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Heel pain and Achilles tendon pain because of AS

Posted , 5 users are following.

victoryt41606
victoryt41606

I just got diagnosed with AS after long time treatment (2 years) of heel pain and Achilles tendon pain with no relief. I got HLAB27 positive and doctor ask to take NSAID (Arcoxia 60mg) daily and Salazopyrine + Metroxate.

I started to take medicines for one month and still have lot of pain if stop taking medicine. I have no improvement at all.

Does anyone have similar symtoms and take such medicines. Should I turn to take biologic to get better?

0 likes, 20 replies

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  • lilly29834
    lilly29834 victoryt41606

    Posted

    I have heel pain time to time and I have had success with manual physical therapy and ice if the medicine doesn't work.

    • victoryt41606
      victoryt41606 lilly29834

      Posted

      Hi Lilly,

      Are you sure you got AS or just normal plantar fasciitis? AS usually causes enthitis with similar symtom to plantar fasciitis. I am painful so much and even cannot take a walk. I also tried ice and hot but did not work.

    • lilly29834
      lilly29834 victoryt41606

      Posted

      Yes, it was enthesitis pain but I felt like it just kept going on unless my heel was mobilized by a PT. Prednisone helped briefly but to place the heel in a no stressful position by enabling the joint to move is what really helped once the inflammation was down, so it wouldn't come back.

    • victoryt41606
      victoryt41606 lilly29834

      Posted

      I see Lilly. I think your situation is not serious like me since I got both heel pain and Achilles tendon pain at the same time. My concern is the pain go away with NSAId but come back right away if I stop NSAID. Do I have to take NSAID all my life? Oh no!
    • lilly29834
      lilly29834 victoryt41606

      Posted

      I was diagnosed with AS 23 years ago but only had the heel pain in the last 7 years off and on. I have been on an NSAID the whole time since I was diagnosed. A biologic drug 8 years ago almost totally eliminated the pain but then I developed a reaction to the drug. So other than that time, I have taken NSAIds. I am still trying to figure out if wheat is inflammatory to me. It seems to be. It took a while for me to figure out mobilizing my heel would help. Also, Prednisone although it isn't good for you can knock out the inflammation too. I had foot pain for about a year or more. I hope this helps.

    • victoryt41606
      victoryt41606 lilly29834

      Posted

      Thanks for your sharing. I think I will give your method a shot. Do you think cycling is potential?
    • lilly29834
      lilly29834 victoryt41606

      Posted

      I just want to be clear that mobilizing means moving the heel joint to decrease stiffness and improve the mobility and should be done by a orthopedic manual physical therapist. They may be able to teach you how to do it yourself. Cycling seems like it would be ok, I always wanted to take the weight off my foot when it was hurting.
    • victoryt41606
      victoryt41606 lilly29834

      Posted

      I know what you mean. I do not have condition to meet physical therapist often so I will learn how to do it myself. I was warned that for AS we must moblize frequently, avoid sitting too long. I wish you get better with your current treatment.
  • donna1952
    donna1952 victoryt41606

    Posted

    I had that before I knew it was AS....I found there were certain shoes that made it worse, used anti inflammatory meds and stretches....the other meds they are giving you is to stop the progression to other crappy symptoms from the AS...now fast forward to this year I got psoriasis that led to the diagnosis. I’ve fail Humira after 4 wonderful months now trying Talz with the methotrexate. Hope you do well, expect ups and downs.
    • victoryt41606
      victoryt41606 donna1952

      Posted

      Hi Donna,

      Have you ever try the meds I mentioned above? How long was your heel pain? Arcoxia helping me but if I stop taking, the pain go back right away!

  • donna1952
    donna1952 victoryt41606

    Posted

    I’m in the US but I’m pretty sure that’s Celebrex here... my heel pain never came back but now I have both hips, low and mid back, left foot left elbow and stiffness in my legs...bleegh!! I’m going to see about the Celebrex... it’s not covered very well here 
    • victoryt41606
      victoryt41606 donna1952

      Posted

      Yes It was Celebrex and it is helping me a lot if I have pain, that is all. It does not cure the root cause or prevent the future symtom. You seem have pain in many points. I am considering whether taking biologic affect to my baby later on or not. I mean if taking biologic, can we have baby with no problem?
  • ABP
    ABP victoryt41606

    Posted

    Methotrexate injections has helped me with this. However it took at least 2 to 3 months to start to help. Its also important to have good arch and heel support. I bought some good shoe insoles with extra arch support and put the insoles in my socks to walk around the house it really helped. I also found mornings to be very difficult because I wouldnt be stretching all night so I decided to put a wrap around my foot and ankle to keep my ankle at a 90° angle. This helped keep everything stretched and made mornings significantly better.

    • victoryt41606
      victoryt41606 ABP

      Posted

      I think my case is much worse than your case. But I do not understand why your stretch could help. When the interaction point between bone and tendon get inflammed, I imagine that stretch creates more pressure to that point and makes the inflammation worse. What I think is wrong or correct?
    • lilly29834
      lilly29834 victoryt41606

      Posted

      I agree with ABP, when my foot is inflamed, walking on hard surfaces barefoot tends to allow the joints in my foot to move, flattening my arch. It's like the swelling causes the foot to be less stable and using a firm shoe orthotic helps to keep it in place. At night, my blankets tend to push my foot to point downwards causing my heel to be fixed in a downward position for the night and then it will be stiff in the morning. I keep forgetting to put a pillow under the blanket by my feet to keep the pressure off of it. It's good to keep up being able to bend your ankle, but not a painful stretch. Otherwise, you will have trouble going up stairs and squatting. Mobilize to correct your foot and then keep the joints in the right position.

    • victoryt41606
      victoryt41606 lilly29834

      Posted

      Hi Lilly,

      The method you are using is try to keep the right position of the feet, 90 degree angle of the leg. I think we can use a night splint to do that. I ever tried it but it helped not very much personally. I will try to mobilize the joint to see how it goes

    • lilly29834
      lilly29834 victoryt41606

      Posted

      I didn't use the night splint but I try to keep my feet from having to stay in one position in the night by flexing my ankles occasionally and keeping the pressure off the top of my feet. If your blankets are not too heavy you will not have the same problem I did. The shoe orthotics help keep the heel in the correct upright position as well as maintain your arch if your shoes do not provide that for you. I find Birkenstock sandals have good foot support and I wear them in the house.

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