Sport Today

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".

:-)

|> 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

: 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