Heel Tendonitis

jimilindley
jimilindley Posts: 59
edited October 2008 in Training, fitness and health
In the mornings I have painful heels when i first get up, I had 8 weeks off due to a broken hand from my normal 20 mile round trip commute and thought the heels would settle down, but they atill hurt, any one experienced similar?

Cheers

Comments

  • idaviesmoore
    idaviesmoore Posts: 557
    Do you do any other sports, fella?
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  • jimilindley
    jimilindley Posts: 59
    Little bit of hill walking, running occasionally, but nothing else really
  • dennisn
    dennisn Posts: 10,601
    If it's on the bottoms of your feet it sounds like what I had some years back. Hurt to walk in the morning. The name eludes me at the moment but the doctor said that it was
    because the arch of my foot not supported well enough and / or the arch itself was
    colapsing and causing the muscles in the arch to pull harder on the tendons connected at the heel and it's painful. My advice - wear shoes with higher heels(running shoes, cowboy boots - that type of thing). Always use an arch support in your shoes or have a set of orthodics made(that's what I finally did). See a doctor.
    Try looking up plantar fasiitis and post-static dyskinesia.


    Dennis Noward
  • jimilindley
    jimilindley Posts: 59
    Thanks Dennis, that would make sense, I have flat feet, I will look into some orthotics or better shoes, will google those medical terms.

    Thanks again Dennis

    James
  • idaviesmoore
    idaviesmoore Posts: 557
    Sorry for labouring the point but how long have you had this problem???
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  • jimilindley
    jimilindley Posts: 59
    About 4-5 months including 2 months of no activity for other injury, hoped it would go away in those two months
  • idaviesmoore
    idaviesmoore Posts: 557
    I wouldn't like to say it was PF, although the initial symptoms could suggest this.

    Do you also suffer from:-

    1. Tight calves

    and/or

    2. Tight or weak hamstrings
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  • jimilindley
    jimilindley Posts: 59
    I'm not very god and getting my hands anywhere near the floor when I have my legs straight, so i spose I have tight calves/ham strings
  • ut_och_cykla
    ut_och_cykla Posts: 1,594
    The pain in the morning sounds like what I had - plantar fasciatis or something - a sort of tendonitis in the tendon that goes from the big toe joint back to the inside of your foot arch . It can (but didn't on me) cause inflammation in the achilles which is next in the chain of use and also the heel 'pad'.
    A good physio will assess you, give you some exercises (including rolling up towel with your toes!!) and hopefully tape you so your foot can rest and heal even when you are on the go.
    You might also need to look at shoes, supports etc but you must deal with the inflammation first
    The above treatment worked for me - just 'resting' wasn't enouogh as you can't not walk about the house! The strapping stops the tendon stretching out fully and getting more irritated all the time.
    do get professional help whatever - its worth teh price beleive me!
  • idaviesmoore
    idaviesmoore Posts: 557
    Plantar Fasciitis (PF) can often be connected with either a tight calve or weak/poorly conditioned hamstrings. It's a bain of many distance runners' lives but it doesn't appear to effect cyclists. This could be due to the non-weight bearing nature of the sport, but I couldn't prove that.
    As I said earlier, your brief description of symptoms could point to PF, localised pain after a long period of inactivity (e.g first thing in the morning when you put your foot on the floor, after sitting at a desk for a long time).
    You state that you are not a runner per se, yet you have done some running. You also mention that this injury seems to have been a reasonably long standing one, at least 4 months, maybe even 6-7. Cast your mind back, if you can that far, and try to remember what triggered the pain. Was it insidious or did it come straight away i.e one minute you had no pain the next you did?
    You also say you have low arches, this in isolation may not be the cause of heel pain.

    I suggest:

    1. Make an appointmant with a physio. They can offer a clearer observation on your symptoms. However, PF will become chronic if not treated, it rarely 'goes away' with rest only. Rather, it attenuates only to reappear when effort is increased. If it is PF then the physio will prescribe strength and stretching exercises. He/she may recommend shoe inserts, particularly due to your low arch.
    2. If you are prescribed inserts make sure the practitioner who is making them is correctly qulaified and registered to do so. Your physio may just prescribe 'off the peg' inserts, which can be far cheaper. It depends on your particular circumstances.
    3. The physio may also prescribe massage. Deep friction massage is very painful but, and this is only with respect to my experiance, very effective. However, there is no empirical eveidence that massage promotes injury healing, so I couldn't comment on its scientific validity as a treatment.
    4. Consider calve stretches and hamstring conditioning. Maybe a gym can offer you a programme, or look on the internet for a well designed stretching and strengthening programme
    5. There are some classic self help conditioning for PF such as rolling an ice filled bottle beneath your foot arch, rolling a marbel beneath your heel. Unless you are diagnosed, I wouldn't attempt these, as you may worsen symptoms.

    Either way, it needs to be sorted or you will be troubled with it for years. Please keep us updated on your progress. :)
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