Help! Is there a way to stop Plantar Faciitis in it's tracks!?

Beploveshomer

I've been starting to run in the past couple months and have been taking it slow, but in the past week I've been pushing myself a little harder than I probably should. Yesterday I felt a twinge of heel pain, and this morning I felt the all too familiar pain! I went through plantar faciitis a couple years ago and it was really bad, full on limping, excruciating pain, expensive inserts. I am scared to death it's going to get bad again and my newfound love of running and declining weight is all going to be done for awhile! I can't have that happen! Has anyone ever found a way to STOP it from getting worse, like immediately? Should I not run for a while? How long?

SarahLascelles1

My sympathies!
I've just got over a bout of PF.

A foot roller helped a bit (should be able to use something else), tens machine helped give relief, and calf raises on the edge of a step helped strengthen and stretch.

And the key was identifying the shoes that were causing it without me realising

CoachKatie814

Make sure you're warming up long enough/ properly and pay special attention to stretching after. Tight calves especially can contribute to plantar fasciitis. If you have a foam roller this is a great one to try http://mobilitymastery.com/learn-the-one-stretch-that-relieves-plantar-fasciitis-shin-splints-achilles-pain-heel-pain-and-compartment-syndrome/

skinny4me2be

I am doing chiropractic therapy along with stretching the calf, Hams, ankles and it's helped immensely

twinmom_112002

I roll with a golf ball. Thankfully I live in an area and work a job where flip flops at work is okay. I just put a golf ball under my desk and roll away through out the day.

Azdak

PF scares me like no other injury. Esp if you have had prob in the past, I would not run until the symptoms are gone. But I am hyper cautious about PF.

In addition to making sure you have good (newer) shoes and appropriate inserts, here are two articles I have found that I thought had good information:

http://www.running-physio.com/pf-new-research/

http://running.competitor.com/2014/06/photos/new-techniques-treating-plantar-fasciitis_96398

Good luck

drachfit

Stop running. Let it heal. There are a bunch of other kinds of cardio you can do to avoid irritating it, but if you keep trying to push through running it will become a serious problem and you won't be able to do anything for a while.

Bike, swim, row, power flow style yoga, kettle bell circuits, heavy bag, barbell complexes...

AmazonMayan

I never bought expensive inserts to fix my issues. I did toss the offending shoes. A specific pair of shoes had me so bad I originally went in for xrays because I thought I had fractures. Quite painful.

Getting better, supportive shoes and the night braces that keep my calves stretched fixed mine within days. My Dr recommended rolling my feet over frozen bottles of water and otc pain relief tablet until I was better.

The braces are otc and while I thought 25$ each was expensive at first, I still use them 2 years later when I get pain again - always from bad shoes. The braces were a great investment.

Chargunshow

I agree that tight calves exacerbate PF. Roll and/or stretch your calves regularly. In addition, you can freeze a water bottle and roll your heel. I also agree that good shoes and an insert are important...not a magic pill but will definitely help. Get fitted at a running shoe store for both (Superfeet are the inserts we sell at the running shoe store I work at.) If your PF is severe, you can also look into getting a Strasberg sock...a sock you wear at night that keeps your foot flexed.

It takes time...good luck.

Burger2066

My sister is a physical therapist and when I had an issue with this, she told me to buy a pack of marbles and a small tub to put them in. Using your toes, pick each marble up and set it in the tub. Do that on both feet a couple of times a day and it should help. I haven't had an issue since I started doing that several years ago.

kimberlee_45

I had the same thing. It's so debilitating! I found that stretching your calves and Achilles tendon helps so much. My fitness instructor told me to do that and it has helped a lot! Good luck!

Azdak

Chargunshow wrote: »

I agree that tight calves exacerbate PF. Roll and/or stretch your calves regularly. In addition, you can freeze a water bottle and roll your heel. I also agree that good shoes and an insert are important...not a magic pill but will definitely help. Get fitted at a running shoe store for both (Superfeet are the inserts we sell at the running shoe store I work at.) If your PF is severe, you can also look into getting a Strasberg sock...a sock you wear at night that keeps your foot flexed.

It takes time...good luck.

When I refer to "inserts", I'm usually thinking Superfeet or something similar (if it exists) as opposed to orthotics. Orthotics may be necessary for some people, but I think they tend to be over prescribed. Have had good experiences w/Superfeet--just have to be careful to get the right size.

