Long Term Heel Pain from Driving?

[Blaylock1988]

I have had this dull pain in my right heel for over a month now. The pain is where my heel rests on the floor while driving, which leads me to believe that driving is causing it. I only feel it when I put pressure on that area, and the pain is low, but the fact that it has been persistent for over a month now bothers me. Usually it hurts after a LONG drive to Vegas or something, but goes away after a while, but this is different now. I don't think it is my shoes because I wear a wide variety of shoes while driving throughout the week (Converse All-Stars, leather Sonoma's, combat boots, high gloss oxfords, Asics running shoes, etc.)

Has anyone else experienced this problem? I found some other threads about foot pain but they only mention short term, not persistent over a long period of time. Should I visit the Clinic about it?

 

[Do Work Son]

I'm going to butcher the spelling but it might be a planter fascitis, it's a strained tendon in the bottom of your foot. I developed this shortly after Christmas and the pain flairs up when sitting at my desk, it feels like I'm stepping on a marlin spike when I get up. If I walk around for awhile the pain subsides and I'm able to jog just fine but after sitting or sleeping without weight on it there's quite a bit of pain.

I'm making an appointment to see a doctor, you should too.

 

[grambles423]

I'm going to say no. Why?

1) If it were common, we all would have the issue.
2) Its still there with many different types of shoes

 

[Do Work Son]

I don't know what I did to my foot, it's possible he strained it while driving but that is really unlikely.

 

[Merkle]

I haven't had this problem and I drive 1,000 mi a week on average. I'm also 27 and have been driving for over 10 years.

 

[Blaylock1988]

I'm going to butcher the spelling but it might be a planter fascitis, it's a strained tendon in the bottom of your foot. I developed this shortly after Christmas and the pain flairs up when sitting at my desk, it feels like I'm stepping on a marlin spike when I get up. If I walk around for awhile the pain subsides and I'm able to jog just fine but after sitting or sleeping without weight on it there's quite a bit of pain.

I'm making an appointment to see a doctor, you should too.

I don't think it I have this. I never have a sharp pain that goes away. It is just a dull pain on the back 'edge' of my heel whenever I put pressure on it.

I haven't had this problem and I drive 1,000 mi a week on average. I'm also 27 and have been driving for over 10 years.

That is why I thought this is strange, I am no truck driver, and I don't commute more than a couple miles a day to work. I am only 24.

I think I will pay the Clinic a visit this weekend and find out what is going on.

 

[Do Work Son]

Okay, then my heel pain is fucking weird then.

 

[WAP]

I'm going to butcher the spelling but it might be a planter fascitis, it's a strained tendon in the bottom of your foot. I developed this shortly after Christmas and the pain flairs up when sitting at my desk, it feels like I'm stepping on a marlin spike when I get up. If I walk around for awhile the pain subsides and I'm able to jog just fine but after sitting or sleeping without weight on it there's quite a bit of pain.

I'm making an appointment to see a doctor, you should too.

I'm going with this, too. I had it in both feet, but it went away in my right and it's now just pretty minor in my left. Does it feel stiff when you first get out of bed in the morning? Try this, before you get up, while still lying in bed, try stretching your Achilles tendon in that leg. When you do get up, the pain and stiffness should be less. Do periodic Achilles stretches throughout the day, like standing on the edge of a stair or curb on the ball of your foot and let your weight sag to stretch the tendon, and after a while you should feel a permanent improvement. Good luck.

 

[r15maniac]

As an RMT here in BC, I've seen this a few times and it could very simply be a minor case of calcaneal bursitis.


Pain at the posterior heel or posterior ankle is most commonly caused by pathology at the posterior calcaneus, the Achilles (calcaneal) tendon, or the associated bursae. The following bursae are located just superior to the insertion of the Achilles tendon:

Subtendinous calcaneal bursa - This bursa (also called the retrocalcaneal bursa), situated anterior (deep) to the Achilles tendon, is located between the Achilles tendon and the calcaneus.[4]

Subcutaneous calcaneal bursa - Also called the Achilles bursa, it is found posterior (superficial) to the Achilles tendon, lying between the skin and the posterior aspect of the distal Achilles tendon.

Inflammation of one or both of these bursae can cause pain in the posterior heel and ankle regions

Treatment:

Stretching: to the point of discomfort, NOT pain. Hold for 30-45 secs and repeat multiple times through out the day.

Ice: only for acute inflammation and swelling.

Heat(moist): above the area(calf muscle) for 5-10 mins at a time.

Contrast app's op both the ice and heat to stimulate circulation to and through the area to eliminate the inflammation.

