I landed badly from a flying side kick last night, didn't reach the bag at all, came down right on the hell of my right foot, which it didn't appreciate one bit. I can't walk on it, without a fair amount of limp inducing pain. On the other hand, it's only a little bruised, & I can hobble along by putting the weight on the ball of my foot, keeping the heel raised. Browsing the net, it seems it's either just bruised, in which case it'll be good after rest, or broke, in which case it's nasty, might need a cast/surgery & take 3 months I know the answer is to take it to a doc, & will totter down there on Tuesday to at least get an appointment if it's not improving by then (it's a holiday on Monday, or I'd do it sooner). Has anyone had a similar injury, with what outcome?
Hospital? Get an x-ray. I'd have thought if you can walk on it it's not broken but what better way to spend a Saturday afternoon than in casualty
If you have any concerns the best thing you can do is go to your doctor. If it makes you feel better, I broke my fibula and tibia clean in half a month ago. I won't be able to spar in Boxing for at least another six months and in Muay Thai for a year. Three months isn't that bad, the good news is (if that is the case) you can still train, however you will need to figure out a way how you can do so safely. At Boxing I punch the heavy bag while sitting in a chair, I also practice shadow boxing too with weights and do crunches on the couch at the club, all while elevating my leg. Having injuries is a good test to see how well you can adapt in training. Ask your doctor about what you can do instead and talk to your coach to see if you can figure out alternative training methods for the meanwhile. However, don't go back to training until you are absolutely sure what the problem is and your doctor gives you the all clear.
Is it the underside of your heel / heel pad that hurts when you weight bear? I'm no quack, but have suffered bruising of the heel after landing a jump kick badly many a time and it hurts like billyo. The pain lingers for quite a while also. As I understand it - it is due to the fatty layer protecting the bone being "squashed" flat and thus leaving the heel bone less protected. http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/front/foot/bruisedheel.htm If it is this (and only a physician would be able to confirm this), it will get better after being rested. Gary
Hi all, Thanks for the replies, & tough luck with that injury Hapkuko - ouch. Yep, it's the heel pad, the big soft rounded lump basically, that's the problem. Reading up on it, it seems you can break it or bruise it, but from what I read on the internet, those who've broke it have done stupid things like falling off ladders, rather than entirely sensible things like deciding not to do a flying side kick whilst in mid-air (cough). Anyway, Dr says just bruised, ibruprofen a little, some cream, & rest. It's 4 days later now & I am now able to put a little weight on it whilst walking, so it is getting better, albeit slowly, though I'm mostly walking along on the ball of the foot still. With luck I'll be back training, probably gingerly, next week, or the week after.
A useful trick worth trying is to take some athletic tape and tape in tear drop shapes on each side to help support the fat pad. If this does not make sense PM me and I will clarify. Essentially you are creating a solid edge around the pad to keep it from being over compressed (as the tape keeps it from being overly flattened). You can freeze water in a styrofoam cup or use peas in a ziplock bag and rest your heal on this to get nice localised cooling. Some people just peel off the edge of the cup and then massage the heal like you were using an ice lolly. The styrofoam helps to keep your hands from getting cold and wet. Lastly some find that using a heel cup (which also supports and shock absorbs) may lessen their discomfort. Takes a long time for this type of injury to stop hurting if you aren't respectful of it as there is very little blood supply to the area. Not sure if this info is of much help but FWIW hope it does you some good. powchoy (pdf is a gross mock up of the taping for downloading)
