Suffering from Planters Fasciitis

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So for the past several months I think I have been suffering from Planters Fasciitis. Any suggestions. I know that I need to ice and stretch after each run and stretch before I walk on it in the morning. Would you recomment orthotics??? Just wondering if there is anyone else out there that has figured out how to deal with this pain. The day of my workout it is complete hell and then it takes me a good full day after my run to feel like I can get out there again. I am wondering if it is planters fasciitis or something else???

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  • halleymw
    halleymw Posts: 246 Member
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    I put up with it for about 18 months, doing all of the suggested things that help (stretching, ice, nsaids, rest, various insoles, etc. It would seem to get better, but then whenever I would do the least little thing it would flare up again. I finally gave up and went to a podiatrist. 2 steroids shots later, completely cured. YMMV.
    Re: is it plantar fasciitis, there are a couple of things that mark the syndrome: one. Severe pain the first couple of steps in the morning. Pain located around the heel. Tenderness to palpation at the insertion of the plantar fascia to the heel
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0004438/

    Mike
  • Long2BFree
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    Had plantar fasciitis which was treated by the podiatrist through steroid shots (huge improvement with shots), wearing a very uncomfortable night brace to bed, Motrin and wearing proper shoes. The doctor recommended Merrell shoes (pricey but worth it) or other shoes that weren't flat. Wearing sneakers that were raised in the heel area compared to flat shoes helped a lot. My final option was to have surgery if I couldn't get permanent relief. After losing some weight, I have never had another flair-up.
  • ftondee
    ftondee Posts: 8 Member
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    I was coming to post this exact thing. I went to the Dr. She told me to freeze a water bottle and to roll my heal over it in the morning. I am still in a tremendous amount of pain. I have been dealing with this of and on for two years. I am interested in hearing other replies. I WILL NOT stop exercising which is another suggestion she had.
  • Kymmy81
    Kymmy81 Posts: 168 Member
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    I had this for a long time too. It is manageable (not perfect) now with custom made orthotics. I also found that the acupuncture my podiatrist did helped a lot (albeit rather painful), as did stretching my calf muscles and wearing that completely unsexy strassberg sock at night. Good luck, it is a horrible thing to have.
  • fudgebudget
    fudgebudget Posts: 198 Member
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    Stretching - lots and lots of stretching. I stretch a lot more after my runs than before, and also took ibuprofen after runs to help with inflammation. I started taking a fish oil supplement right after PF flared up this last time (which was something I needed to be taking anyway), because it is also supposed to help with inflammation.

    I also got new shoes, which after a week have helped a LOT. I'm running in Nike Free Runs now, which is kind of the step between traditional and barefoot shoes, and I find it easier to maintain a midfoot landing in them. I'm getting some barefoot shoes for walking around (not running ... at least not yet) to help build up the muscles in my feet, too, to help prevent PF from becoming an issue again in the future.