Plantar fasciitis - Anyone else with this and foot pain?

I was diagnosed with this last year. I started doing the recommended foot stretches and all pain was gone after a month or so. Now, I still do the stretches daily and have not had the problem return.

I wish I knew what this was but I recently started a running program 3 weeks ago. At the start of my third week, I started to feel pain in my outside ankle during my routine. I have now finished the 3rd week, and had to skip the start of my week 4 because the pain is annoying and I am afraid of further injuring myself. I started icing it today. The pain seems to initiate from my outer ankle and up the side of my lower calf on the outside. No idea what it is but feels different than shin splints since it's not in the front.

I had this when I started running, a friend who is a veteran runner said it sounded like over-pronation(basically you turn your ankle outward). You just need a shoe with the type of support for this, most sports stores can help with that. Solved the problem instantly.

I had PF in 1997. My dr diagnosed it thru an xray. He put me on a round of steroids and it was gone in 2 days and I've never had that problem since. That pain is still clear as day because it is right up there with giving birth and kidney stones. Unfortunately, since that was so long ago, I couldn't tell you which pills I took.

It took a while for mine to go away. What helped me, " night boots" and shoe inserts, and time.

No fun - I had this several years ago. Honestly, the ONLY thing that will make better is rest. I know - it is NOT what you want to hear when you are tring so hard to exercise and be healthy. Do not go barefoot - or sockfoot - always support the arch. ALWAYS. Do the exercises, take the pain meds, and be patient. I now have a heel spur from the plantar fascitis, a common occurance, but it causes me no issues. My foot has not bothered me for a few years. It will get better!

Wearing good shoes goes a long way. I wear orthoheal sandals inside and out. And to the gym I wear Reebok's. Find tennis shoes that have great arch support. With great arch support my pain went away in 6 months.

Honestly, the ONLY thing that will make better is rest.

Not my experience at all. You can run through it and have it go away, with proper treatment.

I agree with Carson. I also had PF last year. I went to a Dr that specialized in ART and he was great! My pain was cleared up in a matter of a few months. I am due for a maint treatment, but other than that i haven't had any pain since. If it is truely PF you can end up with permanent damage if it continues to flare.

I had this years ago. A like the baseball idea above. I used a large superball. I think too it is shortening in the arch. Don't over stretch achelilles tendon creates new problems. Good luck.

My workout buddy has been dealing with this for the last four or five months. Her doc told her to stop doing anything that put impact on the foot - so that pretty much left her on the stationary bike. She'd do the elliptical now and then but that caused some discomfort if she was on it more than a few minutes. So, first I'd say, stop walking and try biking and/or swimming.

After many doc visits, different therapies and such, it ultimately came down to figuring out that the main source of the problem was weakness/tension in her lower back. This pulled her hips out of whack, which pulled her knees out of whack which then pulled her calves and heels out of whack. We don't tend to think of it but everything is connected!
She started doing stretching and strengthening (supermans, bridge aka pelvic thrust, etc) exercises for her lower back/upper glutes and also used a foam roller to help relax the area.

There's still some pain from time to time but she's now able to walk with me on a daily basis without pain. The only things that seem to set it off now are high impact moves like jumping jacks. She'd like to try running again but wants to be properly fitted for shoes first to make sure she doesn't hurt herself again.

I'm no professional but my theory is that when she started running earlier this year (she hadn't run for at least six months due to hip pain), she overdid it and caused this tension/weakness as it's fairly common for runners. We usually feel it in our hips or knees but the source tends to be that lower back upper glute area.

My mother has has PF for years, it was less painful as she wore shoes with more support, Clarks, etc (I thought I'd never get her out of her cheap shoes). Her doctor recommended the tennis ball and ice in a bottle that also helps


Here's a foot question for you guys......

I seldom wear flip flops, and when I do, it's the Nike kind that are padded (NEVER would I wear anything similar to the Old Navy flipflops)

While I was on vacation, I took a step and stretched the arch of my foot - intense sudden pain that lasts for several seconds and then turns into a dull ache that lasts several hours. I have no problem walking or even doing the thing that I call a job (it's not pretty).

It seems that this pull is happening more and more frequently when I am barefoot at home or in the yard in those flipflops. When I wear heals or even wedges, I have no problem.

Thoughts? Input?

I suffered with PF for over 2 years, before I went to an Airrosti practitioner - it's similar to active release. I think any form of deep tissue manipulation would be helpful. They gave me some physical therapy to do at home - rolling my calves on a hard roller (I used a 4" diameter piece of pvc pipe; so cheap!), rolling my feet on a lacrosse ball, and stretching my calves for 1 minute. I did that twice a day for a few weeks, and haven't had a problem since. I make sure to do these things on days when I work (I'm on my feet all day), and sometimes after runs, if I feel like my calves are really tight. Good luck! I know how painful it is!

I had it a couple years ago, It lasted quite a while.
You need to keep your heel flexed as much as possible. Make sure you stretch every day. I used a baseball to loosen it up everyday before getting out of bed. That worked well.

I do the same thing, but using a tennis ball and have found that it really helps. It doesn't take it away entirely, but it does help.