heel pain

My husband is a runner. He had heel pain for years and it was diagnosed many ways. It turned out to be his achilles--- so have that checked out, just in case.

never heard of this one

I had problems with both the heel and ball of the foot. Found that I was pushing off the wall strange (I don't flip) and that was affecting the entire foot. The podiatrist also gave me heel pads to wear in my shoes. Now if I could just figure out a way for the foot to stop cramping when I'm swimming freestyle for long distances I'd be all set. And yes--I DO stretch the feet before swimming.

Yes I have and still have plantar fascitis. I think I got it from running up hills. I saw a doctor and he said it would take a long time to heal. I got it in July of 2003 and still have a bit of it today in Jan 2004. I gave up jogging until Nov and now only do about 10 miles/week. I took about 3 weeks off from swimming and worked out on a Precor machine. Its a machine where your foot stays flat. I also started doing a lot of knee bends with my foot flat. One day I did 10 sets of the following: 10 knee bends, 10 pushups, 10 knee bends, 10 presses(with light weight), 10 knee bends, 10 curls, 10 knee bends, 10 rows. I did these on the 2:15 sec (so it was sort of like repeating intervals). At the end of the workout that was 400 knee bends. The next day I felt slightly stiff in the knees--but really not too bad. I was able to swim the rest of the time. I was also told to ice the foot after a workout and after coming home for the day. I did this a few times, but it was difficult to continue because of my work schedule. As soon as I get out of bed in the a.m., I sit in a chair and stretch that foot. Regrettably this injury takes months to heal--you just have to hang in there and think of alternative exercises. You might want to ask a doctor for some anti inflammatory medicines. Best Wishes Terry

Try the website www.heelspurs.com. It is a very informative site with a very helpful discussion board. Heel pain ended my running habit four years ago. Fortunately, most cases resolve completely with conservative measures. Good luck.

I was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis in my right food last year. My doctor told me to wear running shoes at all times (need the arch support), except in the office where I can wear dress shoes. I took Ibuprofen in large quantities initially. And I'm supposed to roll a tennis ball around with my foot whenever I get up from sitting a long time and in the morning before I get out of bed. Finally, he said to ice it when I was watching TV etc. He said the cause of this was walking on concrete in hard-soled shoes, not swimming. It has gotten much better, but I can still feel it sometimes. I understand it can take years to heal, and maybe one just shoots for management rather than a total cure.

Yes. I have tied swimming, and in particular, the breaststroke kick to plantar fasciitis (which more commonly results in heel pain although the pain can be in many places). Remarkably, I did a web search on these terms (breaststroke, plantar fasciitis) and got no hits with them being linked. In the breaststroke kick, you stretch your plantar fascia (the long connective tissue on the bottom of your feet) in a snapping motion. I diagnosed my problem and the cause of it myself (yes I have an idiot for a doctor.) However, I do have training in a few foot problems, especially this one. So for me, it's no more breaststroke, at least for many a months. Someday, perhaps, I'll try again; but I'll start very very slowly in attempting to get my feet accustomed to the breaststroke kick. Then again, I may give it up for good being that plantar fasciitis is extremely slow healing and can easily become a permanent and very serious problem (fatal for an athlete) - it is not something to mess with.

Hi Tim: I believe that Piersolfan is mistaken. My podiatrist told me when he diagnosed my plantar fasciitis that it is indeed caused by small tears in the plantar fascia, which is a tendon-like tissue supporting the arch of the foot. My doctor prescribed over-the-counter analgesics to reduce inflammation, that I eliminate unnecessary walking for the time being, that I wear running shoes at all times, that I ice the bottom of my foot for 10 minutes each evening (by resting my foot, in sock, on a bag of frozen vegetables), and that I rest my foot on a tennis ball and roll the ball around with my entire foot before getting out of bed in the a.m., or when getting up after sitting for any extended period of time. The treatment worked, although healing of the tears and inflammation is a slow process. I'm not sure you can get plantar fasciitis from swimming--my doctor said it comes from walking on concrete and other pavement-pounding activities. Also, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND "Super Feet" which are over-the-counter orthotic inserts for your shoes that can be bought at REI and other plances. They are fantastic. I understand that some doctors use night-braces which keep your foot and tendons stretched out (at a 90 deg. angle) while you sleep. A colleague of mine had one of those, and it damaged the nerves in his foot, so that his pain is now worse than before. I'm leery about such treatment. Hope this helps. Tom I understand that some doctors

I have heel pain too. But mine is from a poorly executed flip turn yesterday. My foot came down on the top of the gutter, and I bruised my heel. Fortunately it didn't affect my turns, so i kept swimming. But it hurts to walk on it.:(

This thread resurfacing is such a coincidence. Had a wonderful workout yesterday evening with lots of breaststroke--whole stroke, pulling and kicking--got up this morning and almost fell down when I put weight on my right foot. There was a pain in my heel and my foot? felt kinda stiff! Very intense pain in the heel, but no where else. Limped around while I was getting ready for work, but by the time I was ready to leave the pain was gone and my foot didn't feel stiff any more and I haven't been bothered with either pain or stiffness all day. We'll see what happens tomorrow morning... no pool time tonight.