Plantar Fasciitis

fittocycle
fittocycle Posts: 827 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Has anyone else dealt with Plantar Fasciitis? I've had bouts of it before but can't seem to get it to go away this time. Has anyone had any success with doing stretches for it? If so, what type of stretches worked for you? I've been putting ice on my foot several times a day but it's not getting better. I'm afraid I may need to give myself a week or two off from workouts :/
Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks so much!

Replies

  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    I got a night splint I wore to bed and that fixed my issue. I could barely even stand prior to it. It felt 80% within 2 days, it was amazing.
  • fittocycle
    fittocycle Posts: 827 Member
    Thanks so much! I am so glad to hear the night splint worked. I actually bought one today and will try it tonight!
  • emmaharris1979
    emmaharris1979 Posts: 5 Member
    Have you tried using a tennis ball? I roll my foot over one forwards and backwards. Try this when you get up in the morning and before bed for a minute each foot. Also if you have been sitting down for long periods try it before you get up aswell.
  • FJM10
    FJM10 Posts: 1 Member
    +1 for rolling. I had it for what felt like forever. Then started rolling with a lacrosse ball and within 3 days it cleared it up and hasn't come back since. I only do it once a week now
  • kelentz688
    kelentz688 Posts: 1 Member
    I went and got fitted for Orthotics. I use them in my work shoes and my slippers at home. I do not use them in my running shoes. I also did strengthening exercises on a Bosu Ball...mostly just balancing on 1 foot.
  • KathyApplebaum
    KathyApplebaum Posts: 188 Member
    edited January 2016
    Things to try, in order of aggressiveness:
    • Roll your arch on a tennis-ball sized ball before you take a step in the morning. Lots of people swear by a tennis ball, but I find it's too flimsy so I've stolen a ball from my black lab. (I'm a bad dog mom!) Use enough pressure that you're just short of swearing, and do it for about a minute.
    • Get a pair of the green Super Feet inserts for all your shoes. The arch support will give you an all-day gentle version of the tennis ball, without the swearing.
    • Night splint. These are amazing. My insurance paid 50% for these when my podiatrist prescribed it. YMMV.
    • See a podiatrist and get custom orthotics. I've had them for 10+ years (on my second set), and they are even more amazing than the night splint. My insurance paid for them 100%.
    • The orthotics did the trick for me, but my podiatrist said if they didn't, a cortisone shot and/or surgery would be the next/final steps.
  • jkquinn13
    jkquinn13 Posts: 203 Member
    I suffered from plantar faciatis for a long time. I went to a chiropodist and learned my calves were extremely tight so I started stretching all the time. This helped me a bit.
    My break through came when a friend told me about sole inserts for footwear.
    see yoursole website
    they are amazing...I started with one pair inside my running shoes and I bought a pair of slide sandals for indoors.
    within a week the plantar faciatis was gone and remains gone to this day about 6 months later.
    I know own about 6 pairs of insoles...worth every penny.

    Note...I have also worn superfeet and although they work, they don't work near as good.

    Note....don't walk around your home barefoot...wear sandals...I swear that was the key for me.
  • KDar1988
    KDar1988 Posts: 648 Member
    I've got 1 foot that bothers me. I read that while laying in bed lift your leg up high, wrap a towel around your toes (hold on to the ends of the towel with your hands) and pull your toes toward you. It helps to stretch your calf muscles. I did this and it seemed to work. Another stretch they said to keep your legs flat and bend your toes like you are picking up a pencil with them. Not sure it that helped much, but the first stretch did! Good luck, I know it hurts awful.
  • needstobefit15
    needstobefit15 Posts: 119 Member
    My doctor wants me to do physical therapy for mine. But I heard that physical therapy won't work. I have been suffering for more then a year
  • BigSpoonSA
    BigSpoonSA Posts: 38 Member
    Mine got so bad I needed several cortisone shots right in the heel. If the stretching and splints don't help you may want to explore that option. I got several months of relief from that before the pain crept back.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    I've had two bouts with it. Both feet. It sucked, so I am very sorry to hear you are going through this. Unfortunately for me the splints, orthotics, ice, stretches, and tennis balls did very little. Both times it seemed to disappear after about a year. I hope you have success with the other methods.
  • ALANAJXOXO
    ALANAJXOXO Posts: 6 Member
    Some great advice here, I've been limping for a month, so I'll definitely be looking into this, thanks for the info everyone!
  • 2manyhats
    2manyhats Posts: 1,190 Member
    I did the inserts and everything and still had problems. My cousin got me to try sketches memory foam shoes and no more problems. Unless, as mentioned above, I spend the day walking barefoot. Only drawback is they are a bit expensive and my main tennis shoe has to be replaced about every 6 months. It's worth it to me to not have the pain and no doctor visits/shots!
  • paintergirl21
    paintergirl21 Posts: 9 Member
    I tried everything everyone has suggested, but it was that bad (and I didn't want a steroid injection!) that I bought the night splint. It was the least sexy thing I've ever worn in bed, but hell it worked!
  • OyGeeBiv
    OyGeeBiv Posts: 733 Member
    I had plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendinitis. I could barely walk and nothing was helping. My podiatrist performed ESWT and I walked out of the office pain-free. It was instant relief. That was about 10 years ago, and I'm still fine.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extracorporeal_shockwave_therapy
  • AmazonMayan
    AmazonMayan Posts: 1,168 Member
    edited January 2016
    Ninkyou wrote: »
    I got a night splint I wore to bed and that fixed my issue. I could barely even stand prior to it. It felt 80% within 2 days, it was amazing.

