That hurt like a shot in the heel

That's going to be my new expression to describe something that hurts really bad.

Here's a play by play for those of you who find this stuff fascinating.  (If you tend to pass out at the thought of shots, needles, ligaments, and the combination of the 3, you may want to sit down and have some orange juice nearby)

The podiatrist came into my room (he's a friend of mine) and did an ultrasound of my heel.  He said it was definitely plantar fasciitis because he could see the swollen plantar fascia ligament above my heel.  He even showed me.  I had a flashback to looking at my unborn children on an ultrasound screen because my foot on the screen looked about the same to me as they always did.  A big blob of nothingness.  But, once he pointed it out, it was actually kind of fascinating. 

So he said we should go ahead with the cortisone injection and then inserts for my shoes.  He said he'd also give me some exercises to do.  He said "Ok, I'm going to spray some really cold spray on your heel so it makes the injection not hurt so much. So, you'll feel cold, then stick, then burn"  I was like "OK, whatever you say"  I had already told him I was nervous about it and he said (and I quote) "It really isn't that bad" (end quote)  So, as he puts the needle in (I think while watching the ultrasound) I say "Oh, you're right, it doesn't hurt that bad" and he says "Now, here comes the burn" and I said "OOH MY GOSH MATTHEW YOU TOTALLY LIED TO ME!"  But by the time I had said that, the worst was over.  When I stood up later, it actually felt BETTER than it had when I walked in.

My instructions are to do the exercises (including rolling a frozen water bottle back and forth on my foot for 20 minutes 4 times a day...good advice for anyone suffering with plantar fasciitis), go to the Athletic Annex in Indianapolis to have them analyze my gait for good quality running shoes, wear the inserts he gave me, and try to stay off the treadmill whenever I can.

My plan is to continue on as scheduled with my 3 mile run tomorrow.  I will take it a little easy and stop if it is hurting, but right now, I think I'll be fine.  It feels kind of weird right now, but no pain...and the plantar fascial pain is definitely less!  All in all, I'm very happy I went and got it fixed before it became a major problem that would have caused me to have to stop running for a while!!