Plantar fasciitis … We’ve been talking about it a lot lately, but what is it?
Well, according to WebMD, it’s “the most common cause of heel pain,” stemming from from a strain or tear in the plantar fascia, the ligament that connects your heel bone to your toes. It’s also very difficult to heal.
In fact, for most athletes, it can take months, if not years, to fully get over plantar fasciitis, forcing some of our toughest players to the sidelines for extended periods of time.
So with that said, is there any reason to believe Peyton Manning has even the slightest chance of getting back out onto the field within the next two or three weeks? History would say no.
In fact, let’s take a look at some other prominent athletes who dealt with plantar fasciitis, and see how severely they were set back, and see if their stories could spell the end of Peyton Manning:
Corey Dickerson
GAMES MISSED: 52
Just last year, the Rockies’ Corey Dickerson was sidelined for a large portion of the season with plantar fasciitis, and from his words, it’s clear that this is not an easy injury to deal with.
“It’s incredibly painful, just to walk,” Dickerson told Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. “It can get to the point that you are thinking more about the foot than the game you’re playing.”
Dickerson ended up missing a combined 52 games between May and July on two separate trips to the DL, before missing another 37 with a broken rib suffered at the end of July; it wasn’t until after that final stint on the DL that Dickerson was able to come back comfortably from the plantar fasciitis.
While Dickerson never felt much pain just walking around or in the batter’s box, a “stabbing pain” shot up his heel any time he made a move to first or began tracking a fly ball.
