Plantar fascitis

I've dealt with it off and on and to varying degrees for a year or so. The things that have worked for me is 1) rolling a tennis ball under my foot (back and forth, side to side) to loosen it up. This usually relaxes my feet when they flare up. 2) There are foot exercises you can find online (spreading the toes out for a few seconds, curling them down then arching them back, and calf extensions) that have reduced the frequency and severity. 3) Heel/foot orthotics (the slip in the shoe kind).

Hope that helps! Good luck!

When I finally started wearing the right size shoes, (a size and a half bigger) and using good arch supports, I stopped having plantar faciaitis problems.

I've battled it for 9 months straight. I've recently found some relief with the Dr. Scholl's active inserts (more than my orthotics), rolling with a golf ball daily and dramatically increasing my water intake. The golf ball will bring tears to your eyes initially, but it works. I'm finally walking and doing light jumping again. Good luck and remember to stretch!

Good morning! I am a massage therapist, and have had several clients with PF...I've had it too. What folks have said so far is good. I have heard of taking frozen or partially frozen water bottle and rolling your foot on it to provide pressure/stretching and also the icing part.

One thing I have learned is that, while the pain is in the bottom of the foot - a lot of times the problem leads to a spot up on the back of the calf. If the anatomy isn't familiar, look at a 'muscle chart' - the spot is on the soleus muscle, right where the two heads of the gastrocnemius come together (or go apart, depending on your perspective). It can be a very tricky spot to palpate by yourself (not impossible, but tricky) because the way you might have to contort to get to it leads you to tighten up rather than relax :noway: BUT - if you can have someone work on the spot for you while you lie face down, that can be a good thing.

It doesn't take crazy heavy pressure to work it out. It might need to be 'mashed' a little to find the sweet spot (very uncomfortable), but once found, medium to light finger pressure on the spot, in a counter-clockwise motion will begin to work it out. Use a little dot of Tiger Balm when rubbing...after do some calf raises/dips...it should be feeling better very soon.

If you have a massage therapist you like to or want to see, ask them how they would address PF - and if they don't do it this way, if they only address the bottom of the foot, ask them to try manipulating that spot. This can easily be worked on in a half session (if time or money are a factor and it's not realistic to have a full-body session), and depending on the severity and other factors at play, a couple of sessions should be all that's needed. YMMV! but that has been my experience in 11 years of practice.

I just bought walking shoes with high support, or for my other shoes, I went to Walmart and bought the sole inserts, Dr Scholls Arch Supports. They used to sell some specifically for PF, but I haven't seen those but for 10, this replacement is fairly nice.

I used to suffer from it - rolling a tennis ball really helped. It seems to have disappeared (haven't dealt with it in 2 years!), but here are some other tips from mindbodygreen (I know some of their suggestions tend to be a bit cooky, so don't murder me if these sound ridiculous!):

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-10638/how-to-deal-with-foot-pain-caused-by-plantar-fasciitis.html

Good morning! I am a massage therapist, and have had several clients with PF...I've had it too. What folks have said so far is good. I have heard of taking frozen or partially frozen water bottle and rolling your foot on it to provide pressure/stretching and also the icing part.

One thing I have learned is that, while the pain is in the bottom of the foot - a lot of times the problem leads to a spot up on the back of the calf. If the anatomy isn't familiar, look at a 'muscle chart' - the spot is on the soleus muscle, right where the two heads of the gastrocnemius come together (or go apart, depending on your perspective). It can be a very tricky spot to palpate by yourself (not impossible, but tricky) because the way you might have to contort to get to it leads you to tighten up rather than relax :noway: BUT - if you can have someone work on the spot for you while you lie face down, that can be a good thing.

It doesn't take crazy heavy pressure to work it out. It might need to be 'mashed' a little to find the sweet spot (very uncomfortable), but once found, medium to light finger pressure on the spot, in a counter-clockwise motion will begin to work it out. Use a little dot of Tiger Balm when rubbing...after do some calf raises/dips...it should be feeling better very soon.

If you have a massage therapist you like to or want to see, ask them how they would address PF - and if they don't do it this way, if they only address the bottom of the foot, ask them to try manipulating that spot. This can easily be worked on in a half session (if time or money are a factor and it's not realistic to have a full-body session), and depending on the severity and other factors at play, a couple of sessions should be all that's needed. YMMV! but that has been my experience in 11 years of practice.

