[richardsimkiss]

Last Saturday I was trampolining in the garden with my partner and also my younger sister who had come to visit, after a while I got a little bored with the usual bouncing up and down and felt it my duty to try various stunts. Now i've played around on this trampoline loads of times, but on this particular day I was determined I'd surpass my usual somersault where I land on my back/bum and land back on my feet. Needless to say it went wrong - I came away from then middle of the trampoline and landed towards the edge, *SMACK* my left foot came from over my head and I hit the underside of my heel pretty hard on the steel frame.

It didn;t hurt much at the time, but I thought perhaps I should stop for the day before I did myself any more damage. Sunday morning and my foot was quite sore, bruised I thought, and this got worse on Monday to the point where I was limping quite noticeably. Tuesday I could walk a little better, Wednesday I managed a little jog and thursday I managed football. I could still feel some kind of bruising but the pain wasn't really bothering me and I could walk normally again. Then Sunday and Monday it began to come back a little again. This morning I woke up and felt the same as I had last week, with a dull aching feeling from the underside of my heel. Walking today has hurt a lot and I'm again hobbling around everywhere quite badly.

Tried to get a docs appointment but nothing today, will try and get something tomorrow, but looking around on t'interweb everything related to my symptoms points to plantar fasciitis (other than I've not found 'banging foot on trampoline' to be one of the common causes). I may be jumping the gun by self-diagnosing myself but the descriptions of the injury sound all too familiar and I fear I'm going to be on the sidelines for a while

It was only last night that I was thinking about how frustrated I was that I hadn't done much running and was very much looking forward to joining up with the running club tonight to get my training back on track.

Anyway, rest, ice & ibuprofen for the meantime. What are peoples experiences with PF? How long am I likely to be out? (assuming my self diagnosis is about right)

 

[Katten]

Sorry to hear it, Rich

For what it's worth, I always thought plantar fasciitis was more of a repetitive injury, you might have strained a ligament or tendon or something in your foot (was there any swelling?)

Anyway, fingers crossed you'll be fine in a week or two

ps if the doctor's not much good, try a physio

 

[Steady Edwina]

Its not the usual way that PF developes and PF is more uncomfortable first thing in the morning and then eases off with walking around. It could be a stress fracture or just some really painful internal bruising either way until you have a proper diagnosis might be advisable to take it easy

 

[richardsimkiss]

Indeed I'm aware that it's typically an overuse injury occurring through an increase in activity level or biomechanical problems, but looking at diagrams and such my pain seems to occur in the same place plantar fascitis does, and the descriptions of the pain/symptoms seem to match pretty spot on (even down to the problem being worse in the morning)... What I'm assuming is that i've damaged the same bit of my foot but with a sudden strain/tear due to the impact, so i've no idea if it'd be labelled the same, but for all intents and purposes it appears the same.

I'll certainly take it easy - I very nearly still went running this evening but thought about what I'd tell somebody if they came to me with the same problem... Are physio's expensive? I've never been to one before, i've always just relied on the docs!

 

[Katten]

Not sure, I only used one once, and managed to wangle that for free

If the doctor looks clueless, ask for a referral to an NHS physio, I'm pretty sure that's free too

GPs may not know much about injuries particular to sporting, they seem to like the "RICE and come back in a couple of weeks" approach

 

[Dale the Snail]

Read the earlier posts for PF.

Look down the list in the Injury section.

 

[Granty]

I paid about £40 when I went to see one a while ago, have to agree with the others, sounds more likely to be something else other than PF - hope so anyway.

Good luck.

 

[pedestrian]

Have you tried running?
Three things can happen...
...Nothing (pain stays the same)...
...Pain decreases...:d
...Pain gets worse...

Obviously, only you can judge if your level of pain is going to prevent you from running altogether. But quite often, people tend to err too far on the side of caution. Generally speaking, we are all capable of a lot more than we think we are...I've proved this to myself countless times over many years.

