Plantar Fascia Strain: New excercises needed urgently!

stevepound

I have been doing well with my lifestyle change, managing to do walking and jogging as my main excercise. I was really enjoying it too. Now I have strained the Plantar Fascia tendon in my foot, so I have to have it taped up and rested for 3 weeks.

I have been using the Playstation move tennis game as a form of excercise which gets me working a sweat. However I really need some other excercises to do in my own home to burn calories, without putting strain on my feet.
Also I need to be burning at least 300 calories in any excersise suggested.

All comments welcome!

Sharonbed4d

Swimming is a great low impact exercise.

foxylady8098

I would say get a boxing game for your playstation. I have a Gold's gym boxing game for my Wii and I build up a sweat every time I play that.

stevepound

ah yes, i didnt think of swimming!

stevepound

I think theres a boxing game coming out for the PS3 move actualy :-)

Andi_Mo

Hi there,

I just went to an Air Force running class on Monday and she discussed this condition. They said it is one of the ones where you really need to avoid the high impact exercises so elliptical, swimming, weight lifting or the stationary bike would be great. If you don't have any of these in your home, you could do a low impact DVD like walk away the pounds or something. Good luck. I know how painful this is : ( Get well soon!

stevepound

its not majorly painfull to be fair. But it is a bit tender in the evenings after a the days out. Im hoping that the fact it isnt that bad means if I take care of it now, it will heal properly quite quickly?!!

RedneckWmn

I had it really bad before I started my lifestyle change. To the point where I couldn't walk in the mornings hardly. After about 30 or 40 pounds lost it is almost non existant. It gets sore from time to time but nothing to stop me from doing anything now. Def stick with swimming or elliptical. It will get better, I promise!

Michelle_A_Richmond

I have knee and ankle pain from old injuries, but find that I can run and jump when I use these special shoes called Kangoo Jumps. It's worth a look - some gyms have Kangoo classes where you could try them out and see if it hurts your foot. http://www.kangoojumps.com

panther87

I have had Flare ups of Planter Fascitis off and on over the years. I had a chiropractor instruct me to roll my feet on a golf ball at the end of the day. it was really tender the first few days but now i look for ward to my 'foot massage' at the end of the day. I also know avoiding 'white' foods' really helps too. As they are the ones that tend to add to the inflammation. As for exercises i would do biking, elliptiacal or swimming as they all can burn a fair amount of calories in a fairly short time and are lo impact. Good Luck.

CakeFit21

I'm currently recovering from this, (plus Achilles tendonitis) and my doc has told me I can continue on the elliptical as long as don't use any incline. He also said to stay away from major mileage, (I took this to mean more than 3-4 miles) in the beginning and add gradually add. Also, said the bike, rowing machine and weights were fine. I've been off of high-impact for almost 3 weeks and healing is going very well. I expect to be jumping and running next week, (fingers crossed). Stretching has been the thing that has moved my progress along the fastest. If I rush stretching before I feel the twinges towards the end of the workout. Also, taking time to stretch throughout the day has really helped! It's true, if you do take care of it now it will heal quickly but it can come back if you aren't stretching properly. (That's what the doc told me)

Did you have a list of stretches to do? I can send you a link if you like?

DJeter22

I had the same thing and it was at the point for me that it was really painful. I iced my foot at night and filled a plasic water bottle with water and froze it and used that to roll my foot on. That felt amazing. After getting a great pair of shoes and working out on a regular basis the pain started to leave and is now gone. The rowing machine would be a great workout along with elliptical and stationary bike. You could also do push-ups for a good cardio workout. I hope it feels better soon and good luck with the new exercises!
Dea`Dra

DJeter22

I have had Flare ups of Planter Fascitis off and on over the years. I had a chiropractor instruct me to roll my feet on a golf ball at the end of the day. it was really tender the first few days but now i look for ward to my 'foot massage' at the end of the day. I also know avoiding 'white' foods' really helps too. As they are the ones that tend to add to the inflammation. As for exercises i would do biking, elliptiacal or swimming as they all can burn a fair amount of calories in a fairly short time and are lo impact. Good Luck.

