Major heel pain after running
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fdlafon
Posts: 259 Member
My husband is training for his firs ever 5k and has stumbled upon an issue. A pretty serious one.
Starting about a week ago, all of a sudden, after running (actually the next day upon waking up) he has serious heel pain. Like that makes him hobble to walk. No pressure allowed on the heel type of pain.
He took a few days off from running, and thought he was ok. Ran again yesterday, and woke up today with the same excrutiating pain in the heel. He said today that even when he puts pressure on the 'ball' of his foot up by the toes, he feels pain in the heel.
Can anyone help explain this?
He has a knee issue that he has had all of his adult life, so he sees a doctor on a normal basis for this, and just saw him on Monday. Well, he didn't mention this issue, because it wasn't bothering him on Monday, but he was placed on a high dose of anti-inflammatory, and a muscle relaxer (as needed) for the knee.
I feel so bad for him. I am hoping someone may be able to help if you have experienced such a thing.
Starting about a week ago, all of a sudden, after running (actually the next day upon waking up) he has serious heel pain. Like that makes him hobble to walk. No pressure allowed on the heel type of pain.
He took a few days off from running, and thought he was ok. Ran again yesterday, and woke up today with the same excrutiating pain in the heel. He said today that even when he puts pressure on the 'ball' of his foot up by the toes, he feels pain in the heel.
Can anyone help explain this?
He has a knee issue that he has had all of his adult life, so he sees a doctor on a normal basis for this, and just saw him on Monday. Well, he didn't mention this issue, because it wasn't bothering him on Monday, but he was placed on a high dose of anti-inflammatory, and a muscle relaxer (as needed) for the knee.
I feel so bad for him. I am hoping someone may be able to help if you have experienced such a thing.
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Replies
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This sounds like plantar fasciitis. I developed a pretty nasty case of this and tendinitis and ended up in 12 weeks of PT. The only way to make the pain go away completely is to stop running (which I never did - so I wake up in pain every morning). There are lots of stretches on the internet that he can do BEFORE getting out of bed that will help with the pain. Advil works for the pain, but you don't want to get into the habit of taking it everyday.0
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It's Plantar Fasciitis, a very common running injury.
Google it for things you can do. Some of them are.
Never go barefoot, even when you first get out of bed.
Roll the foot on a frozen water bottle.
Stretch the calves.0 -
The only way to make the pain go away completely is to stop running (which I never did - so I wake up in pain every morning).
Untrue. I ran through my ART treatments at the encouragement of my doctor. If this aliment is treated properly, you don't need to shut it down completely for it to go away.
ETA:
http://activereleasetechnique.com/ <----ART, it's like magic, only real.0 -
I'm going to start off by saying that very few of us MFP'ers are doctors...
That being said, I would suggest to your husband to get his heel x-ray'ed for the possibility of a chip in the heel bone. For the time being, don't walk on it!
Other causes could be poor footwear, or simply taking on too much too quickly. But I would start with an x-ray first to rule out a chip.
Hope he gets back out there soon!0 -
Yep, plantar fasciitis..and it's horrible. I have just been recently diagnosed. I too was running and preparing for a 5k. Finally went to the podiatrist...he has me doing lots of stretches, sleeping in a boot (you can get them off the footsmart.com page), and icing in the morning and evening. Sometimes it feels better, sometimes it flares up and really hurts!
I don't want to give up running either! I have read it can take up to 4 months or longer to fully recover. I would just encourage as other posters have mentioned to do the stretches and ice. Tell him to listen to his body.... If he doesn't feel any sort of relief soon I would suggest he mention it to his doctor next visit or see a podiatrist.0 -
I doubt its a chipped heal. Save your money and skip the xray
Its sounds like Plantar, had it and had the same syptoms
Hit the physiotherapist0 -
I'm going to start off by saying that very few of us MFP'ers are doctors...
That being said, I would suggest to your husband to get his heel x-ray'ed for the possibility of a chip in the heel bone. For the time being, don't walk on it!
Other causes could be poor footwear, or simply taking on too much too quickly. But I would start with an x-ray first to rule out a chip.
Hope he gets back out there soon!
Sound advice! I had the same issue three years ago. I switched to barefoot shoes and changed my running style. The heel, knee and shin splint problems stopped. Hope he's out running soon!0 -
Yep, plantar fasciitis..and it's horrible. I have just been recently diagnosed. I too was running and preparing for a 5k. Finally went to the podiatrist...he has me doing lots of stretches, sleeping in a boot (you can get them off the footsmart.com page), and icing in the morning and evening. Sometimes it feels better, sometimes it flares up and really hurts!
I don't want to give up running either! I have read it can take up to 4 months or longer to fully recover. I would just encourage as other posters have mentioned to do the stretches and ice. Tell him to listen to his body.... If he doesn't feel any sort of relief soon I would suggest he mention it to his doctor next visit or see a podiatrist.
I had same, and the boot. Only thing that worked for me is INSOLES. I wear them all the time now, no problems at all0 -
Well, I suppose your experience is different from mine - doesn't make it untrue BTW. I was shut down for 6 months because of it. My sports doc said the only way to make it go away completely is to stop and rest it.The only way to make the pain go away completely is to stop running (which I never did - so I wake up in pain every morning).
Untrue. I ran through my ART treatments at the encouragement of my doctor. If this aliment is treated properly, you don't need to shut it down completely for it to go away.
