Running Shoes - Increasing Mileage - Planters Fascitis

I don't get this hardly ever, only when I push it, but when PF rears it's ugly head, it's the worst! Sometimes I use frozen water bottles to roll beneath my feet or tennis balls. It really helps, along with rest.

Good luck!

Have you tried any over the counter arch supports? And I don't mean any of the ones you find in stores like Walmart, drug stores, etc, those are trypically not good regardless of the price tag. Go to a specialty shoe store or running store, have your feet and arches measured and get a gait analysis. Do you have neutral feet or do you over pronate? If you over pronate, how much do you over pronate? Mildy, moderately or severely? A lot of times getting the correct shoe whether it's neutral in it's support or if it has the correct degree of motion control, along with a proper fitting insole can in time make the plantar fascitis go away and stay away.

Also you should replace your shoes fairly often at least every 6 months, sooner if you put a lot of miles on them. Ideally get two pairs of the same shoe if you can afford it, and alternate them every day. it takes more than 24 hours for the cushioning in an athletic shoe to recover from being worn. So if you wear the same pair every day the cushioning never fully recovers.

And I know there is a lot of debate about this but "minimal" shoes or "barefoot" type shoes are bad for most people, especially people dealing with plantar fascitis. Your shoes should not bend in half nor should they twist easily. Cushion alone will not make your feet feel better, but a combination of proper support along with the cushion definitely does.

I worked in a specialty shoe store for 7 years where Podiatrists would send patients to us. The shoes and insoles you wear are a critical component in the healing process. I get that based on helping thousands of people with plantar fascitis as well as dealing with it personally. Hope that helps and best of luck with it.

The thing that really helped my plantar fasciitis was sleeping in a Strasbourg sock. You can get them on Amazon.

I never found that shoes helped a bit.
Inserts/orthotics made it worse - instead of strengthening the fascia, it just weakened it. The foot is supposed to be a spring. Bracing it rigidly didn't work for me.

I have run pretty much my entire life, but have never had PF so I guess I am lucky. When increasing your mileage, the rule of thumb is to never go above 10% of your previous amount. Doing so does increase the risk of injuring/re-injuring yourself.

I think you are on the correct path. I have suffered through the same problem on multiple occasions. I also have custom orthodics made by a podiatrist. The best stretch is the one where you stand on a board about 45 degrees for a while. Do this after ever run and a couple times a day. Not just a quick stretch, but stretch for 5 or 10 minutes. Icing helps as you are doing as well. I stretch then go for ice.

I don't know much about about Newton shoes, but I found a stability shoe with plenty of room and the custom orthodic works best. Any shoe that is overly cushiony seems to make the problem worse. You want the stability that keeps your arch set.

As for miles, wait about two weeks for the pain to subside. Running on a treadmill for a bit can help. It seems to have more cushion. So I run 3 miles or so on a treadmill 2 times a week then once outside. After about 2 weeks, I move onto 4 miles. After another two weeks I go onto 5 miles. After another two weeks, I go just to running outside. 5 miles 3 times a week is all I shoot for. But you can use the same principle, add slowly till you get back up to your mark. I found that cardio comes back fast. It is better to go too slow than have a set back.

Good luck!

What really helped me is wearing a boot thing/splint at night (purchased on Amazon) for plantar fasciitis ..it holds your foot in a flexed position overnight and it really seemed to help resolve the issue (also did stretching, rolling, and icing during the day). I could barely walk when I first got out of bed each morning but within a couple of days after wearing the splint, I noticed a big improvement and within a few weeks the pain was gone all the time, even with running. I also wore an ortho insert in my running shoe for a while but now I have not had to do anything for months....and no pain.