Sore heels?

[mnskiers]

I ski about 3-4 times a week, nothing extreme or crazy, but lately my heels are quite sore. Any ideas why or suggestions for fixing it?

[Stevie Boy]

Get on to the balls of your feet, probably going to help your skiing as well.

[Booze]

Look into "Plantar fasciitis"

If your symptoms fit the description, treat it seriously and aggressively.

If been battling it for over a year.

[MISkier]

@Booze, one of the oddest things I found out about Plantar Fasciitis is that sleeping with your feet extended (toes pointed down) and weighted down that way by the covers at night seems to make the problem worse and linger. I bought a couple of braces to wear at night to keep my feet at 90 degrees to help get rid of it more quickly. After that, it's a matter of ensuring you vary your foot motion so you don't overwork those tendons in that way again. It hasn't returned yet and that was a couple of years ago. I only wore the braces for a week to two, if I recall correctly, and haven't needed them since.

[DmaxJC_ski]

My daughters are dancers so ive dealt with this problem a few times, plantar fasciitis originates from your calves being strong and overly tight, which over powers the facia causing the pain. Stretch the calves!!

[MISkier]

@DmaxJC_ski is right. I did do some calf stretching as well. I would stand on the edge of the treadmill with my toes on and heels off. Then, I'd let my heels drop below the edge to essentially point my toes upward. You can feel it in the calf a lot.

 

The theory behind the toes pointing down being another part of the problem is apparently that has your calf muscle retracted and shortened. Then, when you are walking, your calf muscle tightens more than before because it has been accustomed to its retracted state. Add in some overworked/well-developed calf muscle from sports and you're tight as a drum.

[UWSkier]

Is it the back of the heel? May be insertional tendinitis of the achilles where it attaches to the heel. That hurts. Fortunately, easy to treat.

[igkya]

Those who commented on Plantar fasciitis are spot on. I ignored it for a while hoping my regular stretching would eliminate it but it led to worse issues involving other tendons/ligaments. Ended up need to see a PT

[mnskiers]

I have not skied in a few days and my feet feel back to normal now. I will add that I have flat feet when standing and am very hyper mobile (EDS) so over flexibility has always impacted me. When I ski more on the ball of my foot I feel unsteady/unstable, would you say is this because of EDS, flat feet, or could it be Plantar fasciitis? Sorry for making this so long but I have been fine all summer and now this just came up from no where, so I am a little bewildered.

[z_skier]

Plenty of calf stretching - Exercises: Toe scrunches with a towel or in shoes.