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Injured heel.. advice please

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JP-ski
Posts: 106 - Karma: 25
I cased a jump pretty bad a week ago, my heel's been hurting ever since. Today my heel wasn't giving me pain when I walked on it so I thought I'd try slipping on my boot.. I had to take my boot off right away the pain was so bad.. (the boot squeezing the side of my heal was unbearable) Does anybody have any advice of what to do to recover? any personal experiences? what's the common injury when you case a jump? I want to heal up as quick as I can! Thanks
Dec 11 2010 1:00AM
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smltownjibba
Posts: 246 - Karma: 7
been there. Hopefully just a bruise man. I've had friends that fractured them though.
Dec 11 2010 1:06AM
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JP-ski
Posts: 106 - Karma: 25
How long does it take to heal? (estimate)
Dec 11 2010 1:08AM
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smltownjibba
Posts: 246 - Karma: 7
It can suck for a while. Just depends on how bad it is. because of the fact that it doesn't hurt outside the boot I'd say your'e in pretty good shape though. (couple weeks at the very worst I would think)
Dec 11 2010 1:19AM
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smltownjibba
Posts: 246 - Karma: 7
How big of a jump we talkin? Cause boots play a big factor in my exp. Nothin's gonna save you on a 80 footer though.
Dec 11 2010 1:24AM
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smltownjibba
Posts: 246 - Karma: 7
sorry for all the posts but this will help ALOT if you wanna get back at it quicker.

Dec 11 2010 2:07AM
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Mr.Gaga
Posts: 2021 - Karma: 542
If it didn't turn blue its prbly not broken so just wait untill it dont hurt.
Dec 11 2010 2:42AM
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123ski
Posts: 7374 - Karma: 1,415
I will tell you my story. In no way is this medical advice.

3 seasons ago I was skiing at Park City in Kings Crown (this is back when Kings Crown was the medium sized park and Pick n' Shovel was the Big Park). I was kind of just getting warmed up to jumping, it was January. The snow warmed up that day and somewhat slowed down. I had hit the jump before and really liked it. I just went to do a 720. The jump was only about 40 feet. I popped really hard and set the rotation, came up about 5 feet short at 630. My heel felt like it had exploded in my boot. I skied off to the side of the landing and just laid down for a few minutes. My foot seriously felt like someone had lit a 1/4 stick of dynamite in my boot. The pain was insane. I skied to my car on one foot. It took me literally about 10 minutes to take my boot off. My heel was pretty swollen but there was no discoloration or anything like that. I could barely walk on it. I used my left foot to drive home.

I had trouble walking on it for the next few days. I bought some Dr. Scholes Gel inserts which helped to alleviate some of the pain. Some people told me it was just bruised. Others said it was plantar fasciitis. Others said it was likely broken. I went to my local insta care unit. They took some X-Rays and said it wasn't broken, likely bruised.I had read online that it is extremely difficult to break your heel without the entire heel shattering, so I didn't think that was the problem. A few weeks later it was still almost unbearable to stand on with my full body weight, but I really wanted to ski again. Plus it was February and it was puking snow. That was almost a record snow year at Alta, and I wasn't going to put it to waste. I decided to ski again, I put my foot in my ski boot, and with all the support of my footbed and the plastic my foot actually felt pretty good. I took it slow and worked up to dropping some stuff and realized that while my foot was in my ski boot, as long as I didn't hit park jumps or land flat off of cliffs my foot actually felt all right!

Then March came. My foot still didn't feel great, but I really wanted to jump. I was at Park City again. All my friends were throwing down on the big jump in Jonesy's. I had been relegated to filmer, which was fun..but I was getting sick of it after almost 2 months. I decided to hit the jump. I was a little timid because of my foot which caused me to come up about 2 feet short..right to the knuckle. Again! my foot felt like it had exploded. I skied down to my car on one foot again. drove home with my wrong foot again. Luckily I already had gel inserts. I was not happy. I asked my aunt, a nurse, what she thought about it. She gave me the best advice I ever have had about a ski related injury.

Aunt: "You have health insurance, right?"
Me: "Yeah"
Aunt: "You want to continue skiing hard and jumping, right?"
Me: "Of course"
Aunt: "Well, why haven't you seen an orthopedic foot surgeon about it yet? InstaCare doctors are great, but they don't know everything about feet, if your foot has hurt for longer than it should, you have a problem"

I scheduled an appointment at The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital with a really cool orthopedic surgeon who skis. He took some X-Rays and confirmed that I had a fracture in my heel. He sent me to the Intermountain Health Care hospital to get a CT scan on my foot. My heel was fractured. it hadn't shattered because it didn't go deep enough to get into the soft tissued inside the bone. He said InstaCare never saw the break because they took my X-rays from the wrong angles. I had been skiing on a broken heel. I ended up skiing on it a few weeks later because it didn't feel bad in my ski boot. I am not sure how the doctor felt about that, but I wouldn't let myself jump so I figured it was okay. My foot continued to hurt for the next few months. Even 5 or 6 months later it would hurt when I jumped up and down on it with or without shoes on.