ClubSilencio

I had PF for almost a year and tried everything. Finally, by some miracle, I noticed my foot was feeling better. After a few days of trying to figure it out I realized what was making the difference: I was sleeping with my foot outside of the covers!

Yes, it was summer time and I was letting the puppies breathe. A quick search found that many others have had the same success.

Makes sense since we sleep for so many hours. That time could be used for healing. Give it a try, it costs nothing.

I also roll my foot over a can everyday morning and night.

blues4miles

Another recommendation for superfeet here. Don't just put them in your running shoes, buy several and put them in the shoes you wear the rest of the time. For a while, don't go barefoot in your house, wear shoes with the inserts while you are trying to recover.

Also another recommendation for stretching. I walk about a half mile before my run, stretch out my calves, ankles, legs after the walk and before I start my run.

There are things you can wear to bed that are supposed to help. I never tried that, but try to mimic the stretch that that thing does to your foot every night. During the day while I'm sitting down, take your shoes off and draw the alphabet in the air with your toes. Similar to the marble exercise suggested by someone above.

For now? Take at least a week off running. Do all this. When you come back if it's still hurting, take two weeks off, and repeat. Also used a tennis ball on my heel while I was still recovering from it and that seemed to help.

GiddyupTim

Um......All this advice to stop running? Plantar fasciitis does not heal in one week, or two weeks, or....(though the pain may improve dramatically in a short time). The plantar fascia is incredibly tough tissue, incredibly strong tissue. When it gets torn it does not repair itself right away.
Get a pair of Superfeet insoles, or two. Maybe a pair for each pair of your shoes. The reason that PF can seem so difficult to treat is because every time you walk or run, you depress the arch again, and the tender, healing tissue gets ripped again, and you are back where you started. The Superfeet give you adequate support and prevent that re-ripping from happening, allowing the healing process to progress.
I have put Superfeet in my shoes and continued to run. Mine got better.
The other thing you have to do is gently stretch the bottom of your foot. I do hero's pose (yoga) twice a day, with the soles of my toes flat on the floor and the sole of the rest of my foot facing the wall directly behind. Once you are on your knees, and in the position, push back slightly. You'll feel the stretch along the bottom of your foot.
That stretch is extremely effective. If you don't believe me, google: planatar fasciitis and DiGiovanni. He's a doc who realized stretching was key to recovery. He also figured out that if you bend the toes back you can get a better stretch than if you just stand on a step, for example. In a trial he did, he had 90 people, who had severe PF that they could not get better for over a year, perform a toe-bended back stretch. Something like 90 percent of those people, for whom nothing else had worked, got drastically better or completely better.
Good luck

cafeaulait7

I taped the OTC insert to my foot for a week so that my arch never could move far, even at night going to the bathroom, etc. That made mine go away. I always catch it in its tracks, so I don't know if this works for anyone who has the chronic problem.

My insert had a pad in the arch that looked like these (although mine I had to tape to hold it there, so these look better):
http://thumbs3.ebaystatic.com/d/l225/m/malvWhFjW1OsXcsXeR1EUug.jpg

jgnatca

If I had a flare up I'd be careful with the running and never, never, ever forget the stretches. If you want to nip this in the bud. Which it sounds like you want to.

Adc7225

I hear you . . . I had that some years ago and after never thinking it would go away it finally did with the help of a great podiatrist. Recently I had that little twinge of discomfort and I got my heel cups out and wore then as much as possible including putting them in my socks and sleeping in them so during that middle of the night trip to the restroom I was not causing any issues. I was actually shocked when I realized just after a few days the foot was not hurting at all. I would agree with others that it would be your best bet to try and nip this as early as possible, the less inflammation the shorter the healing process.

sllm1

I use Super Feet insoles.

pafmarwak

I agree with the post about shoes. Ankle exercises and foot/calf stretches also help. Don't walk barefoot on tile floors.

cwolfman13

My foot roller is one of my greatest assets...a tennis ball works well too. I roll my feet twice per day for about 2 minutes regardless of whether I feel it coming on or not. I also use Super Feet insole to support my very high arches. I do all of my stretches regularly. I'm also not an avid runner because running a lot aggravates things...I'm a cyclist and just very occasional runner.