Heel Pain

I'm not medically qualified in any way, but it *could* be plantar fasciatis. Sounds very similar to the symptoms that I suffered from as a result of the wrong kind of training shoes. Best to consult a medical bod of some sort, but you could google it in the meantime, there are some stretches that can help.

Ultimately what cured it for me was a combination of 'proper' (appropriate, fitted at a running shop) trainers, and time.

sounds a lot like plantar fasiatis... or a bone spur .... I have both... and it came on really suddenly with me a year ago as well... it feels like the back of the heel is coming apart from the bone and the pain underneath unbearable... especially upon waking and walking became excruitiating... an xray and ultrasound will confirm it immediately !!! good luck

Oh yes mam!!! Planters. Doctors will tell you stretch and wear non-flexible shoes - no sandals. Right. I had it for months, very painful to the point of tears at times. Believe it or not, I took a trip to Universal Studios. Didn't know how I was going to do all the walking. But something happened on the trip. I think I snapped the ligament or tendon and it went away as quickly as it came. Doctors can perform surgery (just heard that some pro football player was scheduled for the surgery, but then his snapped on it's own during practice). I think that is what happened to mine. Good luck. I know how painful it can be!!!

I have had plantar fachiitis and it is painful and take a long time to heal. My doc told me to stretch the affected area and warned that it would take time. It feels like stepping on a stone over and over again.

I had plantar fasciitis, and it sounds alot like what you are describing. I finally went to an ortho, who prescribed custom orthotics. After wearing them for a week, the pain went away! Now I only have pain if I don't wear my orthotic one day or walk around barefoot all day.

My husband is an avid runner and had the same problem; turned out it was plantar fasciitis with a bone spur. His ortho doc gave him some 40.00 orthotics (Redi-Thotics) and ordered him to rest it until pain subsided (in his case several weeks), then resume running gradually with the orthotics, and that worked out well for him. That was in April but he's been able to train as scheduled for the half-marathon next month. On his own (the doc didn't tell him to), he also chooses to wear a plantar brace (pic url below) when he's lounging because it feels good.

Agree with others here that urge you to see a doctor; husband was trying to run through it because he has the Crazy Runner Gene but was making it considerably worse. Your down time will probably be shorter if you address it quickly without waiting.

http://www.assistireland.ie/uploadedfiles/Product_Images/Orthoses/Lower_Limb/Plantar_FXT_Night_Brace_(HCA)_9223.jpg

I have the same thing. I did go see two doctors... first of which said it was a heel spur and the second (more than a year later) said plantar fasciitis. She gave me exercises to do and told me that I can wear the night brace and they were going to order custom orthotics for my shoes... but I wear high heel shoes almost every day to work... I really wasn't into trying to fit an orthotic into my dress shoes. So she gave me options -- work it out with the exercises or we can go to surgery if that doesn't work.

I was extremely lazy with the exercises on my foot.... and then I started eating ground flaxseed and chia seed on a regular basis (daily)... 1 ounce of ground flaxseed and 1/2 ounce (12 grams actually) of chia seeds... after a couple weeks of that, my pain is gone unless I miss 2 days in a row... I have been telling everyone I know. This worked miracles for me!

Yes, I can still feel it if I walk around in flip-flops all day long... but other than that, no pain whatsoever in my foot!

See a doctor!

I agree with all of the above. Again as others, I'm not in medical field.

I've suffered from heel spurs for a long time now. I used to get shots in my heels regularly ( would have to have it twice, two weeks apart, to be effective, but it would wear off), but now I've learned to just deal with the pain. It's not bad enough for surgery, so these are my choices.

It helps to understand what is going on. The muscle along the bottom of your foot is wrapped around the spur. It is not the spur sticking down that hurts, but rather that your muscle is stretching further than it should. It is like any other muscle that when you overuse it or overstretch it, it will get sore and contract. What happens is when you sleep, the muscle contracts, relaxes, gets shorter. So when you stand first thing in the morning, it stretches back out. The pain you feel is your muscle being stretched out beyond the norm.

So when they refer to stretching in the above posts, what they mean is to stretch out that muscle along the bottom of your foot by pulling your toes back toward your shin. If you do this before you stand up in the morning, it helps.

As you walk throughout the day, your muscle stretches back out and that is why it is hurting less. However, because of the spur, it is stretching further than it would normally.

Yes, correct shoes and/or inserts help too.

For me, I limit myself to no more than 2 hours a day on my feet (my personal limit). If I do more than that, I cannot walk well the next day. When I exercise, it is no impact.

Of course, having a family that understands and a hubby that likes to rub my feet also helps.

I hope this info is of help to you.