I am glad I saw a doctor.
Dec 11 2010 3:23AM
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Jibberino
Posts: 2089 - Karma: 1,346
For fuck's sake, people have to stop asking for medical advice on NS! You ask people about their experience with an injury, AFTER you have seen a doctor. I cannot believe people are this stupid. Go see a doctor.
Dec 11 2010 8:11AM
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J..H
Posts: 646 - Karma: 73
Ski harder
Dec 11 2010 8:16AM
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I_Am_Mod
Posts: 13214 - Karma: 3,753
i broke mine while jumping off some stairs, it was swollen to the size of my knee, so i had to ice it :)

Click for larger image

hehe, didn't see a doctor until after the trip (so 3 days after the accident, i return home and see my doc, he sends me to the hospital for an x-ray, turns out it was a hairline fracture in one of the little bones, prescription was a supporting bandage, crutches and minimal stress on it for a month, after 2 weeks i could walk properly again, just jumping and running took a bit longer, after about 6months it was back 100% only thing i still have is that it snaps super loud when i walk around barefooted, like the sound of cracking your finger joints but x10 :)

so, advice, try to relieve stress
don't walk on it, or if you have to, walk with crutches or a skipole (only thing i had on my skiingtrip )

and see a doctor asap...
Dec 11 2010 8:27AM
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I_Am_Mod
Posts: 13214 - Karma: 3,753
^^also the specific pains i had was when pointing my toes up or down and squeezing on the L and R side of the heel, and impossible to support full body weight in that first week ...

i had no discoloration, didn't turn blue or anything, just very swollen in the first 24h ....
Dec 11 2010 8:29AM
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JP-ski
Posts: 106 - Karma: 25
Thanks a lot for the help... my heal has been getting better, I can now put it in my boot without it hurting too much. I put jel pads in my shoes and I'll try taping it when I'm feeling good enough to ski.
Dec 13 2010 7:17PM
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Mr.Huck
Posts: 6096 - Karma: 14,896
Go to a doctor!  Get it Xrayed.  If it is fractured and it doesn't heal right, it will happen again.  I coached a guy who kept doing this.  The doctors told him that if he did it again he would never walk normally again, let alone ski. 
Dec 13 2010 7:56PM
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skithesprings
Posts: 9086 - Karma: 1,349
I bruised my heels really badly as well as getting a hairline fracture in my right heel and they took over a full year to completely heal. it sucked, every time i missed the sweet spot on a jump or hit a chunk of ice i felt blinding pain. hopefully yours isnt that bad.
Dec 13 2010 8:15PM
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JP-ski
Posts: 106 - Karma: 25
I really don't think mine is that bad... it was off a 25ft. stepdown booter I was suprised I could do so much damage on that size of a jump.. I really doubt I fractured it, I probably just came down on my heel funny.
Dec 14 2010 12:56AM
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mctwist311
Posts: 24 - Karma: 28
mine was shattered the right and harlined the left this was the beginning of last year this year the shattered one is fine but the hairline one gives me that blinding pain sucks dude i feel your pain
Mar 16 2011 8:58PM
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billay
Posts: 270 - Karma: 59
i broke my heel last year and now i ski with dr.scholls gel heel insert things. call it dumb but you wouldnt believe the difference it makes.
Mar 16 2011 9:24PM
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ted.d
Posts: 976 - Karma: 53
broke my right heel two months ago. When it happened to me the pain was really bad, there would have been no way i could have walked on it. I did split mine right down the middle so it was probably worse than your average break, but id say if you can walk on it than you probably had a very small hairline fracture. Heels also take forever to heal. Ive been on crutches for probably 8 or 9 weeks and am off next week hopefully. But after that i have to be in a walking cast for another 6 weeks. Shit sucks
Mar 16 2011 10:23PM
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Blake.P
Posts: 9894 - Karma: 3,585
i had a bruised heel bone, which sounds like what you have. advise to make it feel bearable: gel inserts and tape the back of the heel, working downward, to push the skin towards the bottom to provide extra padding
Mar 16 2011 10:53PM
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monkatizer
Posts: 4704 - Karma: 1,518
threads
Mar 30 2011 12:09PM
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SteveStepp
Posts: 9529 - Karma: 20,647
man that sucks.
i bruised my heel last season (January).... out for 4 months.... it didnt fully heal until summer (july)

