Any other plantar fasciitis sufferers?

[locknload]

As runner, I deal with it off and on. I've had it mostly under control over the past few years but had a big flare up recently. Podiatrist said the orthotics were shot and were no longer providing enough stability. Shots in both feet to reduce the swelling and then in 3 weeks they fit me for new ones. Hopefully, I will be back in action once I get the new ones. No running allowed until then...guess its time for pre-season body-weight and squat work while I wait.

 

[mdf]

i haven't had a flare up for years, but I am prone to it. I don't do lunge exercises because they aggrivate it. On my worst experience I finally realized it was caused by opening doors at work by stepping down on the kick plate instead of pushing with my hands.

 

[scott43]

Here..

 

[locknload]

i haven't had a flare up for years, but I am prone to it. I don't do lunge exercises because they aggrivate it. On my worst experience I finally realized it was caused by opening doors at work by stepping down on the kick plate instead of pushing with my hands.

Good to know about lunges..I do some in my workouts but am wondering if they contribute to it. I've been keeping my mileage down but the podiatrist said it doesn't matter with orthotics that are past their prime (they are fairly old..at least 5 years) so I suspect it will be much better. Feet were tender after the shots but they seem to be working and getting less sore today.

 

[scott43]

I'm going through a flare up now. Strangely it was caused by messing around in the pool with the kids. Just flexing my feet to much while on my knees tossing the kids around. I'm a month into it. Doing the usual, Birkenstocks all the time, stretching calves, stretching feet gently, trying not to overload in my toes climbing stairs. Sux...

 

[Mel]

I had PF for ages at one point. Orthotics helped a bit. Stretching did very little for me. Rolling the sole of my foot on a tennis ball made mine worse, if anything. What I found really helpful was the Strassburg sock - a terribly unglamorous medical sock that holds your foot in passive flexion all night. Depends on what the cause of yours is, of course - I have fairly short Achilles’ tendons and was doing ultra marathon training, which was a really bad combination, and gentle stretching for hours was much better than short intense bursts of stretching.

Good luck & hope it settles down quickly.

 

[scott43]

My physio brother in law recommended sleep socks.. I can't wear socks while sleeping.. what to do??

 

[Rod9301]

What shots did you have?
You should know that steroids will weaken tendons and ligaments and there's a lifetime limit of 3 in a given area.

I had pf 10 yes ago for two years. The only thing that helped, after trying many things, was a prp injection, followed by a week of rest

 

[Andy Mink]

@Tricia had quite a bout of PF a year or so ago. She beat it, should chime in.

 

[scott43]

I've beaten mine a few times with just conservative and sensible treatment.

 

[Nancy Hummel]

Rolfing cured mine.

 

[BTaylor]

PF management plan that has worked pretty well for me:

Theragun massages on my feet. Birkenstocks. Orthotics in my hiking boots and in my running shoes. Mostly wear the Hoka Ora Recovery Slide 2 around the house. Hot tub spa in the back yard---I position the soles of my feet over the highest-power jet for a (hot, 107 degrees F) 3-minute massage.

 

[Tricia]

@Tricia had quite a bout of PF a year or so ago. She beat it, should chime in.

I've had a couple significant bouts of Plantar Fasciitis
The first time I was on my feet a lot at the ski shop and ended up using Feetures PF socks, which I still wear from time to time. I also used a TENS device to work my feet at calf muscles

The second time I decided to dig deeper to figure out what was causing it in the first place, so I started to do streatcheS from my hip to my feet and found a ton of relief.

I relaized that working on my IT band, lower back and calf muscles was key.

This past winter I started using the Theragun to work my IT band regularly if I felt that it was getting tight which really changes how my feet feel.
The two routines I use on the Theragun app are Plantar Faciitis and sciatica.

I really think the best relief I get is from working from the lower back all the way down to my feet.

 

[Tricia]

No running allowed until then...

Why on earth would you want to run? Is there a mountain lion chasing you?

What I found really helpful was the Strassburg sock -

Is that similar to the Feetures sock I linked above? I really like those for every day use when I know I'll be on my feet a lot.

