Work outs for Plantar Fasciitis

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  • sheetk0
    sheetk0 Posts: 1 Member
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    Hello,

    I too suffer from planter fascitis coupled with heel spurs on both heels. I was set for surgery two years ago in November but decided to see a wholistic physician for a second opinion and he changed my life. He treated me through accupressure not just on my feet but throughout my whole body. Everything is connected, my doctor told me. He also changed my diet considerably and I lost 35 lbs, which also helped my feet. Mostly raw vegetables, no bread, no sugar, no starches, and limited dairy until the calcium in my heels started absorbing. I found this lowers my inflammation and acidity and helps my heel pain considerably.

    Personally, I have come to realize I cannot run, it is just too hard on my knees and feet at my age of 48. I also noticed I need shoes with a lot of arch support in them and put away my pretty high heels. As you know, the whole problem with fascitis is the tendons are not getting stretched the way they need to and inflmmation sets in. I wear Clarks and Rykas and sometimes other kinds of shoes if the support is there and they allow the stretch of the tendons I need. If they hurt, I don't wear them, period.

    For excercise, I started learning to country dance, first line dancing and then couples dancing, which means I wear boots, very comfortable. I continued to walk and hike but always wearing shoes that support my feet and ankles. I also swim and recently took up the eliptical machine again and biking. I also bought some Orthoheel sandals from QVC, which I lived in this summer. Try them, they're great.

    It is key when you have pain to lower the inflammation in the body through diet. Two years later, I am very active, still no surgery. My feet have gotten stronger during time and I do pretty much anything I feel like doing including lots of walking, hiking, dancing, swimming, eliptical, etc,. I leave the running to the people who haven't had foot pain yet.
  • WhatDoesLisa
    WhatDoesLisa Posts: 214
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    I suffered for 2.5 years and I still keep my calves/plantar fasciia tuned up with visits to the PT/Chiro so it doesn't happen again.

    1) www.grastontechnique.com This was the cure for me after 2.5 years of suffering. Find a practitioner in your area who does it every day or they won't know what they are doing and it won't be beneficial.
    2) ART-Active Release Technique. I alternate this with the Graston
    3) No more flip flops. It really aggravtes the condition. But wear shoes in the house, especially on hard wood floors.
    4) Stretch for 5 minutes every night and every morning. Stand on a stair, pigeon- toe'd and stretch both calves and one at a time, alternating. Stretching is really critical.
    5) Custom orthotics are really critical for me. I found a loophole in my insurance to get them covered 70% with a new pair covered every 5 years.
    6) Do not get cortisone shots in your feet. The tendons/ligaments are so small in your feet that you get tears very easily. Also, cortisone degrades the fat pad that covers the ball of your foot. And guess what, once it is gone, it is gone unless you can get the very pricey "stiletto injections" to correct the problem. Not covered by insurance!

    Feel free to PM me. Unfortunately, I am an expert at this. And I have gone to some of the top docs/PT's in the country to fix it.
  • WhatDoesLisa
    WhatDoesLisa Posts: 214
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    Hello,

    I too suffer from planter fascitis coupled with heel spurs on both heels. I was set for surgery two years ago in November but decided to see a wholistic physician for a second opinion and he changed my life. He treated me through accupressure not just on my feet but throughout my whole body. Everything is connected, my doctor told me. He also changed my diet considerably and I lost 35 lbs, which also helped my feet. Mostly raw vegetables, no bread, no sugar, no starches, and limited dairy until the calcium in my heels started absorbing. I found this lowers my inflammation and acidity and helps my heel pain considerably.

    I totally agree with this person about diet and fighting inflammation in the body!
  • cheri0627
    cheri0627 Posts: 369 Member
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    Something else to try is kenesio tape.
  • SunnyAndrsn
    SunnyAndrsn Posts: 369 Member
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    I forgot... I also have custom insoles for my shoes... are you seeing a Podiatrist?

    My custom orthotics have done the most good for me. Up until the last few days, I was taking NSAIDS pre-workout, but it's killing my stomach and I'm going to have to go back to the Vicodin pre-workout.

    Last winter, I did a lot of water aerobics, it was the only exercise that I could do pain free at that time. My treadmill walking is painful, not going to lie, but I do it anyway.
  • PhoebeGrey
    PhoebeGrey Posts: 58
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    I'm dealing with this right now. It's come and gone over the years. Brought on by myself. Years back, when I first dealt with PF it was crippling. I did so much research trying to find a way to stop the pain and suffering I was going through. I talked with a doctor on line and he showed me how to tape my heel to alleviate the pain and IT WORKED :bigsmile:
    He showed me with Ductape but today you can buy KT tape in a drug store. And where shoes always!!!

    Here's how it goes: Flex your toes upwards and starting with the tape on the ball of your foot pull it back pressing it against the entire underside of your foot towards your heel. Bring the tape up over the heel to just about 2 inches up on the back of your heel. Now take another piece of tape and centering it on the back of your heel, pull it around and crisscross it under the foot. The whole taping should be snug. Put you socks and shoes on stand up and you'll be amazed that you can stand without pain. It takes a while to heal PF but in the meantime you'll be pain free.

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