule at a lot of the granite and multipitch climbing I enjoy.

Forgive a question from an East Coaster : what is a "dolt run"?  Because I think rock shoes aren't anything like running shoes.

Dolt tower is about a third of the way up the Nose route on El Capitan. It’s pretty common to climb to there for practice or fun. In my case I was leading the whole thing, wearing rock shoes the whole time. It’s slabby terrain and cracks, hard on the Achilles. 

I'm sorry to hear about your injury. Sounds painful and frustrating. I had a similar issue, though less severe.

I chucked my TC Pros and went to REI and tried on about 20 pairs of shoes. I decided to ignore the 'skill level' of the shoe and focus exclusively on heel pressure. I ended up going with Evolv Shaman's. They're still pretty stiff and I can wear them for hours... and they're easy on the heels. 

FYI, for rehab I went with this place. It was all by zoom -- https://www.treatmyachilles.com/

Good luck!

Just reading your thread for the first time. Sorry about your injuries.
it’s interesting to me because the last time I needed a pair of shoes, I tried on the TC Pro for the first time. I immediately rejected them because I felt the heel cup fit was too tight and that it would be hurtful to my Achilles. I own 4 other different models of La Sportiva. Since then, I’ve read other stories of people complaining about the heel fit. But as we know, lot’s of people love them so I think this is just particular to certain people’s feet. Get well soon!