Exercises for plantar fasciitis?

Allisonfitness99

2 months ago i woke up and found that soon as I stepped on my feet it would hurt this went on for 2 days it got so bad that I has to crawl to the bathroom, I went to the ER and they said it was plantar fasciitis and that I should take Advil and use inserts I did this and it got even worse! My feet were so swollen and I couldn't move my legs i went back to the ER and I ended up staying for 4 days.. They gave me steroids and anti inflammatory. They said it was my autoimmune system, and that they never seen anything like it before. 2 weeks later I went out of town and was doing some shopping and I got a pain in my foot when I got back to my hotel I couldn't move my leg again. I got back into town went strait to the ER once again and they put me back on those meds it went Away again . And now again it's been 2 weeks and I just started getting back into my work out and my feet are hurting again... I'm taking Advil and I'm wearing the shoes the dr recommended the pain is maybe a 4 but I'm afraid to push my self I was wondering if anyone else has the same problems if so what workouts do you recommend? While all this was happening I ended up gaining 10 pounds in one month but I was still eating healthy it's so frustrating, and defeating!

I have a hard time losing weight as it is ! It took me a year to lose 40 pounds and I started at 300!

Songtothesiren

Hi. I'm sorry to hear you are in pain. PF is an awful thing to live with. I had it in my left foot for 3 years and just couldn't shift it. Steroid injections did nothing and it really restricted my ability to walk. That's the bad news. Here's the good stuff

1. I was able to exercise on an elliptic trainer (no pressure on my foot)
2. My PF went overnight - honestly, overnight. It was such a shock.
3. My friend developed PF and hers went after 2 months.
4. The pain of walking was reduced with good trainers.
5. The more weight I lost the better it got. Ironically.
6. I WISH I'd realised the importance of things like Yoga and swimming, as these are gentle exercises that you can do with PF.

Be patient PF does go!

Best wishes

Mavis

Snapshotgirl

Get a can of vegetables. Roll your foot gently over the can for about 5 minutes or so. This stretches and relaxes the foot. Literally, you can feel the foot ease it's tension. Do this faithfully every night. (You can buy foot rollers but the veggie can is cheaper and works just as well)

Get a good pair of running shoes. Everybody is different, so there will be some trial and error with this. Also, get better work shoes. I wear Danskos and they work like a dream. No pain at all.

PF can also lead to back pain, so if you can, get a massage on a regular basis. I get one once a month. It's expensive but saves me a fortune in doctors bills, because I relax and the muscles ease their tightness.

Good luck.

njitaliana

I had it for 9 months. The only things that helped were physical therapy and wearing Superfeet green orthotics inside Brooks Glycerin running shoes. I'd get a prescription for PT and visit a running store. The exercises alone won't help. Intensive manual therapy from a PT should keep it from coming back like it has,

acpgee

When I had it, I was instructed by the podiatrist to use off the shelf arch supports and to perform calf stretches. Keeping calf muscles long reduces pressure on the plantar. The stretch recommend to me was to prop up a cutting board on the edge of a phonebook. Stand on the slanted board with your toes raised for several minutes a few times a day. I set this up in front of the washbasin (to stretch while brushing teeth) and a couple of other strategic spots around the house (to stretch doing food prep). My symptoms disappeared in about 6 weeks, I think.

Nelly6170

Freeze a water bottle and roll your foot gently over it for several minutes a couple of times a day.
Stretch several times a day --- sit on the floor, legs out in front of you. Grab a bath towel and pull your foot back toward your body using the towel. Do this in 20-30 second intervals for 2-3 minutes and do this several times a day and before you get out of bed in the AM.. You need to stretch the rubberband-like tendon that tightens up during the night.
I suffered from it for a while before I knew what it was. Weightloss has probably helped, too, I imagine. With the weightloss of 20-25 over time plus the icing and stretching for a couple of weeks, I don't have any PF pain any longer.
Hang in there -- it is awfully painful! But you can remedy it and feel better.

Allisonfitness99

PF can also lead to back pain, so if you can, get a massage on a regular basis. I get one once a month. It's expensive but saves me a fortune in doctors bills, because I relax and the muscles ease their tightness.

