Plantar Fascitis or Peroneal Tendonitis

[Philpug]

This came out of the blue, I woke yesterday and my roght foot was screaming. I had trouble walking at first and could ski but I did have trouble pressuring my right ski (some might say that is nothing new). At the end of the day I could not put pressure on my foot when I walked and got progressively worse. I had trouble sleeping but was up between 1:00 and 5:00 because of the pain (some might say that is also nothing new).

I barely could get out of bed but made it downstairs, fortunately I had two willing nurses on staff @Tricia and @Wendy and one in the wings, an actual real nurse waiting in the wings, @SkiNurse. Unfortunately, as much as a pleased, I could not get a sponge bath. I put my foot up and Tricia put (on me) some Fits socks specifically for Plantar Fasciitis and they immediately helped. I thought I would give it the ole Skitalk try and go skiing but when we got up to A-Basin, I tried to get my boots on and it wasn't happening. I could just not get my foot around the bend. Back to the condo for me.

I did some research after people smarter than me suggested these two -itis's could be the culprits and while the symptoms are similar, there are some differences in that I have symptoms of both. I have the similar discomfort but leaning to the PT but it is not feling as good when resting. Addressing the issue is very different where the PF wants stretching, the PT suggests immobilize.

I know we have some Doc's here and people who have gone though either of these. If I still have the issues when I return to Reno, I will go see my PT then.

 

[Tricia]

What a diva

 

[dovski]

I had significant foot issues and ultimately had foot surgery on my left foot to correct those issues. The recovery was horrible and even with PT took well over 6 months, but the reality is it took years to fully recover (probably should have done much more PT). When my right foot started acting up I took a non-surgical approach. Had various injections to immediately alleviate pain, replaced almost all my shoes and footwear, everything I have now is ergonomic and has custom foot beds or vionics. I also did some PT. Simply put I now put almost as much attention into my daily footwear as I do when fitting a new ski boot. It is amazing how much damage I likely did to my feet running around bad footwear over the years. While PT is important I strongly recommend you consult a foot doc as they can do some things to give you immediate relief and can also provide some preventative steps so the issue does not repeat.

 

[Prosper]

@Philpug any redness, swelling or tenderness? Where exactly is the pain located?

 

[Philpug]

@Philpug any redness, swelling or tenderness? Where exactly is the pain located?

A little red, tenderness for sure and some swelling, not a balloon. The pain is in line with the PT symptoms...

 

[Nobody]

@Philpug, I was going to comment on FB, bit I am more comfortable in doing it here. it sounds a lot like what happened to me with a Dalbello Scorpion, swelling got so high and painful after only 4 hrs skiing that as soon as I took the foot out of the boot I couldn't put it back in, nor could walk ( & ankle was not even able to move). For a while I feared I had broken some bones. After that, it happened each time I was using those boots, to the point I had to stop using them (ATM they are still in their case I the basement). I simply concluded that the boot was too big for my foot and that I had made a wrong purchase. But after some year I bought a pair of Dalbello WC SS (I think they are two full sizes less than the Scorpions) , and the problem came back (it has not, nor did not occur with my Tecnicas three generations: TNT, XT17 and R9.8) as soon as I started to feel pain in the same area, I immediately stopped skiing. Couldn't go soon enough to the boot fitter to show it, and when I could , a couple of days later, then the swelling receded. Thus had to rum the risk and endure the pain a second time , then went straight to them and showed the swelling. A couple of measurement where the swelling was and checking inside the boot originated some boot fitting and the pain has not came back (so far). Neither when I ski in the SS, nor in a pair of 2nd hands DRS 110 that I later bought (and did not need bootfitting, so far). Each time it occurred I had to stop skiing for some time (but skiing on week ends and using normal shoes to go to work , was of help)
Conclusion : check if your boots shells and liners have something in the same place where the swelling and the pain occour. In my case , it was simply that my feet and the Dalbello do not agree to collaborate without some boot fitting action. Btw, go and see a doctor (orthopaedic/podologist). Do not underestimate it.

 

[Philpug]

@Nobody I have been in my main boot for about 100 days, I don't think it is that...the only thought was that I did cant that boot 1*, but I have had 10-12 days since I did that Plus I hadn't skied for the previous 3 days.

 

[KevinF]

So I was diagnosed with peroneal tendinitis earlier this year but my symptoms were nowhere close to as bad as you are describing.

I naturally stand bow-legged; one side effect is that I tend to step onto the outside of my foot first. It's (apparently) the job of the peroneal muscles / tendons to flatten the foot and when they're inflamed they can't do that effectively.

My noticeable effect was that after a walk (mile or two on uneven ground) that my left ankle would be sore. My foot would rarely get flat so the push-off for the next step would be in a compromised position and... do that a few thousand times and things would get sore. My left foot would get "wobbly"; I couldn't balance on it as well as I can on my right (good) foot. But after a couple minutes (hours) of rest, it was fine.

I got my diagnosis after a ski outing back in February and my ankles were killing me after each day. I figured I was just not in great skiing form, but got it checked out anyway. My ortho prescribed PT which worked great -- basically a bunch of balancing and strengthening exercises.

