I got into some 3-on-3 basketball yesterday, Old Guys vs Young Guys. Old Guys rock, but we break quickly too. (We beat the college kids pretty quickly, by the way, 10 to 4.)

After just a couple of minutes in the game, it was clear that the casual shoes I wore (hey, the original intent of the visit was college football and beer!) were definitely not good for driveway basketball. I scored the first three goals and then hit the bench (okay, the patio chair) on account of a sudden pain in my foot. I got home, got Advil, got horizontal, and got the foot elevated and wrapped. Easy, breezy, right? Not exactly.

This morning my toes were a bit swollen and I've got a dime-sized bruise just ahead of the heel. I haven't hobbled like this since a full-on metatarsal break almost 10 years ago.

Ice, elevation, and Advil... anything else work for speeding the healing?

Bourbon with a splash. On ice if you prefer.

I like the way you think, sir!

Hopefully just a bruise and not a heel spur.

Treatment: rest. It might be a lot longer than you anticipate.

Rest and soft running shoes or Crocks. Think gentle, move gentle, be gentle.

I do have the option to work from home tomorrow... looks like I'll be doing that. Hooray for Skype meetings, right?

I'm laughing a little, ArtieS: hobbling ≠ move gentle.

Swelling has decreased, bruise size has increased, pain remains stable. Good grief.

This happened to me when I was a teenager. Cure was basically to not step on it for about four days. I was young then, so now it would probably take a week.

Get a gel-type heel cup at your local pharmacy or Walmart to stick in your shoe. A bruised heel can be surprisingly painful, and may take a good, long while to fully resolve. If you run or walk regularly for fitness, stop entirely for a week or two, and ease back into it only after you see some substantial improvement.

quote:

How do you treat a heel bruise?

This has always worked well for me.

https://youtu.be/qBJfAsVXKUY

I was on crutches for a week. Hobbled around for another two. It took a while to heal fully. I was 30.

Good grief, this stinks.

I'm getting around a little better today (haven't tried putting on shoes yet), but the size of the bruise is increasing.

No bueno!

Take a wooden spoon (metal works too), keep it in the freezer, and scrape over and all around the bruise. It will help get blood flowing and improve the recovery. As an aging mountain biker, I've done this lots of times to help. Good luck

quote:

How do you treat a heel bruise?

Heel cups/pads
Try a gentle stretch to reduce pain and tightness. Sit on the floor with your legs stretched out straight in front of you. Holding a towel at two ends, loop the middle around the balls of your feet. Pull gently backwards to stretch out your foot. Release and repeat as necessary

Kinetic Tape: Wrap your heel with 1⁄2 in (1.3 cm) medical tape for relief from pain. Wrapping a heel with medical tape provides a similar function to the heel pad or cup, except it can be personalized and worn even when you aren’t wearing shoes. By providing compression on the tissues surrounding the heel, you can reduce pain and help keep the heel’s fat pad stabilized while it heals.[12]

Place one strip of tape that runs from the middle of your foot’s arch around the bottom of the heel to the mid-point of your foot on the other side.[13]
Point the toes gently upward. Using 3 in (7.6 cm) strips of tape, wrap your heel tightly beginning at the top of the heel pad from the outside of your foot to your arch-side.[14]
Continue wrapping as you move down towards the bottom of the heel, overlapping the strips of tape slightly so that there are no gaps between the pieces. Leave about 1⁄4–1⁄2 in (0.64–1.27 cm) of your heel uncovered at the bottom.[15]
Secure all the strips of tape with a final longer piece (approximately 6 in (15 cm) in length) wrapped around the outside of the foot

Try self-massage once a day to lessen your heel pain. Use the pads of your fingers or thumb to gently rub the back of your heel or the bottom of your heel. Stroke back and forth over the area to increase blood flow and help relieve pain. Rub your heel for 3-6 minutes at at time.

Thanks, all. There's improvement today.

The bruise itself is a bit smaller; the swelling just above it is still there; I'm hobbling less.
I guess this is really more of an arch bruise than a heel bruise, but that doesn't change the fact that it's annoying as heck.



I haven't kept it elevated as much today as Sunday -- when a fella puts his feet up on the desk, others get the impression he's slacking or arrogant. Who knew?!

I do rub on it some throughout the day, and I appreciate the info on taping. I've wondered if wrapping with the good ol' Ace bandage would do it some good during the evening/night hours.

at this point compression may not be a good thing let it heal on t own advil should help. Cold compression will alleviate the discomfort as well.

You have a good job with health insurance. Get it looked at and get some X rays.

Freeze a bottle of beer. Put it on the floor and roll it along the bottom of your foot/heel. Then drink the beer.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
get some X rays.

After a short session with Teladoc after work, the suggestion was just that: "go get it X rayed." So I did.

So far, nothing shows as fractured, though the "doc in a box" said he'd refer it to Orthopedics, especially considering I've broken that foot before.

(The X ray tech said, "you've got some pretty nice hardware in there!)

Sooo... for now it's a continuation of the ice-and-Advil routine. I'm thinking that bourbon from J3e's response may be a good plan tonight.

Work tomorrow will be a half-day, at best.