The New York Nexus Cafe 

WTF????

So last october I did something stupid. I started getting a pain in my right heel during a long run - and I kept on going (thought it would work itself out). I ran on an injury for 14 miles.

Most of the pain went away fast but varying levels of "twinge" remained. In December I broke down and saw an MD who perscribed perscription strength Naproxin which I eventually learned I could have gotten in store brand format for a small fraction of the cost. Thanks Doc.

Now it's january and although I've tried a few miles here and there I still get a twinge from time to time. I don't want to ramp up the miles until I'm confident it won't mess me up further.

I'm getting a little stir-crazy. I mean, just look at all my recent lame-ass posts. I had plantar fasciitis once before (10 years ago) and it never lasted this long. Is this normal?

I'll end this post the way I started it: WTF????

Never had it, but I have heard two things that help:
1) Roll your foot on a soup can. This helps massage and loosen the fasci.
2) When sitting around watching TV, draw the letters of the alphabet with your foot. This just gets the foot moving around and strengthens a lot of the muscles in the area.

A resource of almost everything running is here:
http://www.letsrun.com/forum/forum.php?board=1
One of the top messages is about good threads and somewhere in that is a bunch of links about injuries in general and plantar fasciitis specifically. You seem to have a lot of time on your hands, so spend some time reading stuff on it. Also believe very little of what doctors tell you about injuries related to distance running. Most are totally ignorant on the subject.

This is a really good question but unfortunately a little out my scope of practice. My first suggestion would be to see an orthopedic physician and pin point the problem. Although plantar fasciitis may seem like the logical explanation, a numbness in the heel is indicative of many other maladies (such as a bone spur on the heel). From there you may end up in a little physical therapy. The perspective I can give you is one of post-rehab. Realize, that the best thing you can do is rest. If rest is not an option than start by picking activities less stressful, such as, the elliptical trainer. Make sure you always give yourself a proper warm-up and ice your foot after strenuous activities. Try stretching your calves, both straight leg and bent leg, pre and post workout. (Your plantar fascia connects to your achilles tendon and then to your calve). You find that, rolling a can on the bottom of your foot is helpful. This stretches your plantar fascia, and incorporates another modalities known as myofacial release , which helps to release adhesions and return the tendenous tissue to its original length. (As long as you hold pressure on the tender spots until there is a reduction in pain) Make sure your foot wear fits properly and the soul is still in good condition. Remember, just because a shoe looks good, does not mean its is good. Often, great looking shoes have worn out soles. It is good practice to buy new shoes every six months, and please do not be afraid to spend a little money on a good shoes, such as Nike or New Balance.
Thanks for the Question,

Brent Brookbush NASM CPT/IFS/SFS, NSCA CPT, ACSM HFI

On Monday, I woke up and my right heel was hurting me. Sad thing is, I am not a super duper runner like you are. In fact, I just started working out again on a regular basis last week.

Now I am relegated to the elliptical machine instead of the treadmill because I don't want this thing to get worse! I think it was from these damn shoes I was walking around in on Saturday afternoon. Walking actually bothers me now - in flats. I just kind of limp around my apt.

This sux....

I am sorry for your pain. If it is any constiliation, I have a back problem that has been aching me all six weeks now. So I don't feel for your heel pain, I understand.

To both Gm and Linnet, here is my pat (probably now annoying) answer to both these problems, the answer y'all have come to know and love from me:

yoga, baby, yoga

more yoga = more gooder

I haven't been to bikram in months! I really want to go but it just doesn't work with my schedule. The night classes need to be later and the morning classes need to be earlier! (although I am glad they brought back the 9 am class at least...)

I have a yoga for dummies DVD that I have been using in the past. Just right now, I have been doing light back exercises to strength the back before I get back into yoga.

I've also traded in Bikram for more traditional Hatha yoga, which I was enjoying very much for it's broader practice and additional postures to learn. However, in terms of *feeling* better and calmer Bikram is the way to go and I must get back!

6 weeks is a long time to be in pain, and is definitely reason for worry. My first suggestion is to see a physician, you need to rule out any spinal injuries. Ounce that is ruled out, your physician may prescribe you an anti-inflammatory or a muscle relaxer to ease your pain. If serious enough you may need to see a physical therapist. There are a number of reasons that may cause low back pain, from spinal injury as I said before, inflammation of tissues surrounding the spine, muscle tightness, or imbalances in posture putting undo stress on the spine. Post a visit to your physician there are a couple of things you can do to relive some of the stress on your spine:
Sit up straight, and stand with your shoulders back:
Performing movements with better posture increases your body’s efficiency, and allows muscles to act at optimum length and tension. This also helps relieve some of the load on the on your lumbar spine. Practicing better posture through out your day will help strengthen those muscles that may have become weak from slouching, hunching over your desk, and sinking into your couch. Hint: Post-its on the your computer screen make great reminders.
The Drawing-In Maneuver:
This movement can be very effective in reprogramming your “core” to fire effectively, and hopefully this will help relieve some of your low back pain. This movement has been shown to be effective for activating the transverses abdominus, which is a primary muscle of your core. To perform the drawing in maneuver simply pull your belly-button to your spine or “draw-in” your lower abs. You should be able to perform this movement with out much movement in your ribcage or spine, and breathing should still be able to be performed comfortably
Do Crunches:
By strengthening and increasing tone in your abdominal wall we take advantage of reciprocal inhibition. Reciprocal inhibition is a neuro-muscular reflex that relieves tension in a muscle group(such as your low back muscles) in the opposite muscles contract (your abs)
Stretch:
Stretching over tight muscle may help to decrease low back pain.
Some common tight muscle in desk worker are:
Calves
Hip-flexors
Hamstrings
Low back
Heat:
Heat may increase blood flow in the affected musculature and help to increase elasticity (“stretch ability”); therefore, relieving stress in over tight muscles.
Brent Brookbush NASM CPT/IFS/SFS, NSCA CPT, ACSM HFI