General Fitness & Nutrition: Plantar Fasciitis

Are you serious?!! I have been dealing with PF since October & did not run or do any other activity for 8 weeks - only to run in a turkey day 5k & woke up with pain the next morning. I have been doing EVERYTHING I'm supposed to & only making small progress. With the running season coming up, I've been struggling to figure out how I can continue to run W/O the pain..... I will give the Birk inserts a go. At this point, I figure I have nothing to lose and (hopefully) everything to gain by trying your recommendation. Thank you!

I had a problem with PF for a while and read somewhere that it could be inadequate arch support.  Lucky for me, where I work has a pretty laid-back dress code and I was able to wear athletic shoes in place of my business casuals (that have no arch support), and it took a few weeks, but the PF cleared up.

I have read that walking barefoot on uneven ground can help strengthen the muscles in the feet and ease the pain.  I have even read stories of people switching to almost full-time barefooting and being cured of PF.  Of course, this is just anecdotal evidence, but it may be worth a shot before dropping $400 or even $60.

 

Most doctors recommend not going barefoot because plantar fasciitis pain is worst in the morning, when people are barefoot.  But, the pain may not be due to being barefoot but simply stiff muscles from feet not being used while asleep.

I injured my right foot four days ago and I'm not sure if it's PF - the outer edge and underneath of my foot, and at times even up to my ankle, is incredibly sore and it hurts to put weight on it.  I was running on the inside lane of an indoor track that is sloped, and since my right foot was hitting the outside of the track I figured I wasn't planting my foot properly.  I didn't notice that my foot was sore until I got home from the track that night. 

Does anyone familiar with foot injuries recognize this as a particular injury, or have suggestions for healing it?  I'm training for a 10k in May (I've been running on and off for the past 2 years) and I don't want my foot to compromise my training, as I've been unable to run (or walk long distances) for the past four days.

Any help or suggestions are much appreciated!

I began suffering from PF shortly before my 31st birthday. Let me first state that I was 40lbs overweight.  It was terrible. I limped around the office for weeks before I decided to go to the podiatrist. He gave me molded inserts that were $45. I use these all the time in my casual & running shoes. Also, I always make sure to stretch after my runs. And lastly, I ice my feet when the PF really flares up.

 Since including all of this into my routine I've been able to run pretty pain free for 6 months now. Losing 36lbs has also helped quite a bit.

Whenever I start to feel my feet tense up I go straight for the ice pack. I found these great gel packs from Avon that are shaped like feet and hook on with velcro. I usually put them on the wrong foot to ice the inside arch the best.

I definitly want to try the berkinstock inserts. They sound lik a great replacement.

I've had PF for 14 years now. For years, i didn't know how to deal with it. Then one day i was reading MEn's Fitness magazine (it was my ex-boyfriend's magazine), and they had an article which suggested a really simple stretch. So now every morning (almost), before i even get out of bed, i sit on the edge of the bed, cross one leg over the other and slightly pull on my toes to stretch out the arch. The article said to do the stretch 10 times and to hold it for 10 counts each time. I vary on that, but it really works. I also do another stretch that feels great on my calf, my heel, and my arch. I get on the floor, put one knee down, and then extend my other leg back behind me, with my toes down. It feels sooo good. It goes against the conventional advice that says not to stretch first thing in the morning, so if you try it and it hurts, then don't do it. I do it because it really does feel good.

i had developed PF about 2 years ago myself.  i visited a physical therapist for some treatment, including stretching, massage, electrostim, and ultrasound. i also iced, and used a strassburg sock when i slept.

i'm not sure which (if any) of those fixed it, of course, but it healed after about a month or so.  

 

ever since, i've incorporated a really good stretch into my pre- and post-run routine, similar to sunshine's stretch above.  

basically, i set up like i'm going to stretch my calf against a wall.  standing facing a wall, i take a step far back with my right foot.  i raise up on my toes and lean forward into the wall, extending my left foot ahed of me, with both legs straight.  the trick is to get up on the toes and lean forward so that the stretch is in the arch and not the calf.  

i hold this for a good 30 sec, and do both legs, sometimes twice.  

since i started doing this, i've not been afflicted with PF.  hopefully it works well for you, too.

I had PF in my right foot several years ago. At the time I had done some research on the internet and the treatment seemed to involve wearing a special boot. The boot was to be worn at night while one slept. It was designed to keep the the ligament stretched out so that in the morning there would be no shock to the connection points when one stepped out of bed. The problem was that the boots were very expensive and so were the sessions with the specialists. I decided that I could make this boot myself so I bought a cheap pair of roller blades and cut the wheels off with a hacksaw. The boots allowed for a little articulation in the ankle so I then put a leather belt through the holes in the top of the toes of the boot and fastened it to the top of the boot at the shin. This drew the toes slightly up towards the shin thus maintaining a stretch in the bottom of the foot when worn. I know this sounds a little ridiculous but I wore this while sleeping the first night and I had immediate relief the next morning. I did have the soreness again after sitting in the office for a few hours so I tried this for a month. Believe it or not it did work. My wife was not very happy with me about this but she was a good sport. At the same time I bought some specialized running shoes (Mizuno) at a running shop. These shoes were recommend by the owner of the shop because they provided a lot of arch support and stability control. I also added a soft insert in each shoe just under the arch. As a result I could continue to run lightly and slowly improved over a 2 or 3 month period. At the time I was running 8 to 10 miles 5 times a week and continued for another couple of years without any problems in this area. About 12 years have passed since then and I have recently taken up running regularly again using these same shoes and I have never had the problem again.

I have suffered with pf for around 6-8mths went to see my GP who refered me to a muscleskeletal consultant, who diagnoised me with pf. He said that this was caused by the tendon being overstreched. I have now been refered to a physio therapist for excersises and I am having arches made for my work and running shoes. However mine does not sound as bad as some I have been reading about, as I have been able to continue to run. Has anyone else had arches for the feet via  the hospital, if so did they work?  

I developed PF recently. A Friend told me to start stretching...LOTS. Off the side of a step, hang there for at least 5 minutes at a time; 3 times per day. I have immediately started to notice a massive difference.

I hope that is worth something to someone out there. 

PS: Let me add this...I tried staying off it for 4 days - it got so bad i could hardly walk. I said, "to hell with it, if i have to be cripple then i may as well be running". So all i am doing is stretching and running - and it seems to be working for me so far.

 

Cheers,