tight unidentified band and nagging pain in heel/achilles?

[Santi]

I've been struggling now for 8 months with pain in my left heel. I ran a little too much too soon about 7 months ago and have been restarting ever since, taking a few weeks off only to encounter the same pain every time. There have been several developments in these past months that have left me puzzled and frustrated. If anyone could help me identify my problem and any solutions I would greatly appreciate it.

I've done massage and acupuncture to releive any tension or trigger points in my soleus or gastrocnemeus, but that did not solve the problem. Last month I decided to take it easy for five weeks and begin with moderate cycling before I got back into running. I've improved my flexibility so that both legs are sufficiently flexible. Yet, the pain came back after the first week of cycling.

I am planning to take two months off now and begin again in April. However, I'm beginning to question what exactly is wrong with my leg. Originally I assumed it was achilles tendonitis, but then I found trigger points in my soleus that, when massaged, relieved the pain in my heel. Once I located and released all of the trigger points and still had the pain, I returned to the conclusion that it was achilles tendonitis. But the pain was fairly minor and I did not have any symptoms of a serious case of achilles tendonitis. So what am I suffering from?

SYMPTOMS:

-burning sensation at the back of my heel from the base and up a couple inches.

-tight band that runs from the center of the back of my knee to my heel (plantaris muscle maybe?). This band is very tight and is not noticable in my other leg, so I am thinking that this is a part of my problem or would be helpful in identifying my problem.



Thanks for your time & help!

 

[Jonny00GT]

I'm no Doc, but it sounds

I'm no Doc, but it sounds like you're on the right track.

Are you letting your heel come down when you run? (You should.)

Are you running barefoot or in shoes?

How's your landing? (Search 1-2-3 landing on here. Ken Bob's steps helped me a ton!)

The thing about the bike is, you're putting all your weight on the balls of your feet, so even if you're intending to "take it easy", you're actually focusing directly on the injury, asking it to hold your weight and stretch.

When I had this same sharp pain at the back of my heel, ice massage helped, but it just took time for the area to heal and for my achillies to stretch out and aclimate to a zero drop. (Being barefoot as much as possible helped.)

Hope that helps.

-Jonny

 

[Abide]

Is it similar to mine, does

Is it similar to mine, does it really burn when you do a down dog stretch? Here is some advice if so. I still like to stretch so I don't agree with the soc doc, but who knows. But you might want to try building some mobility in your glutes, hamstrings and calves.

http://barefootrunners.org/forum-topic/i-get-burning-sensation-back-heel-when-i-stretch

 

[Santi]

Thanks.  I've read Ken Bob's

Thanks. I've read Ken Bob's book and try to emulate the running style he describes. Hopefully it is just a matter of time. I've been wearing 0-drop shoes and going barefoot often for the past 8 months I guess I will stop biking and maybe replace it with walking.

any other ideas or theories are appreciated.

 

[jldeleon]

Santi, Trigger points

Santi,



Trigger points frequently reoccur and you may have to release them multiple times over a long period of time to get them to stay away. Try proactively checking for them, before your heal begins to hurt. Check for them a couple times a day, every day, whether you run or not.

 

[jldeleon]

Also, I would double-check

Also, I would double-check this site looking at both the back of the heel and the calf. You can click "back view" in the upper right hand corner and click on the areas that are bothering you. There are more places to look for trigger points besides the gastrocnemius and the soleus...like the gluteus minimus, etc. -as you will see by the chart.

 

[jldeleon]

http://www.triggerpointmaps.c

http://www.triggerpointmaps.com/tp_finder.html

 

[migangelo]

how much pain are you

how much pain are you experiencing? jonny touched on the part that your achilles is stretching after getting shortened from wearing heels for so many years. most, i believe if not all here, felt discomfort in the achilles as it stretched out. the pain was there for a few months and then went away. i can't really remember what it was like but do know there are some old threads talking about it.



good luck.

 

[Santi]

Thanks, I do routinely check

Thanks, I do routinely check for trigger points in the gastroc and soleus, but had not ventured further up the leg. I will be exploring those areas today.

 

[Santi]

The pain is at the back of my

The pain is at the back of my heel and is a slight/medium pain. I would say it feels like a mixture of burning and itching. I don't have any popping in the achilles tendon, or bumps, or sharp pain. It hurts a couple minutes or sometimes hours after I run/bike/stand up for hours at work. I'll have to check out the threads that you mention. Did you continue to run through this pain? Do you think it would be best to just walk barefoot until it goes away?

 

[Dr. Gangemi_SockDoc]

If this question still needs

If this question still needs to answered or addressed please let me know.

 

[Santi]

When I decided to start

When I decided to start barefooting I got rid of all my PECH shoes. I wear only 0-drop or go barefoot. Considering my minor achilles pains and that I plan to take the next 2 months easy (no running, but walking every day), can I do this all 0-drop? I know you are not a fan of stretching. Is going barefoot effectively stretching my achilles tendon too much? Is it possible to aide recovery and maintain length in the achilles tendon by doing a mixture of barefoot and raised heel shoes? I don't want to be holding myself back by doing anything that exacerbates the injury or causes my achilles tendon to shorten.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

I'm not a doctor, Santi, so

I'm not a doctor, Santi, so they'll know more.

But I have heard some docs say that yes, adding some cushioning while healing an injury, like PF or AT, as long as you also add in barefoot/zero drop would be alright. The cusioning gives the injury a break from having to bear the load and aids in healing. I just wouldn't RUN in anything cushioned, and keep your walks to low distances, maybe only wear them when you HAVE to wear shoes.

Docs? Is this true?

 

[Dr. Gangemi_SockDoc]

I would not add cushion, but

I would not add cushion, but you could very temporarily add in a small, hard, lift to help take some of the strain off the Achilles. Honestly I've never given one to a patient since I haven't the need to, but I think it's okay advice if you can't see someone to diagnose and treat it.

 

[Santi]

Well, considering that my AT

Well, considering that my AT injury seems to be minor and that a month of rest did not heal it, I'm concluding that something about my "resting" was still putting too much strain on the AT. I guess that is the use of 0-drop shoes? I do work 7 to 9 hour shifts, standing 98% of the time. I've decided to start wearing my old pair of Asics 24/7 until my AT feels better then use them while working only. Next gradually reduce heel size of the shoes I wear (ie. wear something like Mizuno's wave rider 13 for a month or two, then go to zero drop shoes).

Thanks again to everyone who posted. I appreciate your help.

 

[Dr. Gangemi_SockDoc]

You watched my video on

You watched my video on Achilles Tendonitis? I would not recommend you go back to Asics. That's negative progress. If zero drop isn't for you then find a good transitional shoe: Nike Free 3.0; NB Minimus Road; Newtons are good too. Asics - blah.

 

[Santi]

Okay, thanks!

Okay, thanks!