Heel area pain-plantar fascitis?

[Shauna]

My husband has pain on the top inside of his right heel, right where the arch begins.  It looks a little swollen and started about 10 miles into our 13.5 hilly mile run yesterday.  His running schedule is almost identical to mine.  His shoes are fairly new.  He iced it several times yesterday and last night and wore running shoes for most of the day yesterday for support.  He also took ibuprofen.  He said it only hurts when he walks or runs on it, but it's bothering him enough that he's worried about his running tomorrow.  It generally feels better as the day goes on.

Is this plantar fascitis?  Any treatment suggestions?

[Bonnie]

Hi Shauna,

I have PF pretty bad, and it generally does not hurt directly on the arch, but rather in the middle of the heel ... much much worse first thing in the morning or when I get up from sitting down at the office and try to walk.  Birkenstocks have helped me a lot, as well as wearing a splint at night that keeps my foot flexed. 

Your husbands problem sounds a lot like yet another problem I have had recently (like within the last two weeks)  that I have narrowed down to a pair of my shoes ... the arch is too high and basically is "bruising" my arch.  It got really swollen and hurt when I walked on it.  I would advise not wearing his running shoes around, go barefoot or wear a shoe that has very little arch.  Try a different shoe for the next couple of runs, and then wear the "potentially offending" shoe for a short run (3-4 miles) and see if that causes the problem again.  This was how I narrowed the culprit (shoe) down in my case.  I usually rotate 2/3 pairs of shoes so I have plenty to experiment with ...

I hope this helps, and that it is nothing serious.

Bonnie

[Jose Jimenez]

I suffer from PF on my right foot.  I started using orthotics and they seem to be helping.  Icing has helped very little.  Ibuprofen has been a saver.  From your description it sounds like the problem may be shoes that have the arch too far back, meaning that the shoes are probably too small.  I had this happen with an old pair of mine.  I switched to a half size bigger and that placed the arch where it needed to be.  I would give this a try before trying orthotics or changing the type of shoe he is used to (i.e motion control vs. stability, etc.).  If the pain persists I would go to a podiatrist.  Good luck.

[GARY S]

My husband has pain on the top inside of his right heel, right where the arch begins.  It looks a little swollen and started about 10 miles into our 13.5 hilly mile run yesterday.  His running schedule is almost identical to mine.  His shoes are fairly new.  He iced it several times yesterday and last night and wore running shoes for most of the day yesterday for support.  He also took ibuprofen.  He said it only hurts when he walks or runs on it, but it's bothering him enough that he's worried about his running tomorrow.  It generally feels better as the day goes on.

Is this plantar fascitis?  Any treatment suggestions?

  Definitly have him see a podiatrist right away before he makes it worse and is out of running for a very long time. This could very well be plantar fascitis!

[jeff]

Just a heads up for any PF sufferers out there.  I have been dealing with it for almost a year.  It was getting to the point that the pain was making consider quitting running.  I took almost three months off from running and it came back two days into starting again.  Night splint, ibruprofin, massage, stretching and anything else I could think of did nothing.  Five days ago I tried taping my foot as per numerous websites instructed.  I ran four out of those five days for over 27 miles.  I am sitting here now with no pain, no soreness and except from a taping error that tore some skin, feel better than I have for almost a year.  I taped 24 hours a day tilI I saw no signs of pain.  As of today I tape only for exercising.  I will do so for quite a while as I have no interest in a relapse and actual healing will probably be months away.  Just a heads up as the change was remarkable for me.