I dident know that, massage are covered under my insurance but iv never got one because I dident want someone to see my stretch marks and I was always so embarrassed with my body. But I think I will give that a try too!

cinnamonkitty

Have you tried getting steroid shots directly into the foot? It sounds bad but they put lidocaine in with the steroid to ease the pain. You can't do it very often but it works very well. You should also be sleeping in a plantar fasciitis foot splint at at night They have many different kinds but spend a little more money and get a good one. Icing after a long day works wonders.

The inserts you have are the wrong ones for you, try another brand. The exercises are great too! I wish you lots of luck, i know from personal experience that the pain is excruciating.

Capt_Apollo

PF sucks, and it sounds like you had a really bad case of it.

have you seen a podiatrist at all?

Capt_Apollo

you should also be sleeping with a foot brace of some kind. it'll push your foot up so that the tendon doesn't get tight at night when you sleep.

i "cured" my PF by switching to minimalist shoes. i use 4mm drop shoes, with a bit of arch support. i was feeling more and more hurt from bigger cushioned shoes and custom orthotics and all that crap. i switched to minimalist shoes and almost immediately i stopped feeling pain.

Bernadette60614

Stand up, hold something. Up on your toes, back down...slowly. 25 times each a.m., 25 times each p.m.

I wear Eccos, which my orthopedist recommended. They aren't Sex in the City shoes, but they prevent the PF from flaring up, and you can get them on Zappos.

I avoid high impact aerobic exercises and use the elliptical trainer.

You might want to consider seeing a physical therapist as well.

Allisonfitness99

Where I live we don't have one, I have an app with one out of town but it's not for another month and a half!

Capt_Apollo

Where I live we don't have one, I have an app with one out of town but it's not for another month and a half!

get an earlier appointment. i know from experience this pain is hell. find a different doctor or something. ask for an emergency appointment.

_cdaley

PF can also lead to back pain, so if you can, get a massage on a regular basis. I get one once a month. It's expensive but saves me a fortune in doctors bills, because I relax and the muscles ease their tightness.

I dident know that, massage are covered under my insurance but iv never got one because I dident want someone to see my stretch marks and I was always so embarrassed with my body. But I think I will give that a try too!

I understand the instinct to be embarrassed but honestly, the massage therapist could most likely not care less. I work at a health club that has a spa and I've chatted with therapists about this- I was curious if they ever got grossed out by clients. The responses I got basically were that they don't really even "look" at bodies on the table like that- they are focused on what they feel and what they are doing. The only thing I've ever heard a therapist say is gross is when a client obviously hasn't bathed in awhile, which makes sense. Get and enjoy the massage- you are just one of probably hundreds of naked people they have seen.

kayduro

Get a can of vegetables. Roll your foot gently over the can for about 5 minutes or so. This stretches and relaxes the foot. Literally, you can feel the foot ease it's tension. Do this faithfully every night. (You can buy foot rollers but the veggie can is cheaper and works just as well)

Hubby does this with a frozen water bottle and it does help. . I don't know for sure but I don't think average weight people get PF (correct me if I'm wrong) so eventually it does go away as you lose the lbs.

ndwildbill

I had PF a few years ago. Tried the stretching with the board and phone book, rolling the can, pulling with a towel, etc. Finally decided to try orthotic insoles. Got my feet measured, and found out I was wearing shows that were both too narrow, and too short (I thought they fit, buying them at the do it yourself shoe stores). Anyway, good shoes with good support and orthotic insoles, and my feet were back feeling good in about 3 weeks. Have not had a problem since, now that I buy shoes big enough! Losing weight has helped with the knee and hip arthritis, but I am really glad I have not had the PF for a very long time.

nutmegoreo

Get a can of vegetables. Roll your foot gently over the can for about 5 minutes or so. This stretches and relaxes the foot. Literally, you can feel the foot ease it's tension. Do this faithfully every night. (You can buy foot rollers but the veggie can is cheaper and works just as well)

Hubby does this with a frozen water bottle and it does help. . I don't know for sure but I don't think average weight people get PF (correct me if I'm wrong) so eventually it does go away as you lose the lbs.

You are incorrect. "Average" weight people can and do develop plantar fasciitis. I was 60lbs lighter when I went through a two year bout of this.

