Back of my heel hurts!!

Matthew Taylor

Barefooters
Apr 19, 2017
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Hey guys,

I'm brand spankin new here so "bare" with me...Haha. I hope I'm posting in the right area or whatever.

I started barefoot running back in August of last year after my brother taught me about it and I eventually realized he was right.

I was moving very slowly only running maybe and 1/8th of a mile per day barefoot, and was working on my form. I got the classic forefoot blisters from overstriding, corrected that and moved on. Worked up to a quarter of a mile to 1/2 of a mile everyday, and then...

I got too excited.

I ran for two miles ( I know it doesn't seem like much). The next morning my first few steps out of bed I felt this terrible pain in the back of both of my heels. And to this day (4/27/2017) it has not gone away.

It is blaringly there every morning, but goes away over time as I walk or stand. Then the next day it will be right back. It will also come back if I sit down for a long time and then get back up.

I don't get it! I stopped running to let it heal, I used to run cross country and track in high school, and I am only a little overweight now.

The pain is not in my Achilles but below it on the heel itself. Not underneath the foot either , it is literally on the back of my heel.

I think it may be bursitis. But I don't understand why it would never go away after almost 8 months.

It is much worse on my right foot as well it feels like my left foot might have healed already.

Anyways guys my goal is to run a barefoot marathon in the end of 2018 with my brother when he comes home from a 2 year mission, but I don't want to run if I keep feeling this every morning.

Any ideas?

I'm 25 years old by the way about 5"8' a little soft around 209lbs with stocky build. I wear minimal shoes now every day (lems or huarache sandals) and work on my feet about 6 hours at a time 25+ hours a week with college classes in between.

Thanks for the help, I just want some hope that it will heal up so that I can run again!

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My $0.02 on this:

Go. See. Your. Doctor.

Particularly one with a sports medicine focus or background, and/or is at least open minded about barefoot/minimalist running. If it hasn't healed or gotten better over the past 8 months, then there is definitely something not right happening and you need the outside expertise to help it heal.

I went through 20+ years of just "living with" shoulder pain from a damaged Rotator Cuff that was repeatedly misdiagnosed until I got a doc with that sports medicine background to look at it. A few months of intense Physical Therapy and regularly doing light exercises to maintain it since then and I'm pretty well pain-free - I'm even back to fencing again (30 years after the initial injury...) :cool:

Trust me - you do NOT want to live with a painful, activity-restricting condition if you don't have to...
 
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My $0.02 on this:

Go. See. Your. Doctor.

Particularly one with a sports medicine focus or background, and/or is at least open minded about barefoot/minimalist running. If it hasn't healed or gotten better over the past 8 months, then there is definitely something not right happening and you need the outside expertise to help it heal.

I went through 20+ years of just "living with" shoulder pain from a damaged Rotator Cuff that was repeatedly misdiagnosed until I got a doc with that sports medicine background to look at it. A few months of intense Physical Therapy and regularly doing light exercises to maintain it since then and I'm pretty well pain-free - I'm even back to fencing again (30 years after the initial injury...) :cool:

Trust me - you do NOT want to live with a painful, activity-restricting condition if you don't have to...
What K said...
I'm not a doctor, so just by way of idle chat:
I have a friend who had symptoms almost identical to what you have described, especially the reappearance of the pain in the mornings and its easing as the day progresses (as the blood flows around the body). She was diagnosed by a sports doc as having Achilles tendinitis.
The pain was exactly where you describe, at the point where the tendon attaches to the bone -i.e. at the back of the heel. Treatment was similar to Kyrrinstoch -intense physiotherapy, etc...
The doc said two things: 1. It is definitely fixable. 2. But it won't fix itself; so you do need to consult someone with the appropriate skill.
Good luck & let us know how it goes...
 
Thanks guys for the quick responses. I don't have insurance and can't really see a doctor. I've been stretching and working out my Achilles and calves but it's not going away. I think it may be the way I stand. Or something I'm not sure :/ I don't want to go back to normal shoes because I feel like it will heal but probably incorrectly.

