It's just over a month since I had the steroid shot so a quick update is in order.
I went for the shot, despite hearing bad things about it and being pretty worried, the shot was no more painful than an immunisation - I was laughing with the doctor about it afterwards. My heel got progressively more painful for about 3 days and swelled up a little, then it started getting better over about 3 days. After 6 days I did a 4km trail run in well padded (but low drop) shoes - no issues.
I started doing 4km runs with a couple of days rest between each. the first 2 weekends instead of a longer run I did a long walk instead (20km flat, 30km flat). 2 weeks ago I did a 21km mountain walk with 1000m of ascent, about 3km of which was running. Yesterday I did a 22.2km mountain run with 1100m of ascent. So far, no issues at all (other than tired quads), my PF has not showed any signs of returning so far. I suspected it was due to overuse at the time rather than poor form, so I've not changed anything other than reducing my weekly mileage.
I'm not running barefoot at the moment. I'm trying to stick to trails (for the varied terrain), and have bought a pair of 6mm drop Salomon Sense Mantra shoes which I'm using. I plan to incorporate BFR as a training aid maybe once a week rather than do all my running like this, as the places I like to run are pretty gnarly/rocky. Though I run with fairly decent form, I prefer a little drop/cushion when off-road.
I'm not using the night splint any more (it was great when I was trying to recover from the the injury though - except sometimes my foot would swell at night and I'd wake in pain as the straps were too tight around my foot/ankle), and I haven't used a foam roller or ball on my calves for several weeks. I still use my Compex after runs so maybe 3-4 times a week, using both recovery after longer runs and strength/endurance programs after short runs or on rest days.
So in summary, solidly on the mend I think - thank god!
I went for the shot, despite hearing bad things about it and being pretty worried, the shot was no more painful than an immunisation - I was laughing with the doctor about it afterwards. My heel got progressively more painful for about 3 days and swelled up a little, then it started getting better over about 3 days. After 6 days I did a 4km trail run in well padded (but low drop) shoes - no issues.
I started doing 4km runs with a couple of days rest between each. the first 2 weekends instead of a longer run I did a long walk instead (20km flat, 30km flat). 2 weeks ago I did a 21km mountain walk with 1000m of ascent, about 3km of which was running. Yesterday I did a 22.2km mountain run with 1100m of ascent. So far, no issues at all (other than tired quads), my PF has not showed any signs of returning so far. I suspected it was due to overuse at the time rather than poor form, so I've not changed anything other than reducing my weekly mileage.
I'm not running barefoot at the moment. I'm trying to stick to trails (for the varied terrain), and have bought a pair of 6mm drop Salomon Sense Mantra shoes which I'm using. I plan to incorporate BFR as a training aid maybe once a week rather than do all my running like this, as the places I like to run are pretty gnarly/rocky. Though I run with fairly decent form, I prefer a little drop/cushion when off-road.
I'm not using the night splint any more (it was great when I was trying to recover from the the injury though - except sometimes my foot would swell at night and I'd wake in pain as the straps were too tight around my foot/ankle), and I haven't used a foam roller or ball on my calves for several weeks. I still use my Compex after runs so maybe 3-4 times a week, using both recovery after longer runs and strength/endurance programs after short runs or on rest days.
So in summary, solidly on the mend I think - thank god!
