Working out with Plantar Fasciitis?!

Jackolina85
Jackolina85 Posts: 46 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
What workouts can I do with plantar fasciitis? I miss working out and I've let this be my excuse for too long! I know cardio is impossible for me right now, as I can't stand for more than 5 min without both my heels hurting.

Any advice?

Replies

  • GoRun2
    GoRun2 Posts: 460 Member
    Try swimming or a recumbent bike. I have a friend with severe. His doctor recommended those two things. It may work for you.
  • TeraJo
    TeraJo Posts: 58 Member
    swimming! I've been struggling with the same thing but being in the pool is great.
  • rlucas33
    rlucas33 Posts: 1
    If you aren't doing the stretches to relieve the problem, you will want to start them. I know the stretches alone solved the problem for me. You can also see if you can get the night time brace that can relieve the problem. Otherwise, you might have to stop and stretch periodically during the work out. PF usually responds well to stretching and the brace unless it has progressed to the point of needing more invasive treatments.
  • ezrida
    ezrida Posts: 36
    Cardio is possible!
    I want to share with you my story of plantar fasciitis. I had it 4 years ago in both feet as I was running. My case was very painful since I started to treat it too late. I stopped running for a few weeks and in order to stay fit I started swimming and riding bicycle, an idea I had from an ironman coach. I used to tape my foot every day and as my pain started to get better I started to strengthen my foot muscles.
    I slowly started to run again. You can read a good article about running and plantar fasciitis here:
    http://www.plantar-fasciitis-elrofeet.com/Plantar_Fasciitis_Running.html
    When I was back in a good running shape I was already swimming and riding well and finally decided to train for my first triathlon.
    It didn't all happen in one day. I am talking about years. Today I am an experienced triathlete with 5 Olympic distance triathlons in my record. I can say that Plantar fasciitis have made me a triathlete.
    Keep on going and good luck.
  • brown1william
    brown1william Posts: 2 Member
    I am in the same boat. Mine is my right heel. Has been 4 months now. I have been going to physical therapy for 3 weeks now. Hasn't helped much so far. I am stretching, icing, no workouts for 3 weeks, massaging, taping, just started using a night splint to see if it helps at all. I don't have access to a pool. It's getting to cold and dark too early to ride a bicycle. If this keeps up for much longer I might buy a bicycle trainer so I can at least do something. I have a shoulder injury as well that even limits me further.
  • 2bassets
    2bassets Posts: 193 Member
    One thing that also worked for me was losing weight. This made a huge difference! I still ice in the evenings when it hurts, but no more limping to the bathroom during the night! I also got Spenco orthodics for all of my shoes, which was recommended by the Doctor.
  • fuji1010
    fuji1010 Posts: 17 Member
    That's a real hard situation, I've been there many times. I agree swimming but I tried something the last time that was casually recommended to me at the gym. Acupuncture! I was desperate waking up in the AM and not being able to put my foot down without pain was too much to endure. So I found an Acupuncturist and gave it a try. It felt like he was sticking the needle through my foot but the muscle is thick. The next day I felt relief and it hasn't come back in 6 years!!!

    If you try it pm me and let me know if it works for you.

    Joe
  • fuji1010
    fuji1010 Posts: 17 Member
    I decided to Google it and this is what I found for Acupuncture

    http://www.healthcmi.com/Acupuncture-Continuing-Education-News/1126-acupunctureceusplantarfasciitisea
  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
    What workouts can I do with plantar fasciitis? I miss working out and I've let this be my excuse for too long! I know cardio is impossible for me right now, as I can't stand for more than 5 min without both my heels hurting.

    Any advice?

    I just ran a 10 mile race with my coworker who has plantar fasciatis pretty bad. She lives in a lot of pain but loves running!! I know she tapes and stretches a lot.
  • ayalowich
    ayalowich Posts: 242 Member
    What workouts can I do with plantar fasciitis? I miss working out and I've let this be my excuse for too long! I know cardio is impossible for me right now, as I can't stand for more than 5 min without both my heels hurting.

    Any advice?

    I had bad PF in 2009 and for the most part with taping and the evening boot I was able to keep running somewhat. As I look at my log, it took about 4-6 weeks before it finally went away completely and I believe I took 2 shots during that time and fortunately never needed the 3rd.

    It seems like if you have a more severe case you could certainly swim or bike, but clearly that is something you should discuss with a Podiatrist. And the daily taping and self imposed physical therapy (which you can do anywhere) really helped.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    cycling, swimming...also, what kind of therapy are you currently doing? You should be doing a lot of stretching minimally.
  • asp415
    asp415 Posts: 1,492 Member
    I have PF & run 4x’s a week. I got it when I first started running. I took a few weeks off, purchased good running shoes, inserts, stretch & ice w/frozen water bottles. This allows me to run. I can’t wear cute shoes anymore, but I would rather be able to run so it’s a good tradeoff in my book. On the days I don’t run to allow my foot some rest I spin & lift. But running is my #1 choice.
  • GiddyupTim
    GiddyupTim Posts: 2,819 Member
    Get Superfeet insoles for your shoes (running, athletic, and walking shoes too).
    Stress the soles of your feet before you get out of bed every morning (Very important. Reason PF never gets better is because first steps in the morning undo all the tissue healing that has been happening overnight).
    Read this:
    http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/ortho/foot-ankle/_documents/plantarfasciitisteachingsheet.pdf
    In the study in which this stretch was developed 90 percent of almost 50 patients with long-lasting PF got much improved (These were people for whom nothing else worked).
  • rhondatime2chg
    rhondatime2chg Posts: 92 Member
    Just developed PF yesterday. Ouch. Bumping this so I can research the info given.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    What workouts can I do with plantar fasciitis? I miss working out and I've let this be my excuse for too long! I know cardio is impossible for me right now, as I can't stand for more than 5 min without both my heels hurting.

    Any advice?
    I found the more I walked the less painful it would be in the day. I had a bout of it but continued to run through it as I've lost weight it's completely gone in my left foot and in my right I only get occasional problems. Losing weight and reducing impact was the best thing for me.

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