Heel Spur, heavy heavy sigh....

Heel Spur, heavy heavy sigh....

Post by a. fras » Fri, 22 Apr 1994 07:23:09


Well, after battling plantar fasciitis for close to a year (it seems
like a long time but during that time I got married and moved to
another country, so I was busy) I had an x-ray taken which showed a
rather prominent heel spur.  I was given stretching exercises to
stretch my calf and told to come back in 6 weeks.  Well, the plantar
tendon seems to be getting better but I was told that the heel spur
was here to stay!  I had been under the impression that it would "go
away".  I don't know what this will do to my running when I return to
it. (I have been pool running and using a Nortic track for months
now.)  Are there people out there who run on a heel spur with no
difficulties?  Am I stuck to soft orthotics for life now?  

Any cheery words appreciated,
Jan.

P.S.  Please no suggestions that I should have this bothersome foot
amputated and replaced with a wooden one.  I already asked and they
said "no".

:-)

 
 
 

Heel Spur, heavy heavy sigh....

Post by gordon k chace x23 » Fri, 22 Apr 1994 22:49:26


|> another country, so I was busy) I had an x-ray taken which showed a
|> rather prominent heel spur.  I was given stretching exercises to
|> stretch my calf and told to come back in 6 weeks.  Well, the plantar
|> tendon seems to be getting better but I was told that the heel spur
|> was here to stay!  I had been under the impression that it would "go

Many years ago my running appears to have caused a protrusion in the
outward direction from the outward side of each heel.  I need to choose
my shoe brands carefully so that there is not too much rubbing.  The
worst ones were some New Balance 600-somethings and some Nikes that were
a quarter-size too tight.  I'm always OK with ASICS, and can also wear
Saucony's which I use in the winter for high-traction tread.  Except for
the risk of wrong-shoe rubbing, there is no practical constraint against
my running.

I also have some dents in my skull from wearing eyeglasses at a tender
age.  At least I have the eyeglasses to blame for the holes in my head.

|> P.S.  Please no suggestions that I should have this bothersome foot
|> amputated and replaced with a wooden one.  I already asked and they

What really P's me off is those damn arms, they get so heavy during a
marathon.  I distinctly remember figuring out that I could use one to
unhook the other at my shoulder and discard, but I couldn't figure out
how to achieve symmetry as there would be way to remove my other arm.

Gordon Chace, the guy who only runs 10K as splits of longer races


 
 
 

Heel Spur, heavy heavy sigh....

Post by dou » Sat, 23 Apr 1994 00:32:52


: Well, after battling plantar fasciitis for close to a year (it seems
: like a long time but during that time I got married and moved to
: another country, so I was busy) I had an x-ray taken which showed a
: rather prominent heel spur.  I was given stretching exercises to
: stretch my calf and told to come back in 6 weeks.  Well, the plantar
: tendon seems to be getting better but I was told that the heel spur
: was here to stay!  I had been under the impression that it would "go
: away".  I don't know what this will do to my running when I return to
: it. (I have been pool running and using a Nortic track for months
: now.)  Are there people out there who run on a heel spur with no
: difficulties?  Am I stuck to soft orthotics for life now?  

: Any cheery words appreciated,
: Jan.

: P.S.  Please no suggestions that I should have this bothersome foot
: amputated and replaced with a wooden one.  I already asked and they
: said "no".

: :-)
GOOD NEWS!
Last fall I found out I had heel spurs (Thought it was just really bad
PF), had several months of either no running or painful running. Now I'm
back to 40-50 miles a week. The key? I think two things really solved the
problem:
        1-had new orthotics built, the plastic heel of the orthotic was cut
away and replace with a soft gel, so now impact to heel is greatly reduced.
        2-Ice, Ice and more ice- for a while was doing the frozen dixie
cup ice routine, then I switched to an ice pad which I used all the time,
not just after running, this brought major improvement in a short period
of time. Now I ice less often but still use pad for about 10 minutes
after run and at times while I'm reading or whatever.
        3-I know I said two but thought of another factor. For about 2
months ran almost exclusively on trails. The softer surface was much
kinder to my feet. Typically heel felt fine on dirt, aware of pain when
on roads. I have been running more on roads lately, no problems so far.
Must admit still not sure a road marathon would be in my best interest, but
would not hesitate to do 20-30 mountain miles.

Anyway hope this info is helpful and you are able to run at peace with
your spurs....
Miles of Smiles
DL