Bruised heel or plantar fasciitis

I'm no expert, but when my plantar fasciitis flared up this spring, it felt like I stepped on some jagged glass and it sliced my foot in two. I tried running 2 days later but knew I was doing more damage than good. Its been 3 months and my foot still isn't 100%. Luckily, it hasn't hurt my biking and golf game.

I believe I have the same problem...which I've been dealing with for a long time now.

In my case the soreness is at the back inside of the heel. I can't say if it is PF or not, but it could be. To me it seems like a irritation of the connective tissue to the heel bone. My right foot is fine, but the left suffers. I believe it is caused by pronation, a constant "bruising" of that area, has become inflamed.

I've been able to get it under control, and is staying within a manageable level. When I first started dealing with it, it would flare up and be quite painful on long runs. Now, it gets a bit sore after a long run, but is not bad.

Things I've done to combat this problem:
1. running a lot in HOKAs. I am not trying to sell this shoe, as it's expensive and is a bit odd. BUT, so far I have to say this is what is saving me primarily. I plan to do my next IM (August) in them.

2. I do some extended heel & calf stretches which also seem to help. Basically I just angle my foot on a curb and slowly stretch it out.

3. I try the "rolling a golf ball" on my arch periodically, but not sure if this is doing much. but it feels good!

4. I use a rolling stick on my legs, including the calves, but again not sure if this is helping the heel issue.

5. When I start running, I use short steps and higher cadence until the feet have warmed up and then it feels fine for most of the run (today was 15 miles).

6. I try to mid-foot strike and focus on this even when I'm tired (when my form is getting poor). This is most likely when the irritation gets worse.

Strangely, some days it isn't really an issue, and other days...different story.

So I hope you can keep it under control...Other than heading to a sports orthopedist, I don't have anything else to add.'




Edited by metafizx 2013-06-30 9:48 PM

I have a similar problem and ^^^^ this^^^^is what helped me. I've done everything on this list and it has kept me running. The thing that has helped more than anything in my opinion is the Hoka shoes. They look goofy but if my heal is hurting at all I will go to this shoe and run with no pain.

not sure if it is PF, but when I had it, I tried rolling a golf ball or cold can of soda, heel and calf stretches, rolling sticks... NOTHING worked for me for months. Finally I tried a night splint and it stretched the tendon all night and I was fixed in about two weeks. Whenever I feel the PF coming back on (maybe once a year at worst) , I wear the splint 1-2 nights and it's gone again. From my limited view, if it is PF, I would make sure to get the splint or one of these socks on the link below and use it in conjunction with whatever exercises you decide to do..



http://www.footsmart.com/P-Night-Splint-Sock-ea-30654.aspx?SRCCODE=...


Good luck.....

My running store has a doctor that periodically is in and available to answer injury questions. She immediately confirmed I had the beginnings of PF but that since I caught it early, I might be able to make it go away early. Right now, I only have an issue on the middle of my heel. Once it progresses, it would go down the tendons of my foot. So hopefully with the exercises I am supposed to do over the next several weeks, the inflammation can go down and things can get back to normal.

If it doesn't hurt first thing in the morning, it almost certainly is not PF - that is *the* indicator of PF.

So rolling your foot on a golf ball, stretching, night splints etc will do nothing for you.

I'd suspect a bruised heel - or maybe a stress fracture.

Don't mess with it...see a good foot doc ASAP. And I'd suggest a bone scan, simple x-rays don't show stress fractures too well.

I had years of foot problems that have more or less resolved now. Jeff Galloway gave the following, great advice for plantar fasciitis: never go barefoot, and in particular STEP INTO SUPPORTIVE SHOES AS SOON AS YOU GET OUT OF BED in the morning. My feet were better in a week, and have remained pain free since 2007. Orthotics took care of my heel pain within a couple of months.