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I wear lems shoes it seems like my legs hurt too much, maybe it's just my posture? I just don't get why my feet and legs aren't feeling better after all of this time. I feel great barefoot or in my Huaraches but maybe the lems are just not for me?? Any of you all have a similar problem at the beginning??

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I was thinking plantar fasciitis, but then the location seems strange. Can you post a picture with your pointing to the exact location?

Also, feel free to post in our Ask the Docs forum too. Just copy your post over there. Good luck.
 
Not that I'm diagnosing but it does sound like Achilles' tendonitis. It inserts in the back of the heel, the calcaneus. Stretching it is only making it worse as is the running and likely wearing minimal shoes.

Save the money and get some help. The sympton is pain in your heels but it may not be the root of the problem. No one can say by reading about it online. You need some professional help to find the cause and then to make a plan to rehab it.

Good luck.
 
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Again - not a doc - but I have the same pain- exactly as you describe - and tests proved Achilles Tendonitis. Have had it for a year. Ibuprofen is your best friend here. Stretching and going barefoot as often as I can seems to be gradually working. (and of course the Ibuprofen). I am getting regular checkups with an orthopedic surgeon who is himself a barefoot runner. Best advice - get to a doc.
 
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I think it's just time to heal it seems like guys.

Talked to a barefoot runner today same thing, took about a year and a half to heal up. I think that it's my bursa or insertion all Achilles tendonitis due to the location. A podiatrist nurse said to my dad (who had plantar fasciitis) the secret is just time. No matter the treatment, whether orthotics or rest or stretching or massage, she said either with treatment or without 90% of patients will heal within 2 years if they don't keep overusing it.

So im gonna keep stretching and exceeding light running and biking and taking magnesium a one-a-day and glucosamine & chondroitin sulfate. I have faith it will heal. I feel like strengthening my legs and ankles will help too so I'm going to work out all the supporting muscles and hopefully I'll be running 5k's by fall.

My brother is an avid barefoot runner and runs half marathons and such with no shoes all year. He's coming back home from being gone for 2 years next November and I wanna run a barefoot marathon with him when he gets here. It will be a great experience and feeling to have helped my body rejuvenate itself that much.

You guys are so great for all of your responses, I can't really see a doctor as I have no insurance or money at the moment (work just under hours enough to give you insurance 25 years old with two kids and going to college full time).

But I think with everyone's encouragement, the healing powers of my body, perseverance, and a little hope I'll reach my goals.

Thanks for all of your support everyone so great to be apart of the community, I hope to see you guys at some races soon!!

-Matt
Down here in Jacksonville, Florida!

P.S.
I wanna show you guys some videos too of my form to get some advice if you have any, but maybe another time.

Thanks again!

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Again - not a doc - but I have the same pain- exactly as you describe - and tests proved Achilles Tendonitis. Have had it for a year. Ibuprofen is your best friend here. Stretching and going barefoot as often as I can seems to be gradually working. (and of course the Ibuprofen). I am getting regular checkups with an orthopedic surgeon who is himself a barefoot runner. Best advice - get to a doc.
Who is this barefoot running doc? Is he on our map of docs/specialists?
 
Hi TJ- he is a doctor in Bermuda. For obvious reasons I can't disclose his name. I would guess he knows of this site...
I guess it's not obvious to me. If you don't want to promote him here, that's fine.
 
An update. I still suffer from Achilles tendonitis and remain barefoot as much as possible. I walk my dogs a couple of miles almost every day and have now started to run barefoot for short distances again - with the blessings of my doc. He says that he has known people to take 2 years to recover from the tendonitis. I am not in as much pain as I was in November/December last year. I am managing a run/walk distance of 1 mile after a 4 mile walk. Life throws challenges and 2017 so far has been quite the challenge for me. Started with food poisoning in February that was quite scarey but it was the cancer diagnosis in May that posed my biggest challenge this year to date. Have dealt with that through surgery and hopefully my next test scheduled for mid August will prove all clear. On the positive side have lost 20 pounds accomplished with lifestyle change and the knee is responding to having to support less mass. So I guess my message is to keep truckin' and do what you can when you can!
 
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Good to hear from you, Ronnie. I hope you will do well. Heal, friend.