The silence in a stadium after an injury is a jarring experience. A slow murmur fills the atmosphere as somewhere between 5,000 to 8,000 people stop cheering. Perhaps that’s what felt so different about Napheesa Collier’s injury. Nobody fully noticed the gravity of the situation when the Minnesota Lynx star and USA Olympian exited with a plantar injury during a timeout.
Collier was standing on the left wing with 3:13 remaining in the third in a contested game against the WNBA’s top-ranked Connecticut Sun. Collier cut to the basket with the score tied 53-53. As she cut, she grimaced and came up lame on her left foot. She walked calmly to the sideline during a timeout, and a trainer escorted her to the locker room.
The Lynx would go on to battle with the top-ranked Sun team before ultimately falling 78-73. In some ways, Colliers’ injury oddly tracks with how she has portrayed herself throughout her entire career: calm and stoic. Now that she’s been diagnosed with plantar fasciitis, it’s time to understand what that injury means for the Lynx.
The plantar fascia is a thickened band of connective tissue on the bottom of the foot. In essence, this band of tissue connects the heel bone to the base of the toes. Its main job is to help support the foot’s arch and allow the foot to rebound when taking a step. It’s literally the reason someone has spring in their step. When this tissue gets inflamed or irritated, doctors determine it’s plantar fasciitis.
Perhaps the most frustrating part of this injury is that little is known or understood about why the tissue gets so inflamed. Working theories include overuse injuries, which mean running/walking too much, too much stretching, poor shoes, age, being flat-footed, standing for too long, and body weight.
For a long time, the injury was called policeman’s heel because they would commonly get it during their walking patrol routes in poorly fitting shoes. However, all the risk factors above could lead someone to have an increased chance of developing the injury. For Collier, it’s unlikely she’s wearing poor-fitting shoes or has poor walking/running mechanics. She’s an athlete in her prime, so the most likely situation is that this is more of a fluke non-contact injury than a fixable problem.
Symptoms of plantar fasciitis can vary. However, pain is the most consistent and common and is usually characterized as a sharp, deep, stabbing pain in the bottom of the foot by the heel. That’s also the best way to diagnose this injury, meaning the location of pain suggests the nature of the injury. Typically, pain can get better throughout the day, but the first few steps after long periods of rest can be unbearable. In some cases, the pain often gets more severe the longer one tries to function through it.
Therein lies the problem with plantar fasciitis: the injury doesn’t just disappear. There is no quick fix; it worsens if ignored. Surgery is rarely an option because the fascia is inflamed, not broken. Since not much is understood about fascia injuries, the remedies vary. For the general public, doctors will recommend custom shoe orthotics. Sleeping in a brace or splint may be beneficial, and icing the area can help. Sometimes, patients will undergo therapy to assist in learning how to walk or stand more efficiently. However, for most people, the only real treatment is to stay off of the injury and allow the body to heal the inflamed area.
For athletes, sometimes doctors will recommend injections of corticosteroids or pool/water therapy to stretch the affected area with less tension on the body. However, athletes receive treatment similar to that of everybody else. They get a lot of suggestions on what could work, but ultimately, limiting activity and staying off the foot is the best treatment.
The lack of understanding of the injury can be frustrating when it comes to treatments, but it is infuriating when it comes to timetables. Plantar fasciitis can clear up sometimes in a matter of days, or it can last weeks, sometimes months. Sometimes, it can be a reoccurring injury that affects someone throughout their life.
Collier has dealt with this injury in the past. She’s had a plantar fasciitis flare-up in small bouts during her WNBA career. However, this most recent case happened unexpectedly during a non-contact injury. With the Lynx training staff listing Collier as doubtful for Saturday’s game against the Mystics before ultimately ruling her out before the game, there must be optimism that the injury won’t be long-lasting.
However, the injury’s ramifications are widespread. For the Lynx, the injury comes at a crucial juncture before the All-Star break, as they are battling for Western Conference supremacy. For Team USA, they could be without a star forward and key rotational player for the Olympics. And for Collier, this puts a pause on a remarkable season that has her in MVP contention.
