Seattle Mariners Franklin Gutierrez is expected to remain out of action for another month at best, but not due to his original injury sustained over 2 months ago.
Gutierrez suffered a torn pectoral muscle during a throwing drill in pre-season training. Whilst this was expected to sideline him for a period of around 4-6 weeks, Gutierrez is still not ready to play. The right chest injury has healed and he is back throwing and hitting at full pace. The problem now is a bout of heel pain, thought to be plantar fasciitis, which is stopping him from running.
The club have confirmed that Gutierrez will undergo a third ‘treatment’ for plantar fasciitis next week, before attempting a minor league game in the next fortnight.
Whilst they haven’t specified what the ‘treatment’ is, the most beneficial treatments for this kind of injury are Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy (ESWT) and Corticosteroid injections.
Other forms of treatment commonly used for plantar fasciitis include sports massage for the calf muscles, alongside a frequent stretching program, cold therapy and acupuncture.