Barefooters: Plantar fasciitis?

jeffrodgers1

Not to steal the thunder from your topic BUT I'm just starting the c25k routine and finished up my first week. I did not know there was a "landing point" on the foot nor a "stride" technique I should be aware of. Someone, ANYONE please, plesae enlighten me. I thought I was just going to jog! :embarassed:

Try landing gently on your forefoot/midfoot and with your knees bent. Think of it as a shock absorber.

When you wear running shoes, you usually have a great deal of padding which almost forces you to strike on your heels. This is bad as it eliminates any natural shock absorbtion.

When you land on your forefoot or midfoot, you are forced to bend your knees slightly and it allows you to absorb shock in your foot and ankle and your knee (like a shock absorber)

When you strike with your heel (as you would with shoes), you are more inclined to run straight legged which applies shock to your heel, ankle, knees and hips. It also is a great momentum killer as you are putting on the breaks on each stride.

Check out thebarefootrunning.com for more information.

For what it is worth, I am not suggesting anyone goes out and runs entirely barefoot, but do try it a little to see the difference in your stride and the way you are supposed to run. It will help fix your stride to the way it should be... efficient and painless.

Hope that helps!

jeffrodgers1

I can't help wondering if supportive shoes treat the symptom but not the cause. I've seen studies comparing populations who wear shoes regularly vs. populations who never wear shoes - the ones who went barefoot all the time since birth never got plantar fasciitis.

I couldn't agree more. Shoes desensitize the feet and prevent several muscles in the feet and ankles from being developed. Wearing shoes adds an inch of padding at the heel which likely prevents the plantar and achilles from being fully stretched out.

My 2 cents

FairyMiss

mine actually started after i broke my leg and was in a cast for 6 months, went away for years and came back when i got active

Collinsky

My friend sent me the PDF for Chi running; I haven't gotten a chance to read it yet, but I will check that out.

I have had to pretty much ditch my flip flops, since wearing them seems to aggravate the PF. It absolutely isn't bad enough for me to even consider putting on "supportive shoes" all the time. I'll see if I can get some good recommendations in my area for a podiatrist who doesn't have a one-size-fits-all approach.

I will also figure out ways to keep my feet at 90 degrees -- that's actually going to take some figuring out. I'm 5 foot tall, which isn't THAT short, but when I sit in chairs my feet are never, ever flat on the floor. So I can sit with my heels up/toes on the floor, or cross-legged in the chair (which is what I do almost all the time) - I need to get a little footstool or something for when I sit. I will keep the night splint in mind too, if it doesn't seem to be getting better with other changes and stretching.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Collinsky

You need to see a doctor to get a real diagnosis, and to get some real advice.

Personally, I had some pain in my foot, and I had a bunion. I know it's different than plantar fasciitis, but I ended up requiring surgery, and I have to wear orthotics or some sort of arch support for the rest of my life. That's not something I could have overcome myself or gotten help from internet strangers with.

True. However, if my dr doesn't know anything about and has no experience with barefoot running, then he's not actually the best source of info on the topic either. Informing myself through all means at my disposal, including "strangers on the internet" whose knowledge of PF and/or barefoot running may far exceed that of a random doctor I might see, is not a bad idea. The experiences of other people who've been there, done that, is pretty useful in any situation. I promise, I take things with a whole lot of grains of salt, and I hope everyone else does too.

Collinsky

I run "barefoot" with the Vibram five finger shoes and love it (ran a half-marathon in them). The big thing, though, is easing into it. When I was getting into running, I got a DVD on Chi running from the library (like Summertime_girl's suggestion), that really helped me have good running form to minimize injury. I understand wanting to run barefoot, but you may want to consider having a minimal shoe to give your feet a break, about once a week--new balance has the minimus (which I love), Merrell came out with the Glove, Nike has one, etc. I went to a barefoot running seminar and the speaker suggested doing that. One last thing, the toe scrunch exercise is really good to strengthen your arches--it's the third exercise here: http://www.plantar-fasciitis-elrofeet.com/plantar_fasciitis_exercises.html . Consider taking a couple days off and then doing a really short test run to see how you feel. If that goes well, wait a day or two and then do a slightly longer one before rejoining your program. Good luck!

The speaker suggested running one day a week in minimal shoes, and doing barefoot the rest of the week? I will have to look into the minimal shoes, and maybe that will help.

Collinsky

I have a goofy question: are shorter people prone to pPF? The reason I ask is because I'm 5' tall, and my feet never rest flat on the floor when I'm sitting. Never. They either dangle (usually with toes on the floor, but never heels) or I sit cross legged - probably because the alternative is the dangling. I've gotten so used to it that I never noticed, but in the past couple days of trying to be mindful to keep my foot at 90 degrees as much as possible, I'm noticing how difficult that is.

I'm also prone to shin splints, which can also be related to tight calves - just like PF... so I'm wondering if having less time with my feet at 90 degrees because my legs are shorter than most people's (and therefore less chairs LOL) makes me more likely to get PF?

Probably not, but I was curious. I think that regardless of other people's experience, that probably is a contributing factor to me having tight calves and then shin splints/PF with activity.

rileysowner

I have not read all the responses but when I had PF I used stretching upon waking (before getting out of bed) before and after workouts and throughout the day, icing (I would often roll a frozen water bottle along with my foot from heal to toe and back again, and I also taped my feet when I was active such as playing baseball and the like. What seemed to help most was the stretching and exercises. I now have no problem with it and go barefoot a lot with no problems.