Something that feels amazing is filling a water bottle up and freezing it and then rolling your foot on that. You will love that. I also made sure to wear good shoes with high arch supports in them. I have a high arch support and would always walk barefoot, I no longer do that and slip on my flip flops while in the house.

paddlemom

Two things I discovered about Plantar Fasciitis
1) It is an inflammation, when I was intructed to ice my feet for 20 minutes the last thing I did before I got off them at night, it worked wonders for eventually giving me relief.

2) it is as much a symptom of mechanical issues higher up as it is a foot problem. My daughter who is highly flexible saw a specialist who demonstrated to her that because her balance was off as a result of poor alignment of hips and spine, she would compensate in her feet. Try standing up and rocking back and forth, you will notice that you tense in your toes and feet to recover your balance. She was given exercises to strengthen her lower back and hips and improve her alignment so she would more naturally hold her balance. it has made a huge difference.

stevepound

Yes please I'll have a list of stretches if possible to help me!

35again

I've also had this in the past and what's saved my feet in having a good pair of support inserts. Not the cheapy Dr. Scholls you buy at Walmart. I got some SOLE inserts that are heat moldable. They cost me about $45 and had a 90 day money back guarantee. After wearing them almost the 90 days they weren't quite cutting it and so I went back to the shoe store I bought them at and they did some modifications. I have a high arch and a heel spur so they added some arch support and drilled a hole in the heel area to cushion the spur more. It's made all the difference for me.

AEROBICVIC

I've had it in both of my feet several times when i lunge hard (teaching aerobics) so I really have to watch some of my moves. what really works for me other than cortizone shots, doing ABC stretches with my feet (one foot at a time, point and draw A, B, C....to Z with my toes). it stretches every angle your foot can move, wearing Nike Shox shoes because the heel incline, very little walking barefoot, rolling foot on frozen bottle of ice and lots of regular stretcing. i can feel when i over use it or over train so i back off when needed. low impact or cycling classes are great when the problem comes back.

CakeFit21

Here's that list of stretches!

http://www.plantarfasciitisbraces.com/plantar_fasciitis_stretching_exercises.html

I was also just reading about how writing ABC's can help with rehab! I thought it was so funny yet made so much sense! It was in the context of an ankle injury, but I can see where it would be beneficial here too. My toddler will think it's hilarious.

stevepound

thanks for that! Looks like an easy to read website too :-)

Nich0le

keep walking or running. I had a bad flare up about two years ago and I finally went to see a foot doctor and found out that I wasn't wearing properly fitting shoes and that the inactivity or lack of use is actually worse, you want to keep the fascia warm and stretched to avoid more tearing.

I was put on a regimen of aleve every 12 hours for one week, advised to do several stretches, including picking marbles up with my toes and I wear an ace bandage designed to hold your arch in place while sleeping. Also Ice when ever possible. I have also found that it helps to rotate my ankles and flex and point my toes BEFORE attempting to get out of bed. Now if I have a flare up it is rare and only lasts one or two days and is generally after I have upped my mileage.

runnersworld.com has a ton of info on prevention, recovery and stretches just for this subject, I would recommend checking it out.

dragonflyjill

I used to have orthitics, fitting by a chiropodist, and that really helped. But since taking up yoga (Bikram specifically) I can proudly say it has completely healed my feet! I think the standing on one leg balancing strengthened all those little muscles and corrected the alignment.

