Take the load off your feet: how to deal with achilles tendinopathy

http://gu.com/p/42nm9
Interesting, although it is written for runners. The symptoms reflect my experience over the last few years. I experience stiffness when I get up, from sleep or long periods of sitting. Doctor can I have a note excusing me from marking?
I do various exercises to build load bearing limit in my calfs, as instructed by the physio.
Winter has worsened it over the last two years. Perhaps the cold mimics the same mechanism as sitting still- circulation.