ETA:
http://activereleasetechnique.com/ <----ART, it's like magic, only real.0 -
I had it too, I tried everything and then someone on here suggested I try accupuncture....I tried it and I've been pain free ever since, it took 6 sessions, but it was worth every needle and every dime. That was a year ago......It's actually quite relaxing and although a little uncomfortable at first, doesn't really hurt. Go into it with an open mind and expect results... Good luck. I know how much that hurts....There are braces that you can sleep in that stretches the tendons and lessens that awful morning pain.0
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Yep, plantar fasciitis..and it's horrible. I have just been recently diagnosed. I too was running and preparing for a 5k. Finally went to the podiatrist...he has me doing lots of stretches, sleeping in a boot (you can get them off the footsmart.com page), and icing in the morning and evening. Sometimes it feels better, sometimes it flares up and really hurts!
I don't want to give up running either! I have read it can take up to 4 months or longer to fully recover. I would just encourage as other posters have mentioned to do the stretches and ice. Tell him to listen to his body.... If he doesn't feel any sort of relief soon I would suggest he mention it to his doctor next visit or see a podiatrist.
I had same, and the boot. Only thing that worked for me is INSOLES. I wear them all the time now, no problems at all
I've got the insoles too...but so far still have some pain. My 5k is tomorrow and I haven't run in a couple of weeks. I am worried..so I am gonna try "wogging" walk/jogging. The boot has definitely helped me in the mornings. I don't get out of bed limping. My husband call it the PTS (pointy toe syndrome) LOL. I am glad my doctor still encouraged me to keep running and not give up!0 -
Three things that helped me run through my plantar and not have to take time off:
Ibuprofen
rolling my barefoot like crazy on a lacrosse ball
arch supports and metatarsal pads0 -
Invest in a Strassburg sock for sleeping.0
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I agree, sounds like plantar fasciitis. They have product you can buy, we tried them for my son. Probably the best thing to do would be to see a doctor. They can fit a pad to your foot that you can insert in your shoes. Good luck!
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I agree with the barefoot shoes suggestion - should eliminate the heel strike when running.I'm going to start off by saying that very few of us MFP'ers are doctors...
That being said, I would suggest to your husband to get his heel x-ray'ed for the possibility of a chip in the heel bone. For the time being, don't walk on it!
Other causes could be poor footwear, or simply taking on too much too quickly. But I would start with an x-ray first to rule out a chip.
Hope he gets back out there soon!
Sound advice! I had the same issue three years ago. I switched to barefoot shoes and changed my running style. The heel, knee and shin splint problems stopped. Hope he's out running soon!0 -
The only way to make the pain go away completely is to stop running (which I never did - so I wake up in pain every morning).
Untrue. I ran through my ART treatments at the encouragement of my doctor. If this aliment is treated properly, you don't need to shut it down completely for it to go away.
ETA:
http://activereleasetechnique.com/ <----ART, it's like magic, only real.
[/quote]
[/quote]Well, I suppose your experience is different from mine - doesn't make it untrue BTW. I was shut down for 6 months because of it. My sports doc said the only way to make it go away completely is to stop and rest it.
You said "the only way", which is not my experience, nor the experience of many other runners that I know. Therefore, this makes your statement untrue. Had you said "in my experience", then it would be a true statement.0 -
this rather difficult to break you heal bone. Bar an impact injury. Go to a physiotherapist0
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I agree with the barefoot shoes suggestion - should eliminate the heel strike when running.I'm going to start off by saying that very few of us MFP'ers are doctors...
That being said, I would suggest to your husband to get his heel x-ray'ed for the possibility of a chip in the heel bone. For the time being, don't walk on it!
Other causes could be poor footwear, or simply taking on too much too quickly. But I would start with an x-ray first to rule out a chip.
Hope he gets back out there soon!
Sound advice! I had the same issue three years ago. I switched to barefoot shoes and changed my running style. The heel, knee and shin splint problems stopped. Hope he's out running soon!
PF is not the result of heel striking. It's an overuse injury, an inflammation of the fascia, that is caused by doing too much, too fast and often in the wrong shoe. Typically, it's exacerbated by extreme tightness in the calf muscle. Calf muscles that get worked even harder when you run barefoot. I think barefoot running would make it even worse.0 -
Only thing that worked for me is INSOLES. I wear them all the time now, no problems at all
+1
Plantar hurts like hell. He needs to stretch out his calf muscles. Do it six or seven times per day until the inflamation calms down and then make sure he stretches fully after every run. My podiatrist recommended filling a two litre plastic bottle with water and freezing it. Then roll the foot over and back on it for 10 minutes at a time. This was soothing, but the only thing that brought down the swelling was anti-inflamatories for a few days. And get heel support insoles. You can buy them over the counter - Orthoheels are very good. But if he's running a lot, he may be better to get some made to measure for his foot. Cheaper than ongoing physio and doctors bills! Good luck0 -
You say he is just starting to do a 5K run, and has problems with his knee. How much running does he normally do, how much does he weigh, and more importantly, how good is his running style?
Heel strike is a common cause for running injuries, and poor technique and/or bad pair of running shoes may be the main problem, and plantar fasciitis symptoms the result.
If you watch him run, on grass and pavement, see if he is landing too hard on the heels - the flatter the foot when it lands, the better.
I have had issues when I have been running from heel strike that make my heel tender for a week or so, but it comes OK again with rest. And I've done plenty of running over the years, my issue are my current weight and being unfit (thus lazy heel strike issues).
There is no better solution to fixing injuries than fixing a poor/lazy running style.0
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