 

[scott43]

I've had Plantar Fascitis in the past. I would say, in order to have PF, you have to have done some trauma to your foot. The tendon has to be stretched enough to cause small tears to occur. Typically this involves running too much, too early, a long hike in very unsupportive shoes etc. If all you were doing is skiing, I don't think that would be typical since your foot is flat in the boot. Unless you changed insoles. If it's PF, the pain is under the heel, right at the front of the heel bone. This is where a bone spur can develop as a result of repeated PF episodes.

If it's PF (I'm no doctor so I can't say obviously..), be very careful about your foot health up front. It can linger for months. If you're careful and do the right things up front, you have a better chance of making it improve faster and more permanently. I basically wore Birkenstocks for a month, didn't do any kind of motion where you'd say you're tip-toeing. I changed what walking I was doing to basically a flat walk. Stairs I did flat-footed. Slow stretching with roller under the foot. Manual massage/manipulation. It was a long struggle. I'm very careful now about footwear and foot health.

 

[Prosper]

Without being able to take a more thorough history or perform an examination it sounds more like a mild or moderate gout attack of your ankle.

 

[Nobody]

BTW, by the description of your symptom, the description above of PT and the memory I have of the symptoms, I think I had PT, but managed to "solve" it with rest and eliminating the source of the problem (the wrong boot)

 

[Nobody]

BBTW, I also have PF at both feet (I walk too much around barefoot) and when skiing, it actually gets better , simply because I use a customised foot sole...I also had to throw away all old running shoes (but also specifically my beloved Birkenstock Boston) and buy new ones, possibly well "cushioned"...
Also switched from cowboys' boots to stockmans' boots...
p.s. italic is for the parts I have modified/added

 

[scott43]

My wife laughs at my Brooks Beasts... I actually did some changes..foot-strike..gait..and I was able to move away from the Beasts. But..they do help!

 

[Philpug]

I have been wearing Hoka One One's pretty much exclusively for about 2 years. I am rarely barefoot, not with a dog and bones/toys left around the house.

 

[SSSdave]

There are different members of the plantar fascia ligament set that can be injured. Mine was the main one where the group of ligaments attaches to the heal bone. Posted below on a hiking site:

(October 2018)

All my hiking and backpacking life, I've had occasional bouts of sore feet after too much pounding down trails and routes. But last week was the first time it didn't go away after a few days that scared me enough to go on the web and research what might be going on. All summer something had been marginally bothering me on my right foot heel that at times ached enough to affect sleep. That WWW info enlightened me to injuries to the plantar fascia ligament, the largest ligament in the body that also serves as a foot cushion as fatty tissue overlays such plus thick leathery skin for those of us with lots of activity:

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/ab/2e/57/ab2e57cfea58f3fd196c12bb46d66aad.jpg

There is a ton of web information on heel pain as apparently a whole lot of other people suffer from such including many that are not hikers including runners, dancers, and overweight folks. Others on our board probable have been afflicted and know much more than this ignorant person so might add their two cents herein...

On the web there is much associated direction towards wearing special shoes and socks and their sales but the sage advice I gleaned is to simply stay off one's feet long enough for the condition to clear up by itself and then warily return to whatever activities... Yesterday with the soreness down to one spot on my right foot where the ligament attaches to the heel bone aka medial calcaneal tubercal, I fashioned up a replacement 1/4" thick foam pad to put into my boot with a hole cutout for the sore spot and that seems to allow my walking about firmly on my heal without worsening the soreness as it has continued to improve.
-------------------------

During the 2018 ski season, I wore the above sole adapter over my custom orthotic and by season end foot was healed. Following summer did considerable backpacking. No issues during the 2020/21 ski season.

 

[AmyPJ]

@Nobody I have been in my main boot for about 100 days, I don't think it is that...the only thought was that I did cant that boot 1*, but I have had 10-12 days since I did that Plus I hadn't skied for the previous 3 days.

This makes me suspicious that the canting IS playing into it. You know, the old mm is a mile in boots thing. 10-12 days is about the right amount to fire up some itis of some sort.

That being said, you've had more than one person suspect gout. I know nothing about gout (thankfully) but you might want to dig into that, too.

 

[Andy Mink]

@Nobody I have been in my main boot for about 100 days, I don't think it is that...the only thought was that I did cant that boot 1*, but I have had 10-12 days since I did that Plus I hadn't skied for the previous 3 days.

You've been saying you feel off-balance, out of sorts, for a bit now even before the cant. Maybe the few days off without having the support of the boots fired something up that the cant hid. If it keeps up I know a good podiatrist!

 

[Andy Mink]

Calf massage. Seriously. Feel for knots in the lateral side of the muscle.

And, if it is peroneal tendonitis, don't be surprised if you wind up in a lace-up brace with figure-8 straps.


You really, really, really want to stop that ankle from inverting.

Oh, and if you're using clipless pedals, go back to flats for a while. Not kidding.

D'oh! I opened the video! Here come the ankle brace ads!

 

[Lauren]

This came out of the blue, I woke yesterday and my roght foot was screaming.

Do you sleep walk?

 

[Andy Mink]

In the off chance it is gout, stay away from alcohol, red meat, pork, and seafood. Been there, done that. It sucks. Is the ankle warm to the touch?