Discussion Board

Here's the punch line if you're in a hurry: my heel still is painful after a week & now my ankle & side of my foot hurts too from hobbling around. Never work through pain, always stop.

The rest of the story: Every weekend I walk for an hour. Last saturday I was on the indoor track above the basketball courts in the gym since the weather was nasty. I'm in there often. Walking at my usual pace/gait when about 15 minutes into the session I feel a twinge of pain in my right heel. Odd. It was not horrible so I kept walking, same pace. Few minutes more and another pain, same spot in the center of my heel. I ignored it rather than stopping because, well just because. The pain came and went for the next half hour & because I couldn't figure out what it could be I soldiered on. "Ours is not to question why, Ours is but to do, and die" they said, as into the Valley of Death marched the ten thousand.

That evening at home I began limping to avoid putting weight on the heel, and for the past week I've been hobbling badly. Ice, rest, & ibuprofen helps but it'll be awhile until I'm back to 100%. Me of all people! My mantra is 'never work thru pain, always stop'. It's the pits being hurt. So now I have to wait and wait until my body heals this dumb thing I did to myself. Don't be like me, do as I say.

So, how's the heel doing? Your post brings back painful memories. Do want an opinion as to what it is? I hope it doesn't last long.

Painful memories eh? Sure, give me your opinion. It still hurts, & the ice didn't seem to be helping anymore so I stopped using it yesterday. I'm thinking it may be time to apply a heating pad. What was your painful issue & how did it resolve itself? Thanks for your good wishes Sarah.

Joe

For a time I thought I had plantar fasciitis. I was stubborn and didn't see the doctor about it, so I don't know for certain. I just quit exercising, and now I'm trying to overcome hip pain brought on by inactivity. So, don't do as I did!

Here are some articles I just saw that I wish I had known about:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061101150739.htm

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100104122310.htm

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100127134241.htm

I still have arch pain occasionally in the same foot. It's been more than two years . I've been trying to wear more minimal shoes, and going barefoot around the house for short periods of time. I've been doing exercises for my hip (same side), and hip and foot pain seem to be improving.

Oh, and for awhile I was very fond of ice, esp. at bedtime. I don't know why I never tried heat.

2 years? Holy moley! So do you still think you have PF? Did you ever get a confirmed diagnosis or did you just quit exercising?

I hate to go in to the Doc since mine only happened a little over a week ago, but it's not getting better; I'm waiting to see if Nature will heal it. If not I may go straight to a podiatrist rather than my internist, although I wouldn't want to see a podiatric surgeon for a diagnosis & treatment plan. Going under the knife is not for me.

Interesting articles you found. I tried the heel stretch with toes pulled back & it was slightly painful at first but after half a dozen stretches my foot felt much better & more limber. I'll do those everyday; thanks for the links. Coincidence, I've been reading a lot on heel injuries & came across a couple of sites that make new style 'shoes' for feet. The one I'm most interesting is here: www.invisibleshoe.com
Their product is a very basic sandal that will prevent your feet from being cut or even burned on hot sidewalks if you were barefoot.

Here's a second place: http://barefootrunningshoes.org/2009/12 ... t-running/

It shows several different types of 'shoes' designed as an intermediate solution until one's feet become accustomed to barefoot use.

I'll let ya know how those foot stretch exercises work.

Thanks for those links! I'm thinking of trying my hand at making a pair of those sandals. Yes, my foot still bothers me sometimes. It isn't in the heel anymore. It's my arch that gets tender. Then I have to stretch out that calf. One side gets tighter than the other for some reason. Then my foot hurts. I've noticed it's when I wear shoes with arch supports. Thanks again for the links!

Hey TwinB,

There's a thread on Lani's forum about heel pain:

http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=15120

I thought it was helpful.

Sarah

I'll read that link, thanks. I've seen a few other things from folks who have PF; here are some recommendations that I'm gonna try:

1. Stand an arms length away from a wall & slowly lean into it, stretching your calves & achilles tendons.
2. Roll your foot on a tennis ball, a foam roller, or a plastic bottle that has frozen ice water in it.
3. Ice your heel & bottom of foot regularly until the inflammation goes away.

I think I might work my way down to those sandals. I'm in stability shoes now, then I'll try ones with less cushioning, then with a little or no cushioning like the old sneakers used to be built, then the sandals. I think if I went from my stability shoes straight to the sandals it might make things worse. Anyway, there's quite a lot written on this painful condition, isn't there?

I'm not a doctor, but wanted to say the tennis ball or something like that is similar to what my Physical Therapist used for PF. I was in for therapy after a car accident and one man in there had PF. There was this exercise board that the man had to use with balls on it and go clockwise and counter clockwise.

Was that one of those teeter-totter boards Faith?

yes it did teeter tatter. I felt sorry for the man doing it. It wasn't easy to be that coordinated especially when you are hurting.

Yep, I'd rather go through the Chinese water torture; if I tried it I'd have to do it in a padded room or else I'd end up slamming thru a wall. hehe.

The teeter totter type board could be fun. Pretend you are surfing, put your arms out and ride the wave.

Good thinking Amy; when all you have are lemons...