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Heel pain - PF? (Read 1080 times)

Slice


    I woke up with bottom of foot tenderness Sunday. Pretty much all the contact points with the ground other than the ball of my foot and toes. I took Sunday & Monday off & it was mostly better it so I did an easy 4 miler yesterday. It's killing me today, but the pain is in my heel. It is worst at the very back of my heel. Could this be a heel spur or PF? I have a race on Sunday and I feel like it would be pointless to see a doctor at this point

    I don't half-ass anything

     

    "I have several close friends who have run marathons, a word that is actually derived from two Swahili words: mara, which means 'to die a horrible death' and thon, which means 'for a stupid T-shirt.' Look it up." - Celia Rivenbark, You Can't Drink All Day if You Don't Start in the Morning

     

    Franc Karpo


      Kunland... I know how you feel. PF can be nasty. I has a very serious bout with it for 5 months last year. One of the causes of PF is tight calf muscles. I tried all the usual treatments. Nothing worked for me until I discovered the Footlog. You can read all about this on our PF page:

      http://www.distance-running-tips.com/running-and-foot-pain.html

       

      Good luck!

      Franc

        I woke up with bottom of foot tenderness Sunday. Pretty much all the contact points with the ground other than the ball of my foot and toes. I took Sunday & Monday off & it was mostly better it so I did an easy 4 miler yesterday. It's killing me today, but the pain is in my heel. It is worst at the very back of my heel. Could this be a heel spur or PF? I have a race on Sunday and I feel like it would be pointless to see a doctor at this point

        Kunland:

         

        As a matter of fact, as far as I'm concerned it's pointless to race this Sunday at this point.  I know you've had some foot issue before.  It seems to me you tend to keep on running with a bad foot and your foot never has a chance to heal.  I would STRONGLY suggest you take some time off, go see a professional, no self-diagnosis or on-line crap-shooting diagnosis, and clear up your issue once and for all.  That way, your experience with running is a happier one.

        Slice


          Nobby, I know that I need to rest & I HATE it. Not that it makes anything better, but it's the foot that has been good all along that's hurting. The other one is fine now. Gotta love the irony. I really wish I enjoyed cycling & the elliptical. :/ I'm not sure if I'll do my race Sunday or not. I'm sick & tired of being sick & tired.

          I don't half-ass anything

           

          "I have several close friends who have run marathons, a word that is actually derived from two Swahili words: mara, which means 'to die a horrible death' and thon, which means 'for a stupid T-shirt.' Look it up." - Celia Rivenbark, You Can't Drink All Day if You Don't Start in the Morning

           

            Nobby, I know that I need to rest & I HATE it. Not that it makes anything better, but it's the foot that has been good all along that's hurting. The other one is fine now. Gotta love the irony. I really wish I enjoyed cycling & the elliptical. :/ I'm not sure if I'll do my race Sunday or not. I'm sick & tired of being sick & tired.

            Most probably your "other" foot was overworking to compensate the bad foot.  I would suggest you check your body's alignment to make sure you are balanced.  Stand in front of a wall and have your hubby take a look and see if one side of your shoulders is lower or higher than the other.  That's a sign that, most likely, your hip is tilted.  Once you find that out....well, what you do from there, good luck with that!! ;o)

            Kerry1976


            Master of the Side Eye

              Most probably your "other" foot was overworking to compensate the bad foot.  

               

              That was exactly my thought as well. Don't let this get too far past or you may have to take a much longer break than you would like. I have had PF for a year now and it is nothing to mess around with, but even if that isn't what you have, you do not want to make an injury worse.

              TRUST THE PROCESS

               

               

               

                I had the 'curse' of PF starting last Aug on one of my feet.     I went to the Dr and in fact he diagnosed it as PF but the odd part is that my right side is "out of line", while my left side is very "well aligned" and it was the left foot that started to hurt and eventually laid me up (you would think the right side which is so out of line would be where my problems would be).   My Podiatrist said that its very common to have one side of your body out of line and often you'll overcompensate on your 'good side' and that is where you will have your pain and issues. 

