Workout the fat but the fat won't let me! HELP!

Hello, I know so many have answered. I just wanted to tell you that I too suffered so badly with this. Some days I thought I'd die. Look up Dr. Axe on youtube. He talks about this. I rolled feet on a tennis ball. I lost weight and got some sketchers which I know are not what most buy, but they were like heaven on my feet. I actually started off in sketchers flip flops because it was like I was walking on a cloud. Elliptical machine work did not hurt my feet. I am sure my shoe recs are off compared to what people will tell you, but it hurt so bad so I was happy to find something that would let me get out there... you know?

Hope it gets better for you.

Since you mention those I am going to check into them also. Not sure if they will have any in my size because I have Peggy Hill feet, but one can hope! Thanks for that suggestion!

Same here! I want to get at least 15lbs down by May and started walking yesterday. Today I'm in tears the pain is so bad. I have had this pain. But was tolerable. After my walk, ugh! Iced and Motrin and stretching.

If you want to keep your PF from bothering you, then get a pair of battleropes. You can still get a decent workout with these. NOT as easy as some make it look.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

My PF is really non-traditional. I think mine is triggered mostly by very tight calf muscles. I think it helps to visit a sports-med doc if it's limiting your ability to get out and be active. Most people need supportive shoes or orthotics, but my solutions were very different. I owe most of these suggestions to a PT I was seeing for an unrelated injury. They are not one-size fits all, which is why I think it's useful to go to a professional

Key for me is:
-Shoes with 0 support. I like a 0 drop heel with no support at all, but mostly I use shoes with a 3mm drop. When I wear the shoes that everyone told me to use (lots of support for my high arches), the pain was far worse. By wearing my almost-barefoot shoes, I've started using a lot of those small accessory muscles. For my weird case, this is a big part of healing and staying healed.
-Slowly working up to using those shoes. That meant muuuuuuch shorter runs and going slow enough to focus on not having a heel strike. http://fl.milesplit.com/articles/112223/heels-or-toes-what-is-the-best-way-to-run
-Stretching my calves religiously. Not just the big muscle, but the soleus as well. This was key. Not just when I run or walk - I do these while I'm on the phone for work, in the bathroom at the airport, before I go to bed at night, etc etc http://drsunderman.com/soleus-muscle-stretch/

These have fallen by the wayside and the pain hasn't come back.
-Using a golf ball to "massage" my heels. I put that in quotes because it doesn't usually feel too good while I'm doing it. http://running.competitor.com/2015/06/injury-prevention/how-to-loosen-your-feet-with-a-golf-ball_129353
-Picking stuff up with my toes. I did this for a while to build up some smaller muscles.

aylajane wrote: »

fitbethlin wrote: »

-Shoes with 0 support. I like a 0 drop heel with no support at all, but mostly I use shoes with a 3mm drop. When I wear the shoes that everyone told me to use (lots of support for my high arches), the pain was far worse. By wearing my almost-barefoot shoes, I've started using a lot of those small accessory muscles. For my weird case, this is a big part of healing and staying healed.

YES. When you tell the foot doc or shoe salesmen you have "flat feet" they immediately assume you need to correct that with arch support to force an arch in there. But putting an arch in a place that does not have one HURTS. Not just a little. And you know what - you DONT need an arch. Switching to zero drop shoes with no arch support was half the battle for me to cure a lifelong knee tracking issue. With any heel whatsoever, my kneecap shifts position and points down and rubs wrong. The other half was working on the smaller muscles in my feet (over time wearing barefoot style zero drop shoes) and and the smaller muscles on the sides of my knees. My kneecaps are beautiful if I have the balanced muscle to support them staying where they belong. But working out mostly quads and hams didnt fix the side to side motion - so doing exercises specifically to strengthen and balance them took care of the rest. I had a handicapped placard, shots in my knees, told I had several structural disorders. None of that was true or necessary.

Zero drop shoes are awesome, with no arch support necessary. And I need a wide toe box so my toes "splay". Confining them to the rounded narrow shape of traditional shoes causes pain and "compensation" issues with muscles and balance again.

40 years of knee pain and a year of PF - gone

You know, I don't think I really thought about it all that much, but I haven't had any knee pain since I switched shoes. I mean, it wasn't too bad to begin with, but I would get occasional twinges or aches.

I'm glad I'm not the only weirdo out there who didn't benefit from the standard advice ("get supportive shoes and custom orthotics!"). I have the opposite of flat feet - arches so high I have trouble with the tops of my feet going numb in tight shoes - but the solution was still the same.

I wish I had more real science to back me, but this marketing piece by a maker of 0-drop shoes gives some of the rationale for why barefoot or near-barefoot living can help improve PF. It also talks sensibly about the fact that you can't just go barefoot and all of a sudden feel better. It took a while for me.

https://www.altrarunning.com/blog/running-tips/injuries-and-recovery/plantar-fasciitis/