Plantar Fasciitis....help!!

[Jason Snyder]

Dont want to change the subject here, but what is good advice on preventing PF?

Do plenty of exercises to strengthen your feet. I wear barefoot type shoes for Insanity several times a week and run in pretty minimalist trail shoes.

Stretch. Lots. Tight hamstrings and calves put a tremendous amount of pressure on the tendons and fascia in your feet.

 

[Broomd]

Wear quality shoes and insoles, stretch your calves properly.
I had it from July '12 until February '14. It was unbearable and I hunted on it like an idiot. At 51y/o those days get fewer in number and I suffered through it to enjoy what I love.
It came to the point that when I was helping a buddy who drew a mountain goat tag and I was limping like a one legged pirate down the trail. It got to where I literally could not walk.

I completely AVOIDED a cortisone shot. They don't work for me anyway, I had one once that did no good at all.
The best thing is to wear a boot cast to bed every night. This is what eventually healed me. Careful stretching, icing, is important and rest is paramount.
Even my slippers now are orthotic....*SPENCO* they rock!

Good luck...it is horrible but there is hope. Wear the bedtime boot/splint!

 

[Hunthigh1]

Pay attention to HOW you ice.

Rather than sticking your foot in ice. Do ice massages. They suck and they hurt.

You can also use small foam roller, golf balls, or the college athlete favorite: frozen nalgene bottles.

Roll the shit out of your arch, Roll your calves from knee down, roll your IT bands from hip to knee.

Plantar IS manageable. Hundreds of college distance runners do it. You have to make it a huge part of your life to beat it.

long, meticulous sessions Rolling, Icing, stretching AT LEAST 3 times a day.
And of course the strassburg sock.

 

[StrutNut]

I too had it but shook it off in 9 months and it has not come back....yet. I did ankle stretches in the shower every morning. I am older so the "tipToe" to the can in the middle of the night was pure torture. It also was that way in the morning. Get good insoles! I think I used the heal cleat and that helped. I still hunted as I got in during the fall but I paid for it in the winter. At one point I was on crutches as I stumbled in my bunny boots and when I planted my bad foot to catch myself I felt things pop in my foot. I got back to cam and literally had to crawl from my buddies truck to the house. Stair were not my friend either. I called the Dr but could get in for a week. I wish I was kidding..... Things started to get better so I didnt go in. Take it slow, stretch a lot. Its what helped me.

 

[zman]

Poser gave the answer above... strong flexible feet. Get your foot out of the "cast" and let it strengthen up. Of course, you have to do this very gradually since your foot may be weak.

 

[Shortdraw]

I really have to thank all of you guys for sharing your experiences. I am determined to have this under control by summer time. If nothing else I'm equally stubborn and delusional!

 

[Shortdraw]

I should add that I herniated my L5/S1 about two years ago. My left foot and parts of my lower leg went numb for around a month. I'm back in pretty good shape but about a year ago my foot suddenly went flat. I'm sure I have some sort of neuropathy which has allowed the muscles to weaken. I can see a strong argument for some minimalist footwear to regain some strength and coordination in my foot.

 

[Wrongside]

I had it bad in 2002 and struggled with it off and on for 10 years. I tried all the usual remedies, but did not overcome it until I buckled down and strengthened up my feet by wearing minimalist type shoes (no support) exclusively with the exception of boots for hunting. Casually, I wear Chuck Taylors. For exercise, I wear NB Minimus and/or Five Finger shoes. My ligaments strengthened up in virtually no time and feel stronger than ever. Note that this goes against virtually all of the mainstream advice you will get, though most of that advice is centered around pain management and not recovery. Ditch the shock absorbing soles and lifted heels. Your feet should be strong enough to support an activity your body is capable of and joints and ligaments should survive about 115 years of proper use.

I spent a lot of time at work in work boots, and then my free time in the hills in mountaineering boots... Started to struggle with pretty bad PF several years ago. Started going barefoot or in minimalist shoes every chance I got. My feet were better in a month or two. I still wear boots a lot, but go barefoot as often as possible and that keeps it at bay so far.

 

[couesbitten]

As you can see by the responses here, PF and what remedies help to deal with it, vary from person to person, what works for one doesn't work for another (go barefoot/never go barefoot) . I think the common thread is to figure out what works for you and take care of your feet to prevent a recurrence.

 

[Broomd]

Yep, above posting is true. Treatment and maintenance varies.

I would be interested to know how many here utilized the ariat boot to bed every night....I don't know how I would have healed without it.

