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Heel/Achilles pain help
Posted on 2/12/23 at 4:17 pm
Posted on 2/12/23 at 4:17 pm
I have been dealing with achilles tightness for a while. Wake up in the morning and it is incredibly tight. Hard walking down stairs. Went to ortho, said I had a heel spur.
Went away the past 6 months. Last week started showing up again. I was playing tennis yesterday and opponent was hitting an overhead at me. Instead of bailing I tried to dig it out. The second I rocked back on my heels I went down. Agonizing pain. Got up limped over to the side and stretched. I was toast though. Couldn't sleep last night.
Went to urgent care today. Nothing on xray but they put me in boot which doesn't help. I cannot flex my foot towards my shin without pass out pain. Have an appontment with ortho tuesday.
Anybody experience something similar and what it might be. Minimal swelling, not black and blue, but I can't really walk. Hoping it's inflammation caused by the spur and not a tear.
Went away the past 6 months. Last week started showing up again. I was playing tennis yesterday and opponent was hitting an overhead at me. Instead of bailing I tried to dig it out. The second I rocked back on my heels I went down. Agonizing pain. Got up limped over to the side and stretched. I was toast though. Couldn't sleep last night.
Went to urgent care today. Nothing on xray but they put me in boot which doesn't help. I cannot flex my foot towards my shin without pass out pain. Have an appontment with ortho tuesday.
Anybody experience something similar and what it might be. Minimal swelling, not black and blue, but I can't really walk. Hoping it's inflammation caused by the spur and not a tear.
Posted on 2/12/23 at 7:04 pm to Boss
Could be retrocalcaneal bursitis caused by a heel spur. A course of some anti-inflammatories and some good calf stretches/strengthening should help.
Posted on 2/13/23 at 9:19 pm to Boss
Could be all kinds of things. The doc in a box isn’t the best resource for musculoskeletal pain. I would find a PT you trust and start there. The during your eval they will come up with a game plan to treat or refer out
Posted on 2/14/23 at 1:14 pm to Boss
I recently saw a Foot specialist for the same thing. Rest, night splint, heel insert, and two weeks of anti-inflammatories helped a lot. It will probably come and go based on work-load, but hopefully manageable.
Posted on 2/14/23 at 2:14 pm to Boss
See a lower extremity ortho. Not a podiatrist.
Sounds like PF
Sounds like PF
Posted on 2/16/23 at 12:24 pm to Boss
They say my chord is so tight my foot won't even go flat. Too much activity makes it feel like an incrddible cramp from achiles all the way up to midway in my calf.
On top of custom inserts i put double heel inserts in my work boots to keep my heel from dropping too low and stretching everything.
It keeps me mostly pain free through the days.
On top of custom inserts i put double heel inserts in my work boots to keep my heel from dropping too low and stretching everything.
It keeps me mostly pain free through the days.
Posted on 3/7/23 at 12:32 pm to Boss
Get some PowerStep Orthotic Inserts for Arch and Heel Pain. That'll solve the achilles issue. Probably help with heel too from a cushion perspective.
Once you get it resolved you should start wearing 4mm or 0mm heel drop shoes so you can start stretching out the achilles daily and get full range of motion back. Don't play sports in these (use your normal tennis shoes) but wear them day to day to elongate the tendon back to where its supposed to be.
Issue is probably from years of lack of foot support compounded with weekend warrior impacts. Sucks getting older. If you have a flat foot and don't wear arch supports in your shoes....your knees are next.
Once you get it resolved you should start wearing 4mm or 0mm heel drop shoes so you can start stretching out the achilles daily and get full range of motion back. Don't play sports in these (use your normal tennis shoes) but wear them day to day to elongate the tendon back to where its supposed to be.
Issue is probably from years of lack of foot support compounded with weekend warrior impacts. Sucks getting older. If you have a flat foot and don't wear arch supports in your shoes....your knees are next.
This post was edited on 3/7/23 at 12:41 pm
Posted on 3/7/23 at 12:36 pm to Boss
If your pain is concentrated in the back of the heel into your achilles tendon, it sounds like you're dealing with what I deal with - occasional achilles tendonitis driven by a heel spur at the insertion point of the tendon into the heel bone. If you had PF, it seems the pain would be more concentrated along the bottom of your foot. My wife deals with that on occasion.