Jill

Jane33572

Bump

stevepound

Bump

whats bump?!

stevepound

thanks Nich0le. I took a look at the site, and it says about the stretching etc. I cant find where it says about keeping on running tho :-(

tbernard

I used to run a little distance. I completed a few half and full marathons. After taking a break in which I gained 15 pounds I started to run hard again and I developed plantar. I wasn't smart enough to take a break and rest in and made it worse. it took roughly 18 months for me to stop walking like an old man. I would get out of my car and everything would have tightened up on me. I wondered if it was permanent - if I would ever overcome it..

Well I'm 100% today so I can assure you that it will be ok. If you choose to run, do it in a pool. Otherwise switch to cardio for awhile that doesn't involve your foot striking the ground. Use the stretches that were pointed out... Whenever you aren't doing anythingjust sit there with your foot on the floor dragging your toes towards you with your heel in place.

It will get better..

MzBug

If you spend a lot of time on your feet (like at work), see if your insurance company will cover custom orthotics. I have PF in both feet and heel spurs on both feet that are huge. I had custom orthotics made 7 years ago and have not had a major problem since. During the summer I will get a few twinges when I wear flip flops or go barefoot too much. The bad news is that once you have PF it never goes away....you will always be at risk of it flaring up.

myshadow33

I have the same problem mine is getting alot better. It's very important especially before your feet hit the floor in the morning to sit on the edge of your bed bend your leg and place the hurting foot across the opposite knee, pull all of your toes back stretching your foot and deeply message the chord in the center of your foot. It will be painful at first but stretching the tendon is vital to the healing process and can be done many times throughout the day. It's also very important to wear very comfortable shoes with good arch support and never go bare foot. An elliptical trainer or bike riding are good forms of excercise that don't put alot of stress on the heal...swimming is good too. It will take some time but if you're consistant it will get better.

ezrida

Hi
For me it all started with plantar fasciitis. The best cardio exercise for someone with plantar fasciitis is swimming and riding a bicycle. I used to run and I got plantar fasciitis so I started to swim and cycle. Today I’m better with my PF so I ended up as a triathlete. I have finished my first olympic triathlon race two months ago.
There are many things you can do to treat your PF although I understood that treatment efficiency is very individual. If something works for one it will not necessarily work for the other.
I have found taping very useful. Taping will keep your foot from getting injured again and will help you get through your daily routine and exercises.
I found a very informative website in:
http://www.plantar-fasciitis-elrofeet.com
Take care & Good luck

stevepound

Thanks so much everyone for your input. Im currently sitting in bed now with a vibrating massager on both feet. I dont have any trouble with it. Just in the morning and at night they are a bit tight. Ive learnt how to tape them up now which has helped. And also the stretches are really good. I just really want to go running again, Ive not been running for a month now, and I was doing really well with it. How long do you think it will take to get better, given that its not giving me too much trouble, and ive started treating it early?

MiloBloom83

One thing no one mentioned that worked for me was acupuncture. My sister-in-law is an acupunturist, and i was very skepticle that it would do anything, but after4 months of pain, I was ready to try anything. I had 1 treatment in 2006, and I haven't had a problem with it since.

jessmomof3

Thanks so much everyone for your input. Im currently sitting in bed now with a vibrating massager on both feet. I dont have any trouble with it. Just in the morning and at night they are a bit tight. Ive learnt how to tape them up now which has helped. And also the stretches are really good. I just really want to go running again, Ive not been running for a month now, and I was doing really well with it. How long do you think it will take to get better, given that its not giving me too much trouble, and ive started treating it early?

I had PF a few years ago when I was marathon training. When I saw the podiatrist he told me it was fine to run. Once you warm up the fascia (about a mile into the run for me), it would stop hurting (as it gets *cold* it tightens up). Then make sure to stretch REALLY well, rub a bouncy or tennis ball or frozen water bottle over the bottoms of your feet, and make sure you are wearing the right kind of shoes. I ended up completing the marathon even while dealing w/ PF. It was the worst in the morning, it felt like I was walking on broken glass. Also, naproxen (aka ALEVE) is what he recommended to take instead of Advil.

Good luck!