Saturday, February 6, 2010

Heel Pain Update


I just finished up my first 100% pain free run in several months! Last week I received two products that I wanted to try- the first to arrive were the Heel Seats

Unlike most traditional inserts, Heel Seats are designed to place small amount of pressure on the tissue under the heel rather than stopping pronation. According to Art Smuckler, inventor of Heel Seats, "I began experimenting with acupressure during exam after locating the heel pain. I asked each patient, once I applied acupressure, weather the pain was less, the same, or greater, and to my surprise, 90 percent of the time, it was less, much less. However, once finger pressure was released, no long term positive or negative effect on the pain was noted. Naturally, it was something to do with applied acupressure, and obviously, the key was the location of that pressure" -heelseats.com

Heel Seats use a product called KRATON to apply pressure on the heel. I am only doing slow jogging and am concerned about possible slippage at faster speeds, but other than that, they are comfortable.

A few days later I received a pair of Powerstep Inserts, and gave those a try. They are a good for pronation and support, and probably have also been helpful.

In a nutshell, I've been using both, and my heel pain, while not 100% cleared up (I still have some pain after prolonged sitting, especially after a morning run) appears to be improving. For now, I am leaning towards sticking with Heel Seats.

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