Adarq.org

why not start with something like couch to 5k, where you intersperse walking with jogging at first?

also, dry needling is wild. my n=1 is that it is extremely effective at resolving referred pain. wish i'd thought of it last fall when i was getting those posture headaches (like i did the other day). something to seek out whenever the lockdown is over. no idea how it'd work for something as severe as what you have, or why the PT thinks it'd help fix your achilles, but i guess he's prescribing it for a reason.

Maybe not 5k but I think that's a good idea. Rather than doing 200's I should do something like 800s that will force me to keep the speed in check since I've got a natural inclination to push the speed.

The dry needling was cool. A shock at first and some weird sensations but something I would definitely do again.

Walked 8km
My calves felt good apart from when I was walking up hills.

Podiatrist today.
I got the shock wave therapy on my Achilles as usual. The concerning thing was that the Podiatrist said my heel was swollen and was concerned about the lack of progress. He suggested that I have an ultrasound and wrote me a referral. I  told him that I 'd already had one done 12 months ago and showed him the results of my previous ultrasound. He said I should get another one because he said that I might have Retrocalcaneal bursitis. I'm going to have another ultrasound done. If I do have the bursitis I will be angry (I already was) because that means I got misdiagnosed and wasted hundreds of dollars on this therapy for nothing. The treatment for Retrocalcaneal bursitis is surgery where they shave off part of your heel bone. In another way I'll be happy because at least I'll know the ACTUAL problem and can finally get it fixed. I was supposed to get the Orthotic today but I said to the Podiatrist that I'm not paying for the Orthotic and not taking it until I get the correct diagnosis for my injury. He wasn't too happy about that, but I'm not too happy about potentially being misdiagnosed. If I do have bursitis it's extremely disappointing that neither the Physios or Podiatrists diagnosed it properly as they were too busy making $$$ of 'treatment'.

Edit- I've been seriously contemplating quitting rugby league and just starting boxing once I finally get to the bottom of my leg injury. With my age and history of hamstring problems my playing days are coming to an end anyway. Boxing would be good just for self defence and staying in shape. I'm a competitive person and if I do start training I do have the aim of having a few amatuer fights at light heavyweight (81kg) once I lose some weight and see how I go. Not like I have model looks to protect haha

Good on you for standing up for yourself. Too often these guys get something completely wrong and we're the people who pay for it.

Boxing would be interesting. You sure you need more head damage after all those years of rugby Actually only half joking. All this CTE and concussion stuff is pretty scary.

Thanks Coges. I know it sounds cynical but to me the whole orthotic process felt like a scam. As I've had this injury for a long time I've done a lot of reading and found there was mixed reviews about the effectiveness of orthotics.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/expensive-orthotics-no-better-than-a-sham-review-finds-20180331-p4z788.html

"In a recent review, the findings of which were published this month in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, researchers from Denmark and the Netherlands looked at 20 papers on orthotics and found no evidence for their effectiveness over a placebo.

The combined studies showed “foot orthoses [were] not superior for improving pain and function compared with [a] sham,” the researchers wrote".

If I had plantar fasciitis I could understand the option of orthotics. However, I have an achilles/heel issue so there's no reason why I should have even been prescribed orthotics in the first place...except for them to make money.

With regards to the boxing I'm not concerned about CTE and concussion. I have only had one serious concussion from rugby. I'm only planning on doing the boxing recreationally. As long as they don't throw me to the wolves and get me sparring against people out of my league I think the damage would be minimal at best. 

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNBocrZq0X0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNBocrZq0X0</a>

x2 on the orthotics. I got some through a physio nearly 20 years ago. Completely fucked up my feet.

On the boxing front, if you're not sparring too hard then all good. If you're planning on fighting then you'll have to spar a decent amount. Just something to keep in mind.

I've been lazy in the past week. I did some exercise today though.

Walk-
4.5km

Jogged-
2x200m @ 30 second speed with 200m walk back recovery. No pain at all so we'll see how my left achilles pulls up tomorrow.

Mate I follow this guy on IG and caught a few of his posts over the weekend. If you can't visit a gym right now he does some great at home tutorials for boxing.

https://www.instagram.com/frankboxingcoach/

Thanks Coges I'll start following.

also this

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qo5SLpuGt_Q" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qo5SLpuGt_Q</a>