Theragun massages on my feet.

I LOVE the Theragun for this!

 

[wiread]

I've had a couple significant bouts of Plantar Fasciitis
The first time I was on my feet a lot at the ski shop and ended up using Feetures PF socks, which I still wear from time to time. I also used a TENS device to work my feet at calf muscles

The second time I decided to dig deeper to figure out what was causing it in the first place, so I started to do streatched from my hip to my feet and found a ton of relief.

I relaized that working on my IT band, lower back and calf muscles was key.

This past winter I started using the Theragun to work my IT band regularly if I felt that it was getting tight which really changes how my feet feel.
The two routines I use on the Theragun app are Plantar Faciitis and sciatica.

View attachment 179870
I really think the best relief I get is from working from the lower back all the way down to my feet.

I was going to chime in, stretch the entire lower kinetic chain and once it's calmed I stretch it under load and then contract thru a ROM to build strength of the tissue.


Lots of people get relief just from foot or calf stretches and many people get none. Just by simply adding some hamstring or hip stretches what was once a situation where doctors wanted to cut the tendon to relieve the tension becomes nothing to the patient in a few weeks.

Personally, I found many athletic and dress shoes are too narrow for me. I just buy wider shoes and problem solved.

 

[Mel]

Is that similar to the Feetures sock I linked above? I really like those for every day use when I know I'll be on my feet a lot.

No, it’s more like this:

It flexes your foot to put some stretch in the Achilles’ tendon, and you wear it to sleep in. Takes a lot of getting used to, but worked like a charm for me.

 

[Lorenzzo]

No science here but I had it bad maybe 20 years ago. I ran into a massage therapist who claimed the rise in incidence was related to increased use of orthotics leading to a lack of natural movement in the foot and calf area. She said podiatrists were routinely prescribing orthotics when in fact it exacerbated the problem.

Her approach was to reduce or eliminate orthotic use, stretch the calves (moo) and most importantly, walk around barefoot or in loose socks whenever possible. Purely anecdotal but worked for me.

 

[Tricia]

No, it’s more like this:
View attachment 179882
It flexes your foot to put some stretch in the Achilles’ tendon, and you wear it to sleep in. Takes a lot of getting used to, but worked like a charm for me.

I've heard about contraptions like that to sleep. Something I could potentially consider if I get another flair up. With my current regiment, I'm hopeful I stay ahead of it and don't have a flair up.

 

[locknload]

No science here but I had it bad maybe 20 years ago. I ran into a massage therapist who claimed the rise in incidence was related to increased use of orthotics leading to a lack of natural movement in the foot and calf area. She said podiatrists were routinely prescribing orthotics when in fact it exacerbated the problem.

Her approach was to reduce or eliminate orthotic use, stretch the calves (moo) and most importantly, walk around barefoot or in loose socks whenever possible. Purely anecdotal but worked for me.

This is fascinating because walking around barefoot couldn't be worse for me on a hard floor. Obviously there are various causes to plantar fasciitis but the twisting of the plantar fascia is part of the equation and your foot morphology influences (and your muscle architecture...likely not stretched enough for me) the way you walk, run and land on your feet as you move. He took my orthotics out and set them on the table and the bottom didn't lay flat anymore..rather they rocked side to side which is essentially what my foot is doing in the shoe. For running shoes, I've always run in a neutral-ish shoe with some stability bias but not a full blown stability shoe. I also move my orthotics around between hiking, dress and athletic shoes because they feel so much better. It think most of us stretch our calves pretty religiously..I've never really been able to tell whether that helps or not. Gonna stretch and theragun while it settles down...not a ton else to do right now.

 

[locknload]

I've heard about contraptions like that to sleep. Something I could potentially consider if I get another flair up. With my current regiment, I'm hopeful I stay ahead of it and don't have a flair up.

Not sure I could ever sleep in that contraption..I can't even have the sheets tucked in and pushing down on the top of my feet...drives me nuts! I understand the rational though....anyone who has had PF know the most tender time is when your first few steps after sleep all night when the achilles isn't stretched out.