    I did this AND threw out the shoes I had been wearing and found some more supportive ones. I couldn't afford orthotics from a Dr and any inserts in the store only made it worse for me.

    My pain had been so bad I went to the Dr thinking I had broken my foot and needed x-rays, cast and crutches.

    Best and fastest thing were the night splints. Well worth the money and I found them in a local pharmacy. I still use them occasionally.

    Edited cuz autocorrect
  • IthacaMom
    IthacaMom Posts: 1 Member
    I have had physical therapy a few times over the years for plantar fasciitis. Tennis ball is helpful, but also massaging the trigger points, the painful knots in your foot will help. Stretch your calves - downward facing dog pose is great. My PT also had me stand barefoot on one foot and close my eyes for as long as I could. Switch foot and repeat - it strengthens little supporting muscles in your feet that you don't use while wearing sneakers.

    If I'm not sleeping, showering, or doing those exercises, I wear supportive sneakers always - I have an indoor pair and an outdoor pair.

    Lastly, dropping some weight usually helps.

    Good luck! Plantar fasciitis can be very painful and debilitating. I found cycling to be helpful when walking/jogging was out of the question.
  • wandererlust
    wandererlust Posts: 64 Member
    Massage therapist opinion: get checked out if it is causing you daily pain. There could be a lot of underlying issues the won't just "go away". Calf problems, tendinitis etc are likely and solvable with therapeutic massage! And rest may be part of that treatment, don't continue to push yourself without knowing that it's not going to do more damage in the long run.
  • dbac
    dbac Posts: 1 Member
    One word: acupuncture. I suffered for more than a year and a half. I went to acupuncture once a week for six weeks and that was the end of my pain.
  • girlwithcurls2
    girlwithcurls2 Posts: 2,281 Member
    Read and try all of this until you find out what works for you. Then do a search in this forum and see if there is anything you haven't tried. I have had it for a year and a half. It's being held back, but I have had to switch up my workouts from running (which I had just learned to love) to swimming (which I flat out had to learn-not so fun, but now I love it too). I am running one day a week. That's it. PF isn't to be messed with. I read everything I could get my hands on, and saw a podiatrist 3x. The overall advice was that in order for it to completely go away, your foot needs REST. Since that's not usually an option for people, there are other things we can do, but it could take months. My podiatrist said 6-12 months. I called him out for being pessimistic. Guess who was right? :neutral:

    I did end up with cortisone shots (yes, they worked for me--for now), but here's what I am still doing, 19 months later:

    rolling it on a ball
    negative heel stretch on a step (every OTHER day, working up to 12x)
    swimming/deep water cardio instead of any impact
    sleeping in a baddass boot every night
    taping with KT tape before my run
    wearing orthotics (can't remember if they're superfeet, but I've heard good things about those)
    absolutely NEVER, EVER walking barefoot, in socks, slippers, whatever
    no more shoes that are cute but unsupportive

    Good luck. Take it slow. PF can flare up at any time, and it can be bad. It's better to find out how to treat it, what works for you, and work hard to make it better. It can totally sideline an active person. I'm sorry you have to deal with it.
  • jloring90
    jloring90 Posts: 12 Member
    Sounds like all the bases are covered here.... make sure what is causing it though. I found that I have extremely high arches. Once I started arch supports my planters went away after three months. Running is still something I take carefully though, just encase.
  • fittocycle
    fittocycle Posts: 827 Member
    Thanks, everyone for the great advice! You've been so helpful and it's nice to know I'm not the only one out there who suffers from PF. Thanks so much for taking the time to respond!
    I bought a night splint and used it for the first time last night. When I woke up, my foot felt so much better! Not the most comfortable thing to wear but hey, it helped!
    And I have a confession to make. I love to walk around in sock feet. Today I wore my memory foam slippers all day which seemed to be a good thing. Also bought some nice inserts for my tennis shoes too.

    I'd love to go to cycling class tomorrow but am thinking it might be best to take a week off and just concentrate on weight training (upper body) and stretching. Just curious- has anyone been able to bike or go to cycling classes without aggrevating the PF?

    Thanks so much for all the ideas!!
  • coreyreichle
    coreyreichle Posts: 1,031 Member
    emmaharris1979 wrote: »
    Have you tried using a tennis ball? I roll my foot over one forwards and backwards. Try this when you get up in the morning and before bed for a minute each foot. Also if you have been sitting down for long periods try it before you get up aswell.

    This is what worked for me to clear it up.
  • marcelo_templario
    marcelo_templario Posts: 653 Member
    Tennis ball and cold water. Massaging your feet gently, feels awful but works.

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