Plantar fasciitis sufferer.

Forral
Forral Posts: 4
in Introduce Yourself
Hi everyone. Thought I'd give the community thing a try to keep me motivated. Been wanting to lose 40ish lbs for a while and never got very far before relapsing, well I plan on changing that. I've picked up a rowing machine and am determined to succeed this time.
My problem has been plantar fasciitis. The pain in my feet has stopped me being active and combine that with some mild depression and comfort eating leads to bad things. Plus the extra weight makes my plantar fasciitis even worse so it becomes a vicious circle.
Hopefully the rowing will lose some weight along with diet and ease up on my feet. Here's to a healthy new year!

Replies

  • anson808
    anson808 Posts: 47 Member
    I can't speak to the comfort eating and what not, but I have had plantar faciatis before in both feet. It hurts! Especially in the morning! I got mine from working out too much, believe it or not.

    However, it was caused by a lack of stretching and imbalance in the muscles. I never let that pain keep me from pushing through to my next workout, as it goes away with stretching and a good warmup.

    I fixed the problem by stretching my calves and shin muscles a lot. Pretty much every chance I got. Also when I slept, I swaddle my feet and calves to keep the toes dorsi-flexed (not pointed like tip toes). They also sell straps to keep your feet flexed while sleeping.

    Good luck!
  • Jkowals123
    Jkowals123 Posts: 133 Member
    My husband struggles with plantar fasciitis

    And runs very little. (He use to run daily).
    He bought a bike and
    has lost 20 pounds! I want to lose 30
    pounds! Good luck to you with the rowing/
    I hear that is one of the best workouts !
  • notdieting
    notdieting Posts: 116 Member
    Having just responded to a post about having dodgy knees, I am going to sound a bit of a hypochondriac but....I too used to suffer badly from PF and found that it severely restricted what exercise I did.

    Do you wear shoe inserts? Only they made the world of difference to me, they truly did. Within two weeks of wearing them, I felt significant improvement. I also started cold treatment....rolling a can of very cold coke over the PF area (between heel and ball of foot) for five minutes as often as I could.....and making sure I stretched it off before weight bearing by pointing my toes back towards my shin as far as I could several times. Once I started to feel the improvements, I was able to exercise more and when the weight started coming off, the problem decreased with it. I now have been symptom free for at least seven months.

    Do some research. I found all the info I needed online and bought some good quality inserts from amazon. I would swear by them. They really did sort the problem and now I don't need to wear them anymore.....what's more, I now do Zumba twice a week and use an elliptical on my non-Zumba days.....both things I could never have managed before!
  • anson808
    anson808 Posts: 47 Member
    The rolling is a great stretch! The cold can is great for reducing inflammation! Good suggestions!
  • TomZot
    TomZot Posts: 165 Member
    I have had it over the years several times in both feet. I have received the (cortisone) shot twice in both feet with almost instant relief.

    Except this time.

    It started acting up in my left foot around Labor Day. Had the shot shorty thereafter. Shot didn't touch it.

    Cut back on running (I was at 30 MPW at the time)...icing and stretching.

    It was slowly resolving, until I bought the Strassburg Sock. I have been wearing the Sock at night since mid November, using a foot roller, icing, and the PF is nearly gone.

    FWIW.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,962 Member
    I had plantar fascitis, but the podiatrist I was referred to fixed the problems within a few weeks. I was told to keep the calves stretched. The stretch I was instructed to do involved laying the edge of a cutting board on a phonebook. Stand with your toes raised for a few minutes several times a day. I had this set up in front of the wash basin and a couple of other strategic spots around the house, so I did it will brushing my teeth, doing cooking prep, etc. I was also given off the shelf arch supports. Was amazed that mine disappeared so quickly.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    i have plantar fascitis, but i don't suffer from it. at least not often.

    i had foot pain and for a while it limited my mobility. i could barely walk. a podiatrist made me custom orthodics to help alleviate the pain. he also told me stretches to do to help battle the symptoms.

