Pain in heel of left foot, thoughts?

**exalted** · 01-08-2008, 12:50 PM

I know BC isn't the best place to ask for injury/pain questions, but I was wondering if others had experience with this.

I am right handed - recently I"ve had a nagging pain in the heel of my left foot whenever I put pressure on the ball of the foot. I think this could be from playing too much recently, but perhaps there is more to it than that?

Any info and similar experiences from others would be greatly appreciated!

**westwood_13** · 01-08-2008, 01:03 PM

The best thing to do is to see a sports physician. They will be able to tell you.

DISCLAIMER: Everything else following is just my own experience and should never be substituted by real consultation with a medical professional.

As to heel pain, one of the most prominent badminton injuries is of the achilles tendon. This is likely to be related to that. The movements of lunging, jumping, crouching, and shuffling put tremendous strain on the tendon. Injuries can be abrupt, or overuse. In your case, since you have described it as nagging, it is more likely that it is an overuse injury.

As I mentioned, the first thing you want to do is see a doctor. The injury could be do to footwork/techniques problems, improper shoes, or simply playing harder than your body can handle. Either way, there are always solutions, which your doctor can suggest to you.

I hope this is somewhat helpful.

**wocdam** · 01-08-2008, 11:35 PM

u need to rest. nothing very serious at the moment.

**SystemicAnomaly** · 01-09-2008, 06:13 AM

When you put pressure on the ball of the foot, you feel heel pain? Just checking, is that really what you meant to say?

Could be achilles tendon as westwood suggests. Could be heel spurs (ouch!). Could be plantar fasciitis (see gif below).

Inflammation of the Plantar Fascia

**extremenanopowe** · 01-11-2008, 07:12 AM

Try to use more of your toes when you play. It should help to reduce the pain. Sure helps to continue with your game.

***Oldhand*** · 01-11-2008, 10:02 AM

From the scant information exalted has provided, it sounds like a heel spur

Here's a question for you:
Is the pain at its worst after a period of rest?
(say, how is it when you wake up in the morning?)

**malayali** · 01-11-2008, 11:24 AM

REST, put some ice on it. Reduce some weight if you can. Use some extra padding in the heel of your shoes. REST.

**azabaz_ipoh** · 01-11-2008, 10:26 PM

heel spur? i sometimes feel pain in my heels but that's usually after a games session after shower and all and it will only stay painful for a short period of time when i put pressure on the heels. it usually goes away but sometimes comes back again when i wake up the next morning. but again not permanently and not for long.

**SystemicAnomaly** · 01-12-2008, 07:38 PM

Originally Posted by Oldhand

From the scant information exalted has provided, it sounds like a heel spur

Here's a question for you:
Is the pain at its worst after a period of rest?
(say, how is it when you wake up in the morning?)

I've got heel spurs myself but I ruled it out since exalted indicated that he/she felt "a nagging pain in the heel of my left foot whenever I put pressure on the ball of the foot". My heel spurs have never cuased pain when putting weight on the ball on the foot. Plantar fasciiitis seems more likely.

**extremenanopowe** · 01-13-2008, 01:39 AM

I also do face pain on my heel when I wake up next morning after the game. I am not sure it this will help but I have been using it for 6 years now. I bought the japanese magnetic pad (life time warranty; about $90sgd i guess) from those Chinese massages store and use it when I sleep. It's suppose to help with blood circulation. Not sure if you want to try it. Many people in singapore died at young age recently. Am sure you know some in the news. Some died of heart attack and the other one of french flight died of blood clot (Dr. said suspect). It's good to have a proper blood circulation. Live life longer and stay healthy.

**exalted** · 01-21-2008, 01:08 AM

Thank you for all of the helpful replies. I think my condition closely resembles Plantar fasciiitis, after looking at the gif and reading the Wikipedia article.

I do feel pain in my first steps after waking, and I certainly feel it when I walk around. That said, I will try to stay away from badminton and take it easy.. for a while... =_=

**chris-ccc** · 01-21-2008, 01:43 AM

Originally Posted by exalted

I think this could be from playing too much recently, but perhaps there is more to it than that?

.
How many hours per week did you play, exalted ??? If you didn't play up to 40 hours a week, like our westwood_13 had done before, then it's a different matter.

.

Originally Posted by westwood_13

The best thing to do is to see a sports physician. They will be able to tell you.

DISCLAIMER: Everything else following is just my own experience and should never be substituted by real consultation with a medical professional.

.
And this is the best advice, "The best thing to do is to see a sports physician", as posted by our westwood_13.
.

Originally Posted by azabaz_ipoh

heel spur? i sometimes feel pain in my heels but that's usually after a games session after shower and all and it will only stay painful for a short period of time when i put pressure on the heels. it usually goes away but sometimes comes back again when i wake up the next morning. but again not permanently and not for long.

.
But, if the pain persists, please see a doctor.
.

Originally Posted by exalted

Thank you for all of the helpful replies. I think my condition closely resembles Plantar fasciiitis, after looking at the gif and reading the Wikipedia article.

I do feel pain in my first steps after waking, and I certainly feel it when I walk around.

That said, I will try to stay away from badminton and take it easy.. for a while...

.
Even after the pain has subsided, take it easy when you return to play Badminton. Let your body tells you what's is happening... Pain is a sign that something is wrong.

.

***Oldhand*** · 01-21-2008, 01:53 AM

This section should help

**azabaz_ipoh** · 01-21-2008, 01:53 AM

after some reading and refering to this site (yes i know this is no substitute to seeing a doctor

) http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pla...08/DSECTION=10 , i think since my pain is not severe, i will try the simple stretching and ice massage and see if there's improvement to the pain. i dont have the pain everyday. and it is never severe enough that i can't walk properly. i think me being overweight is not helping matters since i play badminton quite frequently. so lets see after the stretching and ice massage whether that helps. hopefully i can avoid seeing the doctor.

p/s: hey oldhand, we are linking the same site. i just realized when i posted my post that you posted at the same time and checking out your link took me to the site i linked above.

talk about ESP. hahahahaha.

***Oldhand*** · 01-21-2008, 01:54 AM

azabaz, that's quite eerie... almost the same post

**azabaz_ipoh** · 01-21-2008, 02:00 AM

another twilight zone moment i guess.

**kitseb** · 01-21-2008, 05:41 AM

Originally Posted by exalted

Thank you for all of the helpful replies. I think my condition closely resembles Plantar fasciiitis, after looking at the gif and reading the Wikipedia article.

I do feel pain in my first steps after waking, and I certainly feel it when I walk around. That said, I will try to stay away from badminton and take it easy.. for a while... =_=

I'm a bit late in replying, but I had a problem with pain under the heel and not being able to walk properly in the morning especially after a few games. It was Plantar fasciiitis in my case. I used gel heel inserts to give me extra cushioning, even though my shoes were good ones and only 4 months old. With stretching exercises and wearing a strap at night to support the foot, it got better after about 4-6 months. I have now changed my trainers (and don't use a gel insert anymore) and have had no problems since.

I played throughout my recovery, but made sure I did lots of stretching / exercises before and after games. In my case I am confident that it was the poor cushioning of the shoes that caused the problems.