good luck, dont re bruise it
Mar 30 2011 5:56PM
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mctwist311
Posts: 24 - Karma: 28
walking cast, no boot? i was on crutches for 3 months and only had a cast for like the first two weeks then that retarded boot for the remainder of 6 long months some advice dude when they let you start putting pressure dont overdue it the pain is still there and possibility for refracture is high as i said early my pain didnt seem to go away for over a year and hitting the big jumps this year where scary at first i remember the first 50' i knuckeld i damb near shit myself in the air and swore it was gonna re brake hurt for a few days but then just back to the annoying arthritis pain that you will live with for the rest of your life... good luck heal-ing
Mar 30 2011 8:09PM
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STAUSS
Posts: 8232 - Karma: 3,311
yeah you;re fucked, never going  to walk right again. 
Mar 30 2011 8:10PM
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monkatizer
Posts: 4704 - Karma: 1,518
not meaning to thread jack but heres my story and questions

so, i may have bruised my heel or fractured it, idk. it was 2 weeks ago andi cased a jump in solid ice condishions, it hurt pretty bad at first, but i could still ski down and walk on it. it has been a week and a half now and i still dont walk perfect, im just tryin to keep weight off my heel. it has gotten better, before when i put my shoe on it would hurt on the side of my foot, but its not like that anymore. there was no blue of black, and mabey a tiny bit of swelling (hardly noticable) its not a sharp pain at all, and hurst mostly tward the back, bottom of my heel. i want to go sking saturday of sunday of this week, 2 weeks after the accident and my question to you is :

do you think its broken or just bruised?
and can i ski on it this weekend?
is there anthing i should put in my boot if i go skiing?

thanks guiez! +K for good answers
Mar 30 2011 8:19PM
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mctwist311
Posts: 24 - Karma: 28
sounds bruised but im no doc just saying if its broke you are not gonna be able to walk on it no matter how high your pain tolerance is

Mar 30 2011 8:28PM
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monkatizer
Posts: 4704 - Karma: 1,518
good, i was doubting that it was bruised too, but i am still waliking basicly on my toes
Mar 30 2011 8:29PM
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MaggieMae
Posts: 1 - Karma: 10

Sorry to bump an old thread, but I found this via google and I'm worried.

My son has been working out of state as a ski instructor for his first season.  He just called me today.  He injured his heel on his day off.  He's going to the resort clinic tomorrow.  I fear I might have to bring him home early.  It will break his heart.

From reading this thread, it seems severe heel injury is fairly common in skiing.  He said it hurt like hell when it first happened.  But he was able to ski on it without it hurting for six more runs.  That's when it started hurting again.  He stopped and called me.  I told him to take ibruprofin, ice it, elevate it and to go to the clinic tomorrow if it is still hurting him. By the time he got home, it was killing him to walk on it, but the clinic was closed so he has to wait until tomorrow. 

How bad does this sound?  Is it possible he can recover in two weeks with bed rest?  Should I trust remote mountain doctors?  Or should I bring him home to the big city to see a specialist? 

I don't want him to miss out on finishing his first season, but I feel it's important to look long term---so he can have future seasons.

I'm not looking for medical advice.  We'll get him the best treatment possible.  I guess I'm just looking for reassurance that one way or another he will have a ski career in the future.   

Feb 3 2012 10:35PM
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Dr.Gnar
Posts: 896 - Karma: 197
Two weeks off would help. Chances are if his job is ski instructing, the constant riding will aggravate the bruise, making it take longer to heal. Send him cookies and ski movies mommy!
Feb 4 2012 3:38AM
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sweatshirt
Posts: 1357 - Karma: 483
how do you even know what bumping a thread is
Feb 4 2012 4:55AM
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willy_baller
Posts: 1622 - Karma: 693
I've broken my heal and bruised it. They both hurt fairly equally in my opinion. When I broke mine I was in a cast so I couldn't ski but when I bruised it I just put Dr. Scholls in my boots and stopped casing jumps, it started feeling better after about six weeks.
Dec 2 2012 12:00AM
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speedin
Posts: 731 - Karma: 131

I bruised my heal very very badly on the golf course of all things. In college I lived in a house that backed up to a golf course, At sundown we would hit balls on the par 3 behind our house, and bring our boxer puppy to go run. Well one night I was runing down the side of the fairway playing with the dog. He was chasing me, I go to jump off a sandtrap that was a large divot in the ground, porb 6 feet or so deep. I jump off the top of the sand trap, go to land, and some how, land with my right leg complete extended. All my weight went right to my heal, I had never felt so much pain in my foot. I thought I had broken it. Could hardly walk, couldnt put any weight on my heal. I called up my uncle who is a doctor, he said you can infact fracture your heal. Went to the doctor got x rays came back with no fracture, but a very very bad bone bruise. It took a good 2-3 months before the pain in my heal went away. Very frusturating injury becuase your heal suports so much weight of your body,

Dec 2 2012 2:32AM
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