^^THIS^^ I had PF about 4 years ago and after 10 months of severe pain and many doctor visits I visited a person who does Rolfing, which is a more complex form of message. I think what the lady did to me was similar to what this message therapist is describing. The first time she found that "sweet spot" I almost came unglued, it felt like a fireball under my skin, she messaged this fireball down my leg, she worked on my leg for about 45 minutes. When I left I was 80% better than when I came in!! It was AMAZING. I went back for 2 more treatments and have never had a problem since.

Golf ball or tennis ball for sure - also try to do a kneeling stretch of foot with toes on the floor - as deep as you can go until you can actually feel the stretch thru the sole of your foot. I almost resorted to the overnight foot brace. The toes tend to point at night in natural repose, tightening up the fascia, and that's what make the mornings so bad. The braces apparently keep the foot in a 90 degree.

I wrote a blog about it a bit ago.

http://www.fitpowernation.com/3/post/2013/04/plantar-fasciitis.html

Good post. Most studies find PF is from degeneration, not inflammation. When it's associated with flattened arches, the degeneration is usually from a history of wearing shoes with an overly-rigid sole (weakens the posterior tibialis, reduces circulation to and within the fascia). With high arches, i believe it's the opposite problem - excess foot tension.

By the way, scaphoid fractures sometimes don't show up on x-rays until the second week. ;-)

Just finishing a round of steroids for treatment. It's been brutal for about two years and finally had to go see the doctor because it was excruciating.

He has me doing basic calf stretches several times a day, wearing orthotics when exercising for extra support, wearing splints at night. In a week I have seen an 80-90% improvement. He also has me rolling my feet on a bottle. 20oz coke bottle filled with water and then frozen works well.

My podiatrist says almost all cases tie into the calf and the Achilles being tight, so the more stretching you do on an ongoing basis, the less it will bother you going forward. Hoping I can keep up with this to avoid the debilitating pain I had been sufering from.

I had it for over a year, and finally beat it with the following. Took about 10 months (had continuous improvement during that time), but haven't had any issues for several years. I still follow #1 and #2, which I think is why I have been pain free for years.
1. wear Birkenstocks whenever possible (or anything that has a ridge under your toes; it causes your toes to grip when walking). Wear them around the house instead of barefoot of slippers. I think this helps stretch the tendon;
2. Ice 1x-2x a day, especially after working out (a bag of frozen peas under your arches is very comfy!);
3. Stretch foot (point and flex) as many times a day as you think about it; make sure you stretch before getting out of bed.
Not sure if there is any science behind any of these, but these are the suggestions that I found worked for me. Good luck!

I wear crocs with GREAT improvements. Some days I wear "cute" shoes - but too many days out of them and I am in agony. The toe thing may explain the benefit of the crocs! I also have some well worn, thick soled flip flops (old soft Nike type) that work well except for long time periods or walks. They are my "house" shoes. Might add in some birkie! I wear crocs RX. It was my miracle shoe. I have heel spurs that qualify for surgery but I avoided surgery thanks to crocs. I will wear them to the grave.

Spend the $ and go to a running store to have your feet measured & ur gait examined. You'll love urself & ur runs will become a thing of joy.

Where does this store exist? I've gone to stores in my area and nobody has a clue. With my small wide feet they just go "new balance" shoes - and those HURT my feet more than anything - some stabilizer bar in the outer foot. They don't measure anything - just want me to try on shoes - up a size down a size - order wides in that size if I pay for them. I need a name of a store chain that's more than sport fashion and I will find them. I travel on occasion - I will catch them on a trip if I can. That way I can FINALLY own a pair of trainers that aren't too tight or slipping on the heel or making my foot hurt for days (NewBalance). Even Rykas didn't work for me. Rubbed my toes in forefoot (maybe too narrow in their wide?)

forget running stores; go to a podiatrist, maybe one affiliated with a sports med clinic -- they *understand* foot mechanics. some of them sell running shoes (along with orthotics) or can tell you where to go

Spend the $ and go to a running store to have your feet measured & ur gait examined. You'll love urself & ur runs will become a thing of joy.

Where does this store exist? I've gone to stores in my area and nobody has a clue. With my small wide feet they just go "new balance" shoes - and those HURT my feet more than anything - some stabilizer bar in the outer foot. They don't measure anything - just want me to try on shoes - up a size down a size - order wides in that size if I pay for them. I need a name of a store chain that's more than sport fashion and I will find them. I travel on occasion - I will catch them on a trip if I can. That way I can FINALLY own a pair of trainers that aren't too tight or slipping on the heel or making my foot hurt for days (NewBalance). Even Rykas didn't work for me. Rubbed my toes in forefoot (maybe too narrow in their wide?)

Check out Fleet Feet Sports - http://www.fleetfeetsports.com/locations - 33 states and DC!