A classic PF remedy is to support the arch.
Try keying "Plantar fasciitis" into a search engine. You'll undoubtedly come across sites which will fully explain the condition, and offer treatment ideas/remedies...But the usual one is the arch support, which can often provide almost instantaneous relief from PF.

All the best...

 

[Fulmar]

I got through it with easy running on grass and cotton between the foot sole and the sock...

 

[Dale the Snail]

Off the shelf orthotic insoles work well.

 

[richardsimkiss]

Howdy all... would you believe it, I've been off work all day and this is the first chance I get to check the forum! and even now I'm being pestered to turn the computer off and have an early night. lol.

Anyway, whilst it's been a very frustrating few days, I've tried to nurse myself as much as possible. I've iced, massaged, bandaged/strapped, taken NSAIDs and spent ALL my time (other than sleeping & graduation ceremony) wearing running shoes to support the arch. I was a little gutted not to be taking part in my usual thursday night football session, but I do feel like i'm healing Whilst I think I could've managed playing football tonight, I'd have hated to do it and then feel like I've taken 6 paces backwards by the morning.

The pain is far less severe now, I can still just about feel something there but I'm able to walk without any limping at all (at least in my running shoes!) and at times I forget it's even there (must be a good sign!). I'm going to see how I feel in the morn but I'm very tempted to try a short jog offroad tomorrow, and also I'm going to look at getting either some new shoes for work, or at least some very cushioned insoles, my cheapy shoes look nice but they're literally like walking on a solid block of plastic, with no support or cushioning whatsoever - Graduation on weds was agony!!

Thanks for all your help/advice & support so far everyone. I'll keep posting how things are going, whether you're interested or not heheh.

 

[Steady Edwina]

IMHO I'm not convinvced its PF and self diagnosis is a risky business - Physios vary between £20-30 per session. Granty £40 is a little expensive.

 

[richardsimkiss]

Self diagnosis is indeed a risky business - I think it's all too easy to read and match a list of symptoms on screen to what you're experiencing and end up thinking "ah, it MUST be that!". In my case I'm now fairly confident my injury wasn't PF, but it did carry some of the symptoms and the pain was in the very same location. I didn't get around to, or rather I didn't make time to see a physio but the pain seems to have cleared itself pretty well on that foot now.

Only problem is that I went for a jog (which went fine) but now my OTHER foot has started hurting! A similar to a discomfort to what I was experiencing following football each week, but a little worse. Hoping it dies down soon, I really don't feel like much of a runner atm

Needless to say football is being put on hold, probably for the foreseeable future as I really want to focus on my running. I felt so happy the first evening I went to a runing club but haven't been back since!!!

 

[Granty]

IMHO I'm not convinvced its PF and self diagnosis is a risky business - Physios vary between £20-30 per session. Granty £40 is a little expensive.

I know that - almost fainted once they told me, but I was desperate, a week or so before the half marathon and I paniced !!

 

[Trinity]

Granty... have you asked at your club if anyone can recommend a reasonably priced physio?

 

[Dale the Snail]

Running shops can also recommend physio's. My local store has business cards for many physio's and sports therapists.

 

[Katten]

Well, Rich, I'm glad that the original foot got better. The other one was probably just over-compensating for it a bit

 

[MartyC]

Possible heel fat pad irritation

Sorry to here about your heel. If you had no pain before the incident and it started after a direct blow you may have inflamed the protective fat pad on the heel. Plantar fasciitis is usually worse on the first steps of the day. It then eases slightly as you walk a few steps and worsens if you walk or run a lot!. An inflamed fat pad is painful on pressure (so easier in the morning when rested) then worsens ++ as you put pressure on it when walking or running. There is a great strapping technique that eases the pain or you can buy heel cushions with a hold cut in the middle. Gradual onset Plantar fasciitis is usually more of a pain to get rid of as it is primarily a biomechanical problem. Acute heel pad or plantar fasciitis given the right circumstances will ease off so you can run again. Let us know how yoget on.MartyC