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Feels like I've got a pebble in my heel. How resolve? (rroof?) ed - now it's a HOT heel anyone had this?
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Really want to nip this before it morphs into something bigger, assuming it could, whetever it is. Thinking maybe PF.

Raced an oly last Sun. Training, "B" race, race effort it but no taper.

Monday felt like I had a bruised left heel (bottom center) when barefoot on a hard surface. No workout. Roller from heel to hip (I do nightly to prevent return of old IT/quad troubles)
Bruise feeling faded, was minimal Tue. morning. Swim in the a.m. Regular ART/massage session in pm (~ every 10-14 days in season for me), could thumb a small nugget in my heel, uncomfortable but not super painful. Advised golf ball on the spot, break the thing up. Doing this 2x a day since.
Wed-Fri, did some swimming, some 40min easy runs, easy trainer spins for the bike.
During the bike and runs at times felt like I had a very small pebble in the bottom center of the heel. Pebble feeling has remained constant last 24hrs.

Have not iced or taken any meds, generally avoid meds as a rule, prefer to really feel what's going on with my bod. Did do a round of antibiotics for toe last month (cephalexin), fwiw. I have custom orthotics and relatively new shoes Asics DS, under 200miles.

"A" race in 3 weeks. 2 more "A-" just for fun races after that.

Ice?
Continue golf ball? No golf ball, too much of an irritant?
Roll arch area?
Wear shoes with orthotics all the time? none of the time?
Anti-inflammatories?
change seat height in some way to go easier on the arch or heel or calf?
ride/run only on flat terrain? stay in the saddle?
Burn some funky incense to ward off evil injury spirits?
Dress like Richard Simmons in compression socks and skip everyhwhere I go while juggling TP balls and whistling mary had a little lamb?

I'm ready to do any little thing that might tip the scales in my favor.
Of course, training weather is awesome right now, friends all racing or building, Olympic fever going on, A race finally approaching... not training would be the toughest medicine.


The Ride of Truth - OWN your ride.
Last edited by: Spinmeister: Oct 15, 08 11:27
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Re: Feels like I've got a pebble in my heel. How resolve? (rroof?) [Spinmeister] [ In reply to ]
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"Burn some funky incense to ward off evil injury spirits?
Dress like Richard Simmons in compression socks and skip everyhwhere I go while juggling TP balls"

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OK, for this verbage, you definitely get my opinion (and since I'm doing nothing today with a race tomorrow ...) ;-)

Sounds like adventitial infracalcaneal bursitis. The "pebble" feeling is the key, and you should have some focal tenderness if push on it or hit the inferior heel barefoot on a hard surface. This should resolve in time, hit it with ice often and possible an OTC soft heel pad. Oral NSAIDs will help as well (I know you are not a "fan"). In general, don't massage this exact area (you can still massage, stretch the gastroc/soleus and arch/plantar fascia) as this is a compounding issue generally in the development.

Good luck!

____________________________________
Fatigue is biochemical, not biomechanical.
- Andrew Coggan, PhD
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Re: Feels like I've got a pebble in my heel. How resolve? (rroof?) [Spinmeister] [ In reply to ]
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No idea what you call this, but I did the same thing about 3 weeks ago. I had the exact same symptoms. I think I did it during my last
race when I was running barefoot into T1. Luckily it never hurt running but boy did it hurt. It has been about 3 weeks and seems
to be just about gone. I did nothing for it other than not go barefoot, which I never try to do.

Good luck.

Dave

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Re: Feels like I've got a pebble in my heel. How resolve? (rroof?) [rroof] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks guys.

Very helpful.

rroof comes thru again. Good luck in your race.

I'll go bury my R. Simmons shorts and tank.

If anybody else out there has had this pebble symptom, chime in.


The Ride of Truth - OWN your ride.
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Re: Feels like I've got a pebble in my heel. How resolve? (rroof?) [Spinmeister] [ In reply to ]
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I had this a couple of years ago. PF for sure. It's the heel spur that feels like the pebble.

I went for a foot massage and told the guy to try and break it up. It hurt like a mutha when he was doing it, but it broke up and I haven't had any problems since!!

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"I was watching the London Marathon and saw one runner dressed as a chicken and another runner dressed as an egg. I thought: 'This could be interesting'."
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Re: Feels like I've got a pebble in my heel. How resolve? (rroof?) [Beanster] [ In reply to ]
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Seems like the key is knowing whether this if PF or bursitis, as treatment would be different.
PF = ART style therapy going hard at the spur/pebble spot to break it up.
Bursitis = just the opposite, avoid inflaming the specific spot, instead ice it, take anti-inflams, address contributing causal factors by stretching/rolling attached plantar, achilles, soleus, etc.


I'm taking rroof's advice for now, after all, he IS the foot man.







The Ride of Truth - OWN your ride.
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Re: Feels like I've got a pebble in my heel. How resolve? (rroof?) [Spinmeister] [ In reply to ]
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First - it is a very common misconception that a heel "spur" if present is the source of pain. It is not and has been demonstrated via numerous studies for many years.. Real
hard to explain as well since many people have them, yet have no pain (and often bilateral) or you can have the same pain and no spur. Best modern day example is via Barrett and Day's studies of endoscopic release (a commonly performed surgery for recalcitrant cases of PF - about 5%). PF released via endoscope (very easy surg done in about 15 mins) and pain goes away (just under 80% of the time). The spur (if present) is left alone. In the "old days", the spur was removed - pain also went away so the fallacy continued - the reason the inferior heel pain went away with spur resection is that the plantar fascia was released to get to the spur! :)

However, some components of plantar fasciitis is often in play in developing infracalcaneal bursitis (assuming you weren't running barefoot on concrete or direct trauma to your heel, etc.), so keep that in mind as well.

____________________________________
Fatigue is biochemical, not biomechanical.
- Andrew Coggan, PhD
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Re: Feels like I've got a pebble in my heel. How resolve? (rroof?) [rroof] [ In reply to ]
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rroof your advice was on the money. thanks much.

As much fun as it might've been, I nixed the Simmons garb and incense. :D

The protocol of icing the heel, taking some ibupro and doing massage-stretch of calf and plantar worked very well.
The pebble feel was barely "there" for short periods during one or two runs since, otherwise entirely gone. Have raced a few times.

A new symptom has just popped up - a hot heel. Any thoughts? Anyone had this?

During the run (very hilly) portion of a race last weekend, the same heel got really hot, went from hot and sore later that day to just sore for the next 48hrs.
Icing and not doing any r/b/s, and now on day 3 post race no soreness.

Wondering if the hot sensation is of any significance, maybe a sign if something new/different, something getting worse, etc.


The Ride of Truth - OWN your ride.
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Re: Feels like I've got a pebble in my heel. How resolve? (rroof?) [Spinmeister] [ In reply to ]
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Good to hear

The "hot" heal may represent Baxter's nerve entrapment (Google that) (first branch off the lateral plantar nerve after it bifurcates in the tarsal tunnel off the posterior tibial). Chronically inflamed heel issues can cause this - again, inferior heel pain is generally a continuum of issues (plantar fasciitis, bursitis, spur, tight posterior muscle group, etc.) and not just one thing. This is why so many posters have found "success" with that one *magic* trick. It depends where upon the line you are :)

____________________________________
Fatigue is biochemical, not biomechanical.
- Andrew Coggan, PhD
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