                 

                LISTEN TO NOBBY..........Big grin.....He will give you good advice......

                 

                We all hate to take time off but PF is nothing to fool around with.....it more like a running 'curse' than a running injury.  

                 

                You need to know for sure what the problem is and don't let a bunch of internet 'hacks' like me diagnose your problem and give you solutions becasue we'll likely make your issue worse...

                 

                FWIW, my PF was solved by Strapping my foot,  (this is one example - but here are many other ways to strap your foot for PF),  taking Aleve to relieve the pain (for a while), taking about 6 weeks off of running.      Then for a period of time I wore some over the counter orthotics in my running shoes after I started back up and it relieved the stress on my PF (I was hesitate but it worked).

                 

                Then after reading BORN TO RUN (while I was laid up), I started running at least 50% of the time in minimal shoes (Adidas AdiZero Racing Flats)....

                 

                Over a period of a few months some combination of all the above worked for me and i now run pain free......BUT THAT BEING SAID  - None of this may work for you and all of it might work for you.........

                 

                Your first stop your DR office for some professional advice and then you can take it from there.......

                 

                BTW - My Dr said I could do anything I wanted to do as long as one foot touched the ground....I could walk, elliptical, ride a bike or what ever,  just not run for about 4 to 6 weeks....

                Champions are made when no one is watching

                Biking Bad


                finnegan begin again

                  I developed PF 1 week prior to the Monkey. I was doing a lot of hill training, up and down. I ran the Monkey. I am just now returning to running.

                  Be cautious.

                  "... the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value..."  Thomas Paine Dec 23, 1776 The Crisis 

                   

                  Adversity is the first path to truth. Lord Byron

                   

                  "No one plans to fail…..they fail to plan" Skinny Pete

                  Slice


                    As usual, Nobby and the rest of y'all have great insight. The theory about my alignment sent me to the chiropractor today. My S-joint (basically hips) was way out of whack. He said that the misalignment has likely been causing my right foot pain which has likely led to my left foot pain. He also said that from where I said the pain is he doesn't believe it's PF. I sincerely hope he's right and have a podiatrist appointment on Tuesday to try to get myself straightened out once and for all.

                    I don't half-ass anything

                     

                    "I have several close friends who have run marathons, a word that is actually derived from two Swahili words: mara, which means 'to die a horrible death' and thon, which means 'for a stupid T-shirt.' Look it up." - Celia Rivenbark, You Can't Drink All Day if You Don't Start in the Morning

                     

                      As usual, Nobby and the rest of y'all have great insight. The theory about my alignment sent me to the chiropractor today. My S-joint (basically hips) was way out of whack. He said that the misalignment has likely been causing my right foot pain which has likely led to my left foot pain. He also said that from where I said the pain is he doesn't believe it's PF. I sincerely hope he's right and have a podiatrist appointment on Tuesday to try to get myself straightened out once and for all.

                      I struggled with a bad case of Achilles tendonitis for at least 3 years--to the point where I thought I'd have to have a surgery.  It appeared to have come from the alignment issue.  Lorraine (Moller) fixed it for me (by talking to my subconscious...that's a whole different story...!) and, along with several other factors, it is COMPLETELY clear now.  Every little thing we get has the origin; the cause.  It may be around the area of the actual issue; but it could also be somewhere completely different.  IF the cause of your foot pain is originated in the alignment issue, you can work on your foot, change lacing system, maybe get some stability shoes or something; but you'll continue to have something along the way all the time because the actual cause is still there.