 

[StrutNut]

My wife has it and it helps. Not sure about the barefoot thing as I was told being barefoot and wearing sandals are very bad for your feet. I only wear shoes at work and had worked from home prior to getting pf and was almost always barefoot. I even take the garbage out barefoot in the winter and I live in MN. Foot prints all over the snow. I love being barefoot and hate wearing shoes all day. I was thinking that was part of the problem but who knows, maybe thats why I got rid of it so soon.

 

[Poser]

My wife has it and it helps. Not sure about the barefoot thing as I was told being barefoot and wearing sandals are very bad for your feet. I only wear shoes at work and had worked from home prior to getting pf and was almost always barefoot. I even take the garbage out barefoot in the winter and I live in MN. Foot prints all over the snow. I love being barefoot and hate wearing shoes all day. I was thinking that was part of the problem but who knows, maybe thats why I got rid of it so soon.

If being barefoot caused debilitating foot problems, Homo Sapiens as a species would have never made it out of the Paleolithic period.

 

[StrutNut]

Not sure how many Homo Sapiens in the Paleolithic period lived to be 49. I honestly got that advice form a Dr. so who knows. I really do like being barefoot than wearing shoes!

 

[Poser]

https://www.t-nation.com/training/truth-about-barefoot-training

 

[Matt Cashell]

As you can see by the responses here, PF and what remedies help to deal with it, vary from person to person, what works for one doesn't work for another (go barefoot/never go barefoot) . I think the common thread is to figure out what works for you and take care of your feet to prevent a recurrence.

I could not agree more.

I have been a runner since childhood. I got into barefoot and minimalist running a while ago, and really liked it. I slowly worked into minimalist shoes and improved my mid-foot strike. I read the same information Poser has, and was just generally excited about strengthening my feet.

Then, I worked into longer miles in minimalist shoes after a few months, and that is when I got PF. I tried to fight through it, and finally the doc gave me the "It's an injury-let it heal" advise. He also said maybe go back to a shoe that I never had trouble with in the past.

I rode the bike and let the injury heal. I slowly started running again, and went back to the standard runners with cushioning and some drop.

Now, I do a bit of everything. I spend a lot of time barefoot at home. I stretch my calves and arches a LOT. I work on balance and foot strengthening exercises regularly.

I keep working on mid-foot-strike running, BUT...

I run in cushioned shoes with drop.

Since then, I have had no issues.

That is what worked for me.

 

[Ray]

One of the things that the osteopath who treated me for SI, piriformus, PF, and other crippeling pain was that you need to address the inflammed facia - the F in PF. The facia gets tight just like a muscle but does not have the same mechanical system to release the tightness. It has to be physically pulled apart or it stays tight. The osteopath used the tip of his thumb to mechanically strip the facia bands in my legs and then feet. All I have left is a hot spot between the toe bones that his thumb cannot get into.

Tools like balls and rollers help perform the mechanical pulling needed to break up the facia. Jill Miller's book Roll Model has processes for using semi rigid balls to perform the mechanical stripping of the facia in a much more targeted process than a roller. Still cannot get between the bones of my foot, but makes everything else feel pretty good.

 

[Poser]

This piece published yesterday suggests that people over the age of 30 who switch to barefoot/minimalist running may have a more difficult time adjusting, largely because of ingrained habits.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/...arder-for-those-over-30/?smid=tw-nytimes&_r=0

 

[Mike7]

Ray, you may have an intermetatarsal (Morton's) neuroma...make sure that your shoes are wide enough in the forefoot to help prevent aggravation of this.

Seems like a lot of good advice above. I think it is hard to compare current humans from industrialized countries to humans of the past. We are fatter and don't have years of walking barefoot under our belts...and as we get older we typically get fatter yet and our activity becomes even more sporatic. I think the comments above about doing things slowly is really important.

Unless you are a badass paleolithic man or woman who has gradually worked your way up to carrying a 60 lb pack in mocassins on uneven ground, I would at least bring a set of good orthotic inserts with you on your hunt for when your plantar fascia and posterior tibial tendons give up the ghost on the pack out.

 

[Shortdraw]

Very true. My plan is to get over the period with pain, continue with strengthening, do walks (not runs) with five fingers (starting out very very easy), and keep orthotics for game time. I'm going to a chiropractor who does a lot of fascia work and sleeping at night with a foot splint. Lots of stretching, golf and lacrosse ball rolling, and massaging my calf. With what little time is left I may even try to earn a living!

 

[Ray]

Ray, you may have an intermetatarsal (Morton's) neuroma...

Nope. That was discussed at the time of my treatment, but I had no symptoms other than pain. Now it is just a slight discomfort between my big toe and second toe in the ball of the fore foot at times. It has never felt like what a neuroma is supposed to feel like.