When my heel spur inflames my achilles tendon, it will feel like a knife going through that area anytime I try to even flex my foot. I can't stand on it or walk. I normally am off my feet for at least a couple of days and have to get a steroid to calm the inflammation.
Whether you see an orthopedist, or a podiatrist or some other doctor, they'll generally tell you the best preventive measure is stretching it for a few seconds each, throughout the day. That has helped me prevent more frequent occurrences. The last resort is surgery to remove the heel spur, but that is really disruptive to your life, as you're off your feet for the first few weeks, followed by being in a boot for another stretch of time. It's about two months at least until you can bear weight and walk on it.
The podiatrist I see told me about another option I recently tried, which is shockwave therapy into the affected area. They can give you at least two and up to five individual treatments, a couple of weeks apart. Insurance doesn't cover it, but it's only about $75 per treatment, so very doable. They press the device against your affected area, which can be a bit uncomfortable and a little painful at times, but the treatment only lasts about 2 minutes each.
But the doc told me not to take any steroid meds for at least the next six weeks following the final treatment. I happened to get contact dermatitis on my lower legs, causing a fiery skin rash. I had to get a steroid prescription to calm it quickly, but I forgot about the podiatrist's instructions, so I may have nullified the effect, at least to some extent. That said, the heel spur hasn't caused any real aggravation since.
I'm still gauging things to see if I'll need to give in and get the surgery. I'm hoping not. I did hear of one person who did and he said he wished he would have done it sooner. He was back up and going for runs once his recovery was done. The surgery involves putting you out, making a small incision, detaching the tendon from the heel bone, shaving off the spur, smoothing out the surface, then re-attaching the tendon to the bone via some clamps. I asked the doc who performs these surgeries how effective is it in keeping the tendon in place. He said he once did the surgery on a woman who afterward fell down some steps. The tendon held but her heel bone fractured. So, the clamps hold great, but in her case, the pressure had to go somewhere.
Also, I finally started using some inserts, and those have really helped, too. Sorry for writing a book here, but I know what it's like to deal with this crap, and wanted to try to be helpful.
When my heel spur inflames my achilles tendon, it will feel like a knife going through that area anytime I try to even flex my foot. I can't stand on it or walk. I normally am off my feet for at least a couple of days and have to get a steroid to calm the inflammation.
Whether you see an orthopedist, or a podiatrist or some other doctor, they'll generally tell you the best preventive measure is stretching it for a few seconds each, throughout the day. That has helped me prevent more frequent occurrences. The last resort is surgery to remove the heel spur, but that is really disruptive to your life, as you're off your feet for the first few weeks, followed by being in a boot for another stretch of time. It's about two months at least until you can bear weight and walk on it.
The podiatrist I see told me about another option I recently tried, which is shockwave therapy into the affected area. They can give you at least two and up to five individual treatments, a couple of weeks apart. Insurance doesn't cover it, but it's only about $75 per treatment, so very doable. They press the device against your affected area, which can be a bit uncomfortable and a little painful at times, but the treatment only lasts about 2 minutes each.
But the doc told me not to take any steroid meds for at least the next six weeks following the final treatment. I happened to get contact dermatitis on my lower legs, causing a fiery skin rash. I had to get a steroid prescription to calm it quickly, but I forgot about the podiatrist's instructions, so I may have nullified the effect, at least to some extent. That said, the heel spur hasn't caused any real aggravation since.
I'm still gauging things to see if I'll need to give in and get the surgery. I'm hoping not. I did hear of one person who did and he said he wished he would have done it sooner. He was back up and going for runs once his recovery was done. The surgery involves putting you out, making a small incision, detaching the tendon from the heel bone, shaving off the spur, smoothing out the surface, then re-attaching the tendon to the bone via some clamps. I asked the doc who performs these surgeries how effective is it in keeping the tendon in place. He said he once did the surgery on a woman who afterward fell down some steps. The tendon held but her heel bone fractured. So, the clamps hold great, but in her case, the pressure had to go somewhere.
Also, I finally started using some inserts, and those have really helped, too. Sorry for writing a book here, but I know what it's like to deal with this crap, and wanted to try to be helpful.
This post was edited on 3/7/23 at 12:40 pm
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