Sore heels

[mcshame]

Have you determined what was the actual cause / catalyst ? VFF ?? or, another sort of training error, possibly ?? Otherwise, it may continue and/or come back to haunt you, down the road, once you have recovered from this current issue ...

I assume that, you would normally be wearing some sort of neutral/cushioning shoe, if you are running around in VFF ...

Pretty sure I narrowed down the cause to when I was doing a tempo run on treadmill in VFFs- had very sore calves for a week after, and the sore heals started after that.
I normally run in Newton Gravitys with no issues. Only wear VFFs about one run a week.
I've got a Dr appt coming up, but my guess is (from previous experience with him) is that he'll tell me that if running caused it, to quit running. All I'm hoping for out of this Dr appt is to get a referral to a massage therapist.

Or, just slow down like the rest of us mere mortals, and stopping running so darn fast ...

Now Andy, you know that really isn't an option

[HCcD]

Have you determined what was the actual cause / catalyst ? VFF ?? or, another sort of training error, possibly ?? Otherwise, it may continue and/or come back to haunt you, down the road, once you have recovered from this current issue ...

I assume that, you would normally be wearing some sort of neutral/cushioning shoe, if you are running around in VFF ...

Pretty sure I narrowed down the cause to when I was doing a tempo run on treadmill in VFFs- had very sore calves for a week after, and the sore heals started after that.
I normally run in Newton Gravitys with no issues. Only wear VFFs about one run a week.
I've got a Dr appt coming up, but my guess is (from previous experience with him) is that he'll tell me that if running caused it, to quit running. All I'm hoping for out of this Dr appt is to get a referral to a massage therapist.

Or, just slow down like the rest of us mere mortals, and stopping running so darn fast ...

Now Andy, you know that really isn't an option

Yeah, I know ... wishful thinking, I guess ..

But, if it keeps him injury-free ??

[Runtastic]

Runtastic-
First of all, welcome to the forum! It's always good to welcome another Vancouver-area runner. Too bad your first post has to be about an injury, though.

I struggled with a form of PF back in 2009 and it wasn't fun. I ended up missing the Vancouver marathon and most of the summer of running, and it took me another six months to build back. Although I had more of an acute inflammation, not from chronic overuse, many of the symptoms and issues were similar. I would recommend you see a physiotherapist or chiropractor that does soft-tissue injury work (i.e., ART) to get an accurate assessment of what the problem is. As it was said upthread, heel issues can either be PF or achilles-related, or often some combination (usually there are lots of muscles and connective tissues involved). Calf-stretching and hamstring stretching really helped me, as did the golf-ball rolling and wearing cushioned flip-flops or crocs in the house on the hard floors (especially in the morning if the pain is worse). A good therapist will be able to prescribe exercises and treatment AND give you the hands-on therapy that you can't do as easily yourself (and maybe assess whether something like a heel-lift in your shoe or orthotics could help). Some of the things you are trying to do might actually make the problem worse if you aren't doing them right or are overdoing them. So it's usually good to start with the help of someone who has seen lots of these problems. I can recommend a few good people if you need some names. I also have a bunch of leftover foam heel-lifts which really helped relieve the pain while walking-- you are welcome to have some of those if you think they will help.

My concern is that you are very early in the marathon training, so this has the potential to get a lot worse or debilitating depending on how bad it is. Sometimes things just loosen and get better as you go along if you're lucky-- but it's hard to say. You say you "only" have 14 weeks till the marathon, but the big miles are yet to come so it would be best to get a handle on it now.

Thanks so much for the advice JWolf and the offer for the heel lifts...much appreciated! I know I am technically early on into the training, but in my mind I have been preparing for this since October so I guess that's why 14 weeks doesn't seem so far away. I have taken the last couple days off running, partly due to issues with my car and having to take into various mechanics to find the issue, but it has probably been the best thing for me. I am due an 11 mile run tomorrow but debating if I will just push it forward to next weekend. I have been reading and 1 week of rest won't effect the training schedule adversely.

By the way are you back to running injury free or do you still have twinges of the old injury? I hope you are doing really well!

[Jwolf]

By the way are you back to running injury free or do you still have twinges of the old injury? I hope you are doing really well!

Thankfully I am back to running mostly injury free although the twinges are still there sometimes- I was taping a bit early this month and I occasionally roll and ice. I did a marathon last year but only did one hard workout per week and the rest easy running. That was a year after I came back from the injury. It took a long time though and I am only just now back to two workouts per week (about 18 months after the injury wore off).

Not sure if you are local but the offer for the heel lifts still stands. I guess I should put an ad in classifieds to see if I can get rid of them. They are cheap but I had to order them in bulk and now I can't use them.

[Runtastic]

I have run thru PF when I was more than 1/2 way thru my marathon training while getting treatment. Starting training with PF sounds like a tough road. Where in the foot do you feel it?

The soreness is right on the bottom of the heel, in the middle and the right side of the left heel and middle and both sides of the right heel. I am not sure that it is definitely PF but seems to be the start of something like that. I recently moved apartments to an area that is quite hilly so in the last 2 months have been doing alot of running that includes hills so I know this has had an impact on me as well.

I just bought a new pair of runners today so am hoping they will provide more cushioning. I am ashamed to actually say but I am currently using Salomon Trail Runners to do road running ...because that is all I had, so I know its my own fault. Please don't judge me to harshly

How did you get through your training? Are you still dealing with the injury?

[mcshame]

Years ago when it happened, I did ART and Graston from my chiro. I also stopped running and even tried cold laser treatment.
When that finally worked, I got orthotics for my neutral shoes and the PF never came back.

[KBO]

I think I've had a very different experience than many folks on here with heel pain. Mine has been going on for a year and half and I don't run right now. The pain is in my left heel, on the inside bottom right part of the heel. There is a terrible trigger point of pain there. Sometimes it radiates around the heel and there is discomfort up my shin sometimes. I've had PF before and this feels very, very different for me.

I've been through a ton of treatment, none of it has made a difference. I finally had an MRI yesterday (after having x-rays and a bone scan already)so perhaps that will reveal something.

My only caution to you (Runtastic) is this...be careful running through pain. I did it, for too long, and was encouraged by many people to do so. I have personally paid the price for that.

I wish you quick healing and lots of fun, pain-free running.

[Jwolf]

Years ago when it happened, I did ART and Graston from my chiro. I also stopped running and even tried cold laser treatment.
When that finally worked, I got orthotics for my neutral shoes and the PF never came back.

And... just to highlight how the same thing won't work for everyone..

Aggressive ART and Graston treatment made my heel pain worse and probably set me back a month or two. Cold laser did nothing. Mildly-supportive off-the-shelf orthotics (Superfeet) help in some of my shoes.

[mcshame]

Years ago when it happened, I did ART and Graston from my chiro. I also stopped running and even tried cold laser treatment.
When that finally worked, I got orthotics for my neutral shoes and the PF never came back.

And... just to highlight how the same thing won't work for everyone..

Aggressive ART and Graston treatment made my heel pain worse and probably set me back a month or two. Cold laser did nothing. Mildly-supportive off-the-shelf orthotics (Superfeet) help in some of my shoes.

And will not necessary work for the same person. 1st time I had PF, ART and Graston took it away and I never stopped running. When it came back a year, I stop running for 6-9 months and ART/Graston did nothing. I tried cold lazer in desperation and it finally went away but I don't believe the cold laser really worked, it was the fact I wasn't running. The orthodics definitely did the trick for me.