    but that was just it, i was treating the symptoms, not the issue. the stretching helps, and i still have to keep up with it, but the best thing i did was to switch to minimalist shoes. they keep my foot flat on the ground, keeping my feet in a more natural state, stretching the tendon that causes plantar fasciitis.

    mind you, i don't wear the minimalist shoes all the time. mostly for exercise. but between the shoes, strength training, stretching, and taking my time, i don't suffer any pain. even after a long run.
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
    type that term into the search box on MFP and you will find a great thread with lot's of pro's and sufferers answering. it was from about a week ago.

    ETA like captain apollo I have minimalist shoes, mine are vibrams, and i wore them everywhere for awhile and go barefoot with socks a lot at home. I got the matching toe socks and wore those exclusively for awhile too. i stretch very carefully before and after workouts. mine is mild probably because right when it started it was due to an injury and i immediately went to a PT who cared for it and told me what to do at home, so i never ignored it or let it get worse even though I did not know what it was called, i just called it my foot "injury".
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
    I have had it over the years several times in both feet. I have received the (cortisone) shot twice in both feet with almost instant relief.

    Except this time.

    It started acting up in my left foot around Labor Day. Had the shot shorty thereafter. Shot didn't touch it.

    Cut back on running (I was at 30 MPW at the time)...icing and stretching.

    It was slowly resolving, until I bought the Strassburg Sock. I have been wearing the Sock at night since mid November, using a foot roller, icing, and the PF is nearly gone.

    FWIW.

    looked it up found this [img]http://fitfunmom.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/img-20121211-00028.jpg?w=500&h=375[/b] lol[/img]
  • TomZot
    TomZot Posts: 165 Member
    Actually that's pretty similar.

    http://thesock.com/works/helps
  • Guinivere
    Guinivere Posts: 357 Member
    I thought I had plantar fasciitis but my chiropractor identified my knees and shoes as the real problem. He sorted my knees, I sorted my shoes.

    No more problems and it's never returned (and I suffered with it for two years before it got bad enough to seek professional help)

    Hope that is helpful to you :-)
  • disneygallagirl
    disneygallagirl Posts: 515 Member
    I suffer from this too....great tips here.
  • judyamk
    judyamk Posts: 79 Member
    I went to a physical therapist a few months back.Every morning before getting out of bed I hold my foot & pull back on it to stretch it out. Then I would stand facing the wall & raise my foot up & down on my toes,the same exercise you can find on the net with pictures. I bought a boot from Amazon for this condition ,but I would toss so much & ended up bashing my husbands leg in bed. The special exercise can really help this at least it has mine.
    Take care & hope this helps
    Judy
  • judyamk
    judyamk Posts: 79 Member
    never heard of this sock will check it out on Amazon the boot had to go as I bashed my husband's leg in bed ( poor guy )
    Judy ( thanks for sharing this )
  • bigeasy2134568
    bigeasy2134568 Posts: 3
    Best way to treat has to be Blood Flow Stimulation therapy. Hands down the best treatment available on the market. King Brand makes a great unit that worked wonders for me.
  • sad0711
    sad0711 Posts: 17 Member
    I had that problem years ago on one foot and was so bad I had surgery. Then recently the other foot became extremely sore and painful so I went to the doctor and he recomended some insoles for my shoes(I have high arches). He said if they didn"t help come back. I got the insoles, they were around 45 dollars but, I thought if they help well worth it. I put them in my running shoes, went running the next day and I have not had a single problem since. I average about 20 or so miles a week and am training for a half marathon. They are called Powerstep Pinnacle Maxx maybe they will help you. My sister had the same problem and got the insoles and she runs pain free too. Good luck :)
  • kkows
    kkows Posts: 19
    Hi there. U also suffer from PF but it doesn't really affect my running. I wear a support sock (more a tube really) under my regular sock and it has really helped. I'm in the most pain when I'm resting :(

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