[Texas Aggie]

Welcome to my world, though it hasn't been enough of a problem to keep me out of action. I have had mild tendinitis in my Achilles almost my entire officiating career.

I can only comment on what I do. It sounds as if your case is a bit more severe than mine. I went to black running shoes to wear on the court. I think they've helped a lot. I also got a stretcher that I keep in my bag sometimes. Its a half circle piece of plastic that has a place for your shoe. Use it to roll your foot backwards to get a good stretch.

Warm up seems to be very important as I'm getting older. Maybe you can get a piece of home exercise equipment like a bike or elliptical and use that everyday in the morning. I'm of the view that once your muscles are warmed up during the day, that doesn't go completely away. Even if your game is at 7, 30 minutes on the bike in the morning followed by a quicker warm up at night is much better than a slightly longer but incomplete warm up before the game. I don't think many of us really have the time or facilities to properly warm up for our games unless we do a half or 3/4 jog for the first period. I've also gone to the heel supports by McDavid. I think they've helped some too.

Finally, when you get home, ice, ice, and more ice. Ice is your new best friend. Use it liberally and often.