Heel "tearing"

[Ian Kay]

A co-worker of mine has developed a rather strange problem in her heel. At the base of the Achilles tendon, right at the curve of the heel but not quite under the foot, she feels what she describes as a "tearing" feeling. This happens when she extends her leg and dorsiflexes her foot, but not when she simply bends over and touches her toes.

We did a few things to look at some potential issues, and she has excellent ankle mobility, no tender spots on the bottom of her foot when rolled with a tennis ball (i.e. no plantar fascia pain)... no pain anywhere... not even in that spot of the tearing. Just the tearing feeling.

I obviously don't know what it is... could it be facial tearing, or a tear of the tendon itself? And if it is a tear, what is the best protocol to help it heal? There isn't any pain, and she feels it while doing that one motion... is it just a case of simply not doing that motion? Could certain shoes or exercises exacerbate the problem?

One final thing, and this could be key: one of her legs is significantly shorter than the other. Could this have caused an odd pull on her foot, perhaps creating a heel spur, which is in turn beginning to tear the fascia?

Thanks for any help, either in treating it, preventing further damage or other possible problems for her to look out for.

[Ian Kay]

Hmm, I may have found a solution: I looked further up the chain.

I got her doing some fairly deep rolling on her hamstring with a lacross ball. She felt it in her heel! So when we finished, it was actually slightly worse than when we started. This, from experience receiving deep massage and having consulted my massage guy, can often be a sign that the guilty trigger point has been discovered. The irritation from massaging it out can cause an immediate but temporary worsened feeling of discomfort.

We shall see in a day or two if things improve.

[UConnJulie]

Another good thing to try is have her do supine hamstring stretch with her hands behind her knee (ie lie supine, grasp behind the knee with your hands, extend the knee) and then flex and extend the ankle (dorsiflex and plantarflex). If the nerve is bound down, this should give her some relief. Do both legs since the nervous system is all connected.

[Ian Kay]

Originally Posted by UConnJulie

Another good thing to try is have her do supine hamstring stretch with her hands behind her knee (ie lie supine, grasp behind the knee with your hands, extend the knee) and then flex and extend the ankle (dorsiflex and plantarflex). If the nerve is bound down, this should give her some relief. Do both legs since the nervous system is all connected.

Thanks Julie!