OP, here is some info about plantar fasciitis:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0004438/

The suggestions to roll cans/frozen bottles are helpful, as is stretching and physiotherapy. It is crazy painful. I hope you find a professional to work with, managing it through the ER is not going to be helpful in the long-term. Sorry you are going through this, it sucks.

Flossiesdoll

I've had plantar fasciitis for years, because the ligaments in my feet are too flexible and my feet move around too much when I walk. I have found the best way to manage it is exercises given by the physio, and orthotics in my shoes custom-made by a podiatrist.

ironjoekickboxing

See a podiatrist for sure, stay off it as much as you can, ice it, use the rolling exercises with the vegetable cans also.

Allisonfitness99

Where I live we don't have one, I have an app with one out of town but it's not for another month and a half!

get an earlier appointment. i know from experience this pain is hell. find a different doctor or something. ask for an emergency appointment.

I got referral, my dr said it was the best way.. Maybe I will look into a different dr.

Allisonfitness99

Have you tried getting steroid shots directly into the foot? It sounds bad but they put lidocaine in with the steroid to ease the pain. You can't do it very often but it works very well. You should also be sleeping in a plantar fasciitis foot splint at at night They have many different kinds but spend a little more money and get a good one. Icing after a long day works wonders.

The inserts you have are the wrong ones for you, try another brand. The exercises are great too! I wish you lots of luck, i know from personal experience that the pain is excruciating.

No I dident try shots I was on oral steroids tho, and I'm useing the ones my dr recommend but I will try new ones.

Linnaea27

Definitely do exercises that keep you off your feet when the pain is really bad; also, have you tried bike riding? I have mild plantar fasciitis that flares up sometimes-- usually when I have bought new shoes and have started being on my feet/exercising more. One strange thing that really, really helps it to heal is to make sure that your feet remain at a right angle, or close to it, to your leg when you are sleeping. I read when I first got PF that a contributing factor is sleeping with your feet squashed down by heavy bedcovers, so they are in a pointed position. Preventing that is very important to healing the problem and keeping it from coming back. The reason the pointed, straight position of the feet all night contributes to plantar fasciitis is because the plantar fascia gets accustomed to being in a non-stretched position all night, and that makes it more susceptible to stretching out and breaking during the day. Wearing high heels often also predisposes one to this problem, for the same reason.

I've seen foot braces for nighttime wear to help heal this issue, but an ace bandage wrapped a certain way to keep my foot at more of a right angle, as well as lighter bedcovers, helps me.

Shoes or shoe inserts with high arch supports and lower heel areas are very bad for PF; they stretch the plantar fascia out even more. Try some different inserts or even different shoes. Get better soon! This is a really miserable problem to have!

kayduro

[/quote]


You are incorrect. "Average" weight people can and do develop plantar fasciitis. I was 60lbs lighter when I went through a two year bout of this.


[/quote]

Thank you for correcting me. I just read that being overweight is just ONE cause.

Health_Temple

Get a can of vegetables. Roll your foot gently over the can for about 5 minutes or so. This stretches and relaxes the foot. Literally, you can feel the foot ease it's tension. Do this faithfully every night. (You can buy foot rollers but the veggie can is cheaper and works just as well)

Hubby does this with a frozen water bottle and it does help. . I don't know for sure but I don't think average weight people get PF (correct me if I'm wrong) so eventually it does go away as you lose the lbs.

When I got it I was 135 lbs and HWP

Health_Temple

I would NOT get steroids or even use an insole. That's covering the problem and not helping it its an aspirin. Just massage with one of the said items above or a small ball (I did it so it was painful but I had to because I was forced to run every day). If you use an insole it won't help you strengthen your feet muscles and tendons making them weaker and rely in insoles. Skip them massages out your feet. My pf hasn't been back and it's been a few years!

