what a heel!

[winterbadger]

Pretty sure, after some rest and some reading and examination, that it's plantar fasciitis. I've had it before, but I don't remember it hurting this much before. I probably aggravated it, walking and standing a lot yesterday. Stretching, ice, rest, and anti-inflammatories are about the only things to do at home. I'll confirm that with a doctor visit, I guess, but that's going to require getting dressed and getting down to the car, which at the moment seems impossibly far.

Not sure what to do at this point. I can't walk even short distances. I can't take any more paid leave, after last week. I'll have to check with work and see if I can just take some unpaid time off until this heals, which will probably take at least another week.

At this point, I should just bookmark PubMed Health and the Mayo Clinic sites.

Comments

[ladymandrake.livejournal.com]

I have problems with the same thing and also work on my feet.

Wearing shoes with good support and insoles, rest as needed and soaking them in HOT water with epsom salts keeps me going when mine flares.

Hope you feel better

[winterbadger]

Thanks for the tips! :-)

[kmpleet.livejournal.com]

I've had it before, after walking up a particularly long hill multiple times. It's a nasty pull--and one that *stays*.

Resting the muscles and massage help. New insoles for your shoes also help.

What really worked for me, though, was a night splint. You can get them from Amazon for under $30. You wear them like a boot while you sleep, and it keeps the muscles from tensing up; the plantar muscle tends to tense up and "coil" over the course of the evening, and it's very common for the first morning walk/stretch to be the most painful.

The night splint is surprisingly comfortable and probably won't keep you awake at all. You just sorta have a leg that looks like one of Robocop's...

[winterbadger]

Thanks for the tip! I had seen those mentioned on the NIH and Mayo sites, but didn't pursue it since the doc didn't suggest it. But I often (i.e., a couple of times a year) manage to give myself a charleyhorse when I sleep, over stretching my calf muscle, so maybe it will help with that as well.