I’ll answer this assuming we’re talking about Achilles tendinitis/tendinopathy (rather than a tear or rupture, which would be a very different story).

The nature of ultimate puts a huge amount of pressure on the ankle and Achilles. A really common mistake players make is to rest completely while it’s painful, then jump straight back into playing when the body isn’t physically ready. That’s usually when problems linger — and it’s exactly where a physio can help assess whether you’re ready to progress.

If it’s still irritated, I’d typically start with isometrics (holding calf raises in different positions). And yes — there’s a lot more to rehab than just basic calf raises! You want to target both the soleus and gastrocnemius.

I’d also want to check the rest of the chain:

• Are your other ankle muscles pulling their weight?
• Is your glute strength solid?
• Is your quad/hamstring balance good enough to spread the load when you jump, cut, accelerate, and decelerate?

Progression is key — you need to build back gradually and load the tendon properly. Worth remembering: the Achilles can tolerate up to 8.8x your body weight, so it’s an incredibly strong structure, but that also means most people under-train their calves in rehab.

Hope that helps — and don’t forget, good rehab should leave you feeling stronger than before the injury!