                      Slice


                        I managed to get in with my podiatrist today. He didn't have a solid diagnosis but said it's probably very early stages of  PF and possibly a heel spur. He gave me a steroid pack and again suggested orthotics because of my high arches. I may break down and actually try them since the Dr keeps insisting. And I'm going to either take some time off from running or drastically cut back until the first of the year. Maybe I'll even start applying myself at work instead of ducking out early to run every day. Joking

                         

                        Nobby, thanks again for the tip about my hips. You were spot on. I feel like I'm on the right track to figuring out what the heck is going on.

                        I don't half-ass anything

                         

                        "I have several close friends who have run marathons, a word that is actually derived from two Swahili words: mara, which means 'to die a horrible death' and thon, which means 'for a stupid T-shirt.' Look it up." - Celia Rivenbark, You Can't Drink All Day if You Don't Start in the Morning

                         

                        juniordo1


                           

                          FWIW, my PF was solved by Strapping my foot,  (this is one example - but here are many other ways to strap your foot for PF)... taking about 6 weeks off of running...Then for a period of time I wore some over the counter orthotics in my running shoes after I started back up and it relieved the stress on my PF (I was hesitate but it worked).

                           

                           

                           

                          I am just coming off 8 weeks of almost no running. I had PF and the doc said it became a "stress reaction"(whatever that means) in my heel. Stretching, exercises, deep tissue massge, ice, heat, PT, calf/lower leg rolling all helped temporarily but I didn't realize any long term relief until...

                           

                          The PT K-taped my foot for PF. I went from barely being able to walk to no pain at all. After two weeks of K-taping, I began strapping the arch in a similar manner as the video, but using K-tape. I am now able to stand/walk all day at work and I can run again!. There is still some occasional pain after removing the tape but now the stretching and massage can work it out relatively quickly.

                           

                          I'm optimistic I can resolve this issue to a point where I don't ever need to tape.

                           

                          A new pair of GT-2170's hasn't impeded my recovery either.

                          2013 -Sub 2:00 for 1/2 marathon

                            Most probably your "other" foot was overworking to compensate the bad foot.  I would suggest you check your body's alignment to make sure you are balanced.  Stand in front of a wall and have your hubby take a look and see if one side of your shoulders is lower or higher than the other.  That's a sign that, most likely, your hip is tilted.  Once you find that out....well, what you do from there, good luck with that!! ;o)

                             

                            I agree with Nobby on the alignment issue and working on balance as it can solve so many of our aches and pains.  I had PF issues pretty much the entire year and my performances were crappy.  I tried to ignore, take a few days off, maybe a week or just mask it with some taped arches and race through it.  It was a disaster.

                             

                            Definitely do the simple test to see if your shoulders are level.  And consider looking into options to improve alignment.

                            Another factor you have to deal with is the pain in PF and workout the damage that already exists.  I'm a new advocate of Graston technique as it got through the adheshions in my feet and calves and got me through a rough patch and now I'm working on rebuilding and strengthening my feet and ankles by similar ways Phidippides did.  I don't want orthotics or super shoes to try to correct.  I want to do it the right way and already feeling improvements.  My next step is to work on and my alignment and preventative measure to keep these issues away.  I still wobble when trying to stand on one foot, so that tells me something still off.

                             

                            After all this blabber, the biggest thing that got me through the hump was REST.  You need a clean slate so you can have something to start with.    It's hard to stop training even when we're injured but how far do you want to dig a hole?  Only gets harder to get out.  I refuse to lose another year to half-ass training and crappy racing times.

                             

                            This time I'm going the route the others are suggesting.  

                            Venomized


                            Drink up moho's!!

                              PF is slow to heel as that part of the foot gets little blood flow.  Stretch and ice it.  I have been trying to stretch the foot out in the morning before getting out of bed.  Some days I am forced to take some ibuprofen in the morning to get over the discomfort until I get it stretched out more during the day.

                               

                              I have been dealing with it since early April but have not had to take more than a few days here and there off for it, ran 5 marathons this year as well with the GDMFing PF.

                                Does anybody know what kind of tape she used on her foot in this foot strap video? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4FX8x2CFLQ

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