Treatment For Calcaneal Stress Reaction

[Haselsmasher]

A couple of times I've written here about a pain in my heel that has been going on for quite a while. I went to the podiatrist who ordered an MRI. (He said it was going on for too long.) The diagnosis came back calcaneal stress reaction.

His recommended treatment is 3 wks in the boot. I'm on day 2.

(I very much know I can't cry too much. It's not casted. It doesn't hurt. And I can swim. Things could be a whole lot worse.)

I'm interested in understanding whether one typically is prescribed no weight-bearing for a calcaneal stress reaction. Or even - is there a "typical"? I explored I think all options with the guy. (I like him a lot, BTW, and I've put him on the barefoot friendly list.) He said crutches or a knee scooter was overkill for my situation. He even said he will often have it casted, but he didn't think mine was that bad.

Also, I'm very much trying to walk in a way to really not put weight on the heel. (I think the BFR form learning is helping here. I put a lot of effort into not putting my booted foot out in front of me.

Any words of wisdom about 1) using a boot only and/or 2) any other advice you give your patients to maximize the chances of success of getting this calmed down?

Thanks.

Jim

 

[Barefoot TJ]

I would have had him cast it

I would have had him cast it if I were you. Get it done, get it over with, move on with your life. Then you don't have to worry about how much weight you are putting on it and worry about how to step with it.

 

[dutchie53]

I had a severe case of stress

I had a severe case of stress reaction. I broke both my heels at the same in a fall. Fell 30 feet and with cat like agility landed on my feet. OUCH. My doctor was not going to cast at that time either, but at the time I had 3 kids under the age of 5, so I talked him into putting casts on for my protection from active kids. In my case it was no weight bearing for 3 months. I know my case was on the extreme side of things but if you can keep from weight bearing it feel better sooner than trying to test it all the time to see if it feels better. Heal well.

 

[Dr. Gangemi_SockDoc]

Stress reaction - means "your

Stress reaction - means "your body can't handle the stress you've put it under and we don't know what else to call it, but it's not broken". In the calcaneus (heel bone) this is often from too much stress on the Achilles - so you've got an Achilles Tendonitis-type symtpom. http://sock-doc.com/2011/03/achilles-tendonitis/

AT is most often from too much mileage or too much intensity OR from improper footwear - especially going from a typical running shoe to a more min-type too quickly. Info on stress reactions is here.

Re: the boot. That's tough to call. It's really individualized. I typically keep a person out of such a device as much as possible and as soon as possible. Obvious drawbacks are the gait disturbance it will cause (leading, perhaps, to another problem), and loss of mobility in the area you've already injured.

 

[Haselsmasher]

Thanks Doc.  Makes sense.

Thanks Doc. Makes sense. I've been a big believer of the scenario that PF is caused by "a sub-optimal suspension up above". It makes sense that a stress reaction could be the same scenario - another part of the system not working well so forces/stress/whatever isn't handled as it should be.

I'm definitely trying to improve my diet - not that I think it has been horrible per se. I think I have an opp to scale back on caffeine and carbs.

Thanks for the feedback.

Jim