HEEL SPUR!

krystina_letitia9
krystina_letitia9 Posts: 697 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I thought I had hurt my food playing softball last week... when I found out through an xray that I actually had a heel spur and plantar fascitis. I have yet to exercise since finding this out because it HURTS. I bought heel orthotics for my shoes. I have high arches... any great shoes for high arches and heel spurs, and any other advice for me on how to deal with exercising with the pain? Thanks!

Replies

  • umer76
    umer76 Posts: 1,272 Member
    I have also got pain in my achilles tendon at the back of my heels of both feet. I have 10mmm spur in my left heel. I am also interested to hear from people about the possible solutions
  • ChelleDJM
    ChelleDJM Posts: 161
    I have a heel spur and plantar faciitis too and it hurts a LOT! I've had it for about 6 months and just started going to the podiatrist a couple months ago. She gave me a list of shoes that were the best - New Balance and Saucony were the ones I remember. I already had a pair of New Balance for exercise. I bought a pair of Power Steps inserts for them too and really like them for that.

    My biggest tips -

    *Wear good shoes and nothing that makes your toes work (no flip flops or clogs and keep the fun shoes for special occasions)
    *Stay away from exercise where your feet are making a hard impact with the floor. I do the elliptical at the gym, take a spinning class, and am starting water aerobics soon. Sadly, no zumba for me for awhile.
    *Take ibuprofin for the inflammation when it hurts a lot. If it's really bad, go to the podiatrist for an injection. I had one a few months ago and it help for a longer period of time, but the ibuprofin works too.
    *Get insoles to support your arches. Power Steps are a great brand and you can order them many places online.
  • krystina_letitia9
    krystina_letitia9 Posts: 697 Member
    Great advice! Any stretches that help?
  • klwood37o
    klwood37o Posts: 3 Member
    I ended up at the podiatrist, too. Besides good, supportive shoes, they gave me Achilles- stretching exercises and taped my foot up to support it. I ended up getting custom orthotics from the podiatrist, which my insurance did help with. (They stopped taping my foot up when my orthotics arrived.) I was 50% better within a few weeks, 90% better within couple months. The dr says it will take a full year to get fully healed. But, you must be committed to wearing the orthotics and doing the stretching everyday. My foot feels so much better, it is worth the supportive shoe-wearing (not many cute shoes can fit them) and the stretching only takes a couple minutes in the am and pm.

    The stretches are to face a wall and stretch the bad foot out behind. While keeping the bad heel flat, lean onto the other leg, stretching the heel and calf of the bad one. Hold for several seconds and repeat several times. I do them in the morning and evening. It's the same stretch that I've done in walking clubs and aerobic classes, except you hold longer and repeat more reps.
  • crzyone
    crzyone Posts: 872 Member
    I have heel problems, too.

    Exercises for plantar f:

    Put marbles on the floor and pick them up with your toes. (I don't have any so I just pretend there are marbles there and I'm picking them up.)

    Put a tennis ball under the arch of your foot and roll your foot back and forth over it to massage/stretch that muscle.
  • krystina_letitia9
    krystina_letitia9 Posts: 697 Member
    Thanks for all the advice guys!
  • DrJamesStoxenDC
    DrJamesStoxenDC Posts: 11
    Heel spurs come from too much chronic STRESS in the plantar fascia of the foot. It starts with inflammation that turns into scar tissue that later calcifies.

    The question is... What is the cause of this chronic stress in your foot?

    In walking or running as you know there is simplistically the "take off" and the "landing". We all know the majority of STRESS injuries occur in the landings.

    Like a plane, the human body has a landing gear, spring-loaded shock absorbing mechanism built into the arch complex as well as the muscles that allow the foot to impact like a spring and not a bang.

    The key is to

    1. release the 33 joints of the foot, strengthen the muscles that suspend the arch to resist the impacts which I call the landing muscles,
    2. strengthen the suspension system muscles or the pronation supination cuff muscles

    Here are my last two articles you might find helpful:

    How Does The Body Spring Back Safely From Impacts Of Running and Walking?

    http://teamdoctorsblog.com/2012/06/13/video-tutorial-12-is-running-bad-for-knees-how-the-body-springs-back-safely-from-impacts-of-running/

    Exercises To Reduce Over Pronation and Over Supination From Impacts During Walking and Running

    http://teamdoctorsblog.com/2012/06/18/video-tutorial-28-the-impact-absorbing-landing-muscles-of-the-human-spring-mechanism-testing-and-training-the-spring-suspension-muscles/

    Here are some video tutorials I did showing you the massage techniques you can use to ease tension on your feet and ankles

    Video Tutorial #80 Dr James Stoxen DC Demonstrates How To Self-Help Deep Tissue Treatment Of The Subtalar Joint Of The Ankle On The Inside.

    http://teamdoctorsblog.com/2011/08/01/video-tutorial-80-dr-james-stoxen-dc-demonstrates-how-to-self-help-deep-tissue-treatment-of-the-subtalar-joint-of-the-ankle/

    Video Tutorial #81 Dr James Stoxen DC Demonstrates How To Self-Help Deep Tissue Treatment Of The Ankle (Subtalar Joint Outside)
    http://teamdoctorsblog.com/2011/08/03/video-tutorial-81-dr-james-stoxen-dc-demonstrates-how-to-self-help-deep-tissue-treatment-of-the-subtalar-joint-of-the-ankle/

    Video Tutorial #87 Dr James Stoxen DC Demonstrates Self-Help Deep Tissue Of The Ankle Mortise
    http://teamdoctorsblog.com/2011/08/10/video-tutorial-87-dr-james-stoxen-dc-demonstrates-self-help-deep-tissue-of-the-ankle-mortise/

    There are many more video tutorials on this page #77 - 89 that may help

    http://teamdoctorsblog.com/video-tutorial-lessons/
  • JennBunny73
    JennBunny73 Posts: 268 Member
    I tried everything for mine and if it is just the heel spur it probably would have worked..I tried inserts from my foot doctor in my shoes, wearing a night brace to keep my foot upright (it did feel better in the mornings) rolling my foot over a can, stretching it on a stair, oral steriods and injections, which worked when I first got it several years ago..I had mine for over 2 years, dealing with pain every time I wanted to work out and giving up running (which I love) because it and Zumba made it hurt the worst.

    I finally had the surgery for the heel spur release and before that I had an EMG and they discovered I had an entrapped nerve. My foot doctor said it was very entrapped and had vericose veins wrapped around it so they released the nerves and freed them up too...........it has been just over 2 weeks and I am not allowed to fully walk on it yet, just partial pressure, but it feels really good..no burning sensation or pain in the heel at all...just more sore from the surgery. I am so excited to have the pain totally gone and I am going to start training in September for the Turkey Trot 5k in November. Can't wait to run without pain.

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