Edited by kathfair 2013-07-04 12:19 AM

No single treatment works best for everyone with plantar fasciitis. But there are many things you can try to help your foot get better:

Give your feet a rest. Cut back on activities that make your foot hurt. Try not to walk or run on hard surfaces.
To reduce pain and swelling, try putting ice on your heel. Or take an over-the-counter pain reliever like ibuprofen (such as Advil or Motrin), naproxen (such as Aleve), or aspirin.
Do toe stretches camera, calf stretches camera and towel stretches camera several times a day, especially when you first get up in the morning.
Get a new pair of shoes. Pick shoes with good arch support and a cushioned sole. Or try heel cups or shoe inserts (orthotics camera). Use them in both shoes, even if only one foot hurts.

www.footsolutions.ca/foot-problems

it could be the beginning of a bone spur on your heel...I was dx with PF earlier this year before I got out of the military, when I followed-up with a podiatist after I got out, he did x-ray's of my feet (both of them) and while only the left one bugs me, both of them had bone spurs growing - just happened that the left was rubbing the wrong way and causing the issues

i've been doing many things; foam rolling, tennis ball on the calves, stretching, night split, chiro, myo-faciia massage (painful but works) - right now i'm basically at maintenance...it will be irksome for a day or so and then be fine for a few weeks

ive had bruised heels before. they take a good few months to get rid of because your always on your feet. well i am with work and what not. My physio therapist showed me a way of taping my heel so it doesn't take as much impact. a month later and it was gone. Google that and give it a go.. stop running too lol.. enjoy more swim and bike times.

I had the same issue for a while and spent 3 months unable to run more than a few miles off/on. My last stop before the doctor was my local running store, thought maybe my shoes were defective (they were barely worn). Apparently, I had started pronating, and once they got me in the right shoes, it disappeared within a week and I could run again.

Also, I made sure not to go barefoot or in crappy shoes for a while - either comfy, supportive sandals or running shoes. That helped. I hope you can get back to it soon!

Agreed! When you have PF there is no doubt about it. I had it so bad and was so desperate that I listened to a friend and tried acupuncture. The needle went in deep really deep like he was going to push it through the other side of my foot. But it was cured, haven't had it since. I've had heel pain and feared it was PF but it wasn't it.


Joe

Hi,

since you noticed during tennis I wonder if it is the same I had from playing football (soccer). Basically I jumped and landed a bit awkward and felt like my heel bone had gone through my foot.
Next days it wasn't too bad to walk on, even running if not landing too hard on my heel was manageable, but next week playing football I jumped and the landing was very painful.

Went to the doc and he said the heel is bruised inside. Sorry I am not a native English speaker, but what the doc explained is that between the heel bone and the "meat/skin" of your foot there is a kind of a cushion that softens the impact from the bone. This had gotten a knock from my awkward landing and was - bruised or over stressed.
Good news it is not dangerous and can't really turn into anything worse, but it is very painful if you land hard on your heel and takes weeks (I think 4-8) to heal. It doesn't help to wear any extra external cushion on your heel or do any massage etc, since the problem is inside. However he showed me how to tape up the heel so you "relieve" the natural cushion and supports it with the meat on your heel, this will remove (most of) the pain and remarkably he also didn't mind me continuing playing football during the recovery time as long as I did this.

Get solid sports tape. The purpose is to put tape from approx the ankle bone on the inside, down under your heel and up again to the ankle bone on the outside. Pull the tape hard and put at least 3-4 tapes like this. If you do it right you can feel the "meat" of your heel gets pulled together and acts like an extra cushion for your heel. Put a tape around the your leg covering the start and stop of the other tapes so they don't peel off.

And just as I finished writing this and was googling for taping instructions I found the proper English explanation hahaha:
http://www.sportnetdoc.com/foot-heel/inflammation-of-the-heel-fat-p...
It even has taping instructions.
I would start the tape higher though, cause I felt it was more stable and less prone to peel off then, but that was for football so maybe less need for running

And now I noticed your original post date!! Guess this problem is long gone. Well hope someone else can use my advice

Edited by knuta99 2013-12-27 12:35 PM