Hope that helps.

 

[Do Work Son]

I injured my Achilles a few years ago, that could really be causing heel pain like this from sitting? When I injured it I couldn't stand up that shit hurt so bad.

Fuckitgoingtoadoctor. They never did an MRI when I first injured it.

 

[Blaylock1988]

As an RMT here in BC, I've seen this a few times and it could very simply be a minor case of calcaneal bursitis.


Pain at the posterior heel or posterior ankle is most commonly caused by pathology at the posterior calcaneus, the Achilles (calcaneal) tendon, or the associated bursae. The following bursae are located just superior to the insertion of the Achilles tendon:

Subtendinous calcaneal bursa - This bursa (also called the retrocalcaneal bursa), situated anterior (deep) to the Achilles tendon, is located between the Achilles tendon and the calcaneus.[4]

Subcutaneous calcaneal bursa - Also called the Achilles bursa, it is found posterior (superficial) to the Achilles tendon, lying between the skin and the posterior aspect of the distal Achilles tendon.

Inflammation of one or both of these bursae can cause pain in the posterior heel and ankle regions

Treatment:

Stretching: to the point of discomfort, NOT pain. Hold for 30-45 secs and repeat multiple times through out the day.

Ice: only for acute inflammation and swelling.

Heat(moist): above the area(calf muscle) for 5-10 mins at a time.

Contrast app's op both the ice and heat to stimulate circulation to and through the area to eliminate the inflammation.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the info! My pain is lower down on the heel than the Subcutaneous calcaneal bursa. I don't have any inflammation or brusing. and my Achilles tendon feel fine. It also isn't along the bottom of my foot near the arch either.

Another strange thing is I just ran about 3 miles and the pain is temporarily gone at the end and shortly after the workout.

 

[r15maniac]

Thanks for the info! My pain is lower down on the heel than the Subcutaneous calcaneal bursa. I don't have any inflammation or brusing. and my Achilles tendon feel fine. It also isn't along the bottom of my foot near the arch either.

Another strange thing is I just ran about 3 miles and the pain is temporarily gone at the end and shortly after the workout.

OK. Here's something to consider though, while the diagram shows one thing, we are all different, so it could be that your bursa are a tad lower.

The other thing to consider is a bone bruise. It sounds like you're pointing to the bottom of the heel at the rear, so it is possible to have bruised the periosteum, and this can take a bit to heal(no pun intended).

The problem should NOT be your shoes, as you mentioned it happens with a variety of shoes that you wear, so this leads me to believe that you've either got some referred pain from the bursa or that you have bruised the bone.

Have you jumped and landed on it, either on purpose or by accident. We should also not rule out the Achilles tendon as if inflamed it too can cause referral to the heel.

As mentioned before, work with some of the treatment that I outlined and see what happens.

Best regards as I know this would annoy the hell out of me if it interfered with my driving. :thumbsup:

 

[justino]

I have had this dull pain in my right heel for over a month now. The pain is where my heel rests on the floor while driving, which leads me to believe that driving is causing it. I only feel it when I put pressure on that area, and the pain is low, but the fact that it has been persistent for over a month now bothers me. Usually it hurts after a LONG drive to Vegas or something, but goes away after a while, but this is different now. I don't think it is my shoes because I wear a wide variety of shoes while driving throughout the week (Converse All-Stars, leather Sonoma's, combat boots, high gloss oxfords, Asics running shoes, etc.)

Has anyone else experienced this problem? I found some other threads about foot pain but they only mention short term, not persistent over a long period of time. Should I visit the Clinic about it?

Hey folks,
I'm sorry to crash your forum (classic BMW guy here, though my sister has a Jetta if that helps...), but this thread came up when I googled heel pain & driving. OP, I think I have the exact same problem as you - it's been driving (har) me up the wall for a few years now. I've visited multiple doctors & specialists and several physical & manual therapy places and haven't moved beyond square 1. Pain only when driving, and only on the back of my right heel where it rests on the floor. Flares up within 5 minutes of getting behind the wheel and doesn't go away until I get out of the car.

Did you ever get any relief? If this corresponds with your symptoms and you want to chat, feel free to reply or PM me.
- Justin

 

[KYGTIGuy]

Have you guys tried dedicated driving shoes with the round heels?

Having a shoe with the typical squared off heel with an "edge" would just intuitively put pressure on a smaller spot on your foot and might be causing your problems. The weight of your foot/leg is resting on the back of your shoe, that then gets focused on your heel by said "edge".

 

[McQueen77]

no