lauly101

I've not been to a doc about mine but it started just as soon as I decided to start loosing weight and started being more active. I did insanity in my trainers (cheap crappy ones) and a few days later kaboom. Agony. I stopped wearing the trainers for my workout as I figured that had started it and just stretched it out and massaged it. I stood with my toes on the end of a step and raised and lowered myself (this is what worked for me, non medical intervention just what I felt was right so it's not medically sound). I also give it a cheeky press and rub when it needs it, but it is hurty when I press it but after much relaxed. I don't have a car and it was recommended to not walk and to have slightly heeled shoes but I walk 4 miles in total every day and am a teacher so am on my feet lots. I also have a bunion on the other foot so an terribly limited with regards to shoe types I can wear (which is coincidentally doing my head in coz I want pretty shoes for my birthday). I just put bits of sponge in the heels of my pf shoe to lift the heel and be comfy when walking which has helped immeasurably. Again, I must stress that this was not medically recommended I just looked it up on line and did what I could do within my means. Good luck with yours, mine is much better but still there, so there is light at the end of the tunnel.

heybales

Since it's many times a plantar strain, exercise for it should really be backed off, it's a damaged tendon, and should be allowed to heal. That's why ice can help at first, or often if you get damaging it.

That being said, awfully hard to do when every step uses it.

I had to get orthopedic insoles for every shoe I wore, especially stiffer ones, so it wasn't being used nearly as much.
But, I only paid the Dr for one, paid attention to how he did the foam imprint, and then got a thin cycling pair by doing my own through mail-order.
There was also a business in town that had a simpler, cheaper, and quicker version, stand on form that has a grid of pins that comes up that is almost continuous. The end result looked exactly like the 4 x as expensive Dr office version. My mailorder one was same cheaper price, but very low profile and carbon fiber. Ohhh.

That finally allowed me to heal, as well as backing off weight bearing exercise like running. The ice and rolling were a little relief, but mostly after doing too much on it.
The night stretch boot was decent help too.
I've been noticing it a bit on squats and deadlifts though, so thinking of getting them in to my lifting shoes.

Progressed enough and healed enough I could do barefoot running, which really strengthened it up then. But had to heal first.
And it took lots of time.
I still wear the insoles in the stiffest dress shoes and cycling shoes since they don't bend like the foot would like to. But any other shoe is flat bottomed.

Steroids didn't help enough, mainly because Dr was trying to work with me to allow me to keep doing lots of exercise. His final comment of "we can cut a piece of the band and that should bring relief" was like no way - it's there for a reason. I backed off.

I will say, once I healed from initial injury, latter injury through my stupidity was much quicker, and it was plantar sprain, couldn't push off walking, couldn't engage calf muscle. Did a little bit too much barefoot running at too fast a pace because it was just feeling so good. Oops.

PghPensFan69

Bump to read tomorrow

wannakimmy

Freeze a water bottle and roll your foot gently over it for several minutes a couple of times a day.
Stretch several times a day --- sit on the floor, legs out in front of you. Grab a bath towel and pull your foot back toward your body using the towel. Do this in 20-30 second intervals for 2-3 minutes and do this several times a day and before you get out of bed in the AM.. You need to stretch the rubberband-like tendon that tightens up during the night.
I suffered from it for a while before I knew what it was. Weightloss has probably helped, too, I imagine. With the weightloss of 20-25 over time plus the icing and stretching for a couple of weeks, I don't have any PF pain any longer.
Hang in there -- it is awfully painful! But you can remedy it and feel better.

This^^^
I also wear dansko shoes, they take a bit to get used to, but do seem to help. I also swim as my exercise, there is no pain for me while swimming. If you can keep up with the stretching and ice bottle rolling, it should improve. I also have noticed as I take off weight, it hurts less.

Good luck OP!

rljohnsufl

All the tips for curing PF are great, but I think what the OP was asking was "how do you exercise and burn calories while suffering from PF".

I've had PF for about a year. I am beyond tired of it. I went to a podiatrist and he told me I could do the following for exercise:

-spin classes but stay in the saddle. That's difficult but I'm trying. I have noticed foot pain when I do standing climbs.

- swimming, of course.

-weight training that involves standing still or not on feet

-hula hooping standing still (podiatrist didn't recommend this but I assume it's okay since I'm standing still)

No walking, no stair climbing (though 1 flight isn't a problem), no elliptical, and of course no running.

Anyone else have suggestions on what exercise to do while you have PF?

bane0317

stretch you feet BEFORE you get out of bed in the morning. sounds crazy but it was easier to get them to stretch then and it really reduced the pain when I stood up. I would try to point my toes as far up toward my head as possible which stretched out the tendon. Anything to make it stop feeling like someone is stabbing me in the bottom of my foot whenever I put weight on them!