Comments on: Plantar Fasciitis

By: RunColo

RunColo — Thu, 22 May 2008 06:24:30 +0000

I had PF for about a year, tried about everything and I am not even truly sure how it went away. One thing that really helped was wearing Crocs when I was inside my home 100% of the time and not going barefoot.

By: kch

kch — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 20:41:56 +0000

@Sandy - thanks for the tips - I had never heard of the Graston technique before. I’ll check into it.

By: Run Faster | Strength Training for Runners

Run Faster | Strength Training for Runners — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 19:11:00 +0000

[...] I’m not doing much running now due to my bout with plantar fasciitis, I have a little more time than usual to fit in strength training. Since I like to make my training [...]

By: kch

kch — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 17:36:06 +0000

Thanks, Katie. I like you’re “minimal taping” idea. I’ll try that out.

By: run kt run

run kt run — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:22:54 +0000

I too have been suffering from varyind degrees of plantar fasciosis for about 4 months and have seen significant improvement only in the past 2 weeks or so when I added to my stretching and icing regimen:
1. minimal taping - I run one 6″-8″ strip of sports tape from the ball of my foot at the big toe joint diagonally over the arch/plantar fascia to the outside rear of my heel. Then I stick a 4″ piece from the bottom outside of my foot up over my arch and to the front of the medial ankle bone. The idea is that the long piece of tape takes some of the stress of stepping down on your foot and stretching the fascia (you should be able to feel the tape resist when you put you weight down on that foot) and the short piece pulls the arch up. This is a modified and more comfortable version of the link you posted for plantar fascia taping; I hardly notice the tape at all while running.
2. I switched shoes. If you haven’t given it much thought already, I suggest you take a close look at what shoes you were wearing when the pain started. I switched from the Mizuno wave nirvana 2 to the 3 and I guess the 3 was flatter and didn’t have as much arch support, which didn’t bother me right away but seems to have precipetated the injury. I am now putting in decent mileage in a new pair of the 2’s and seem to be getting better, albeit slowly. I also walk around in athletic shoes most of the day, forgoing chunky boots and heels, and any step that you take in a supportive shoe is one step closer to recovery.

Well, hopefully these suggestions are something new for you to try and bring you some relief! Wishing you a speedy recovery!

Katie

By: kch

kch — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 15:52:12 +0000

@Rachel - Yes, I’m doing a bit of both - some stationary biking and some swimming at the rec center I go to. More biking than swimming though - the pool’s usually too crowded and it’s just not my favorite activity.

@Marcus - Thank you!

By: Marcus

Marcus — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:40:51 +0000

Bummer! That stinks, big-time. But you’ve done your research and seem to be on track… hope the healing comes quick!

By: Sandy

Sandy — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 03:39:43 +0000

I had a very bad bout with Plantar Fasciitis last May but was able to recover very quickly with the help of my chiropractor. Search out a chiropractor in your area who does the Graston Technique. For month, I received the Graston Technique. I also rolled my foot on a frozen water bottle for 15 minutes at a time several times a day. Sometime you develop plantar fasciitis from tight calf muscles. Visit your local running store (or order online) the ProStretcher. You’ll get an amazing stretch in your foot and calf; you can even stretch your hamstrings. Taping my foot also worked wonders. I also had custom orthotics made and that, too, worked wonders.

Good luck! It’s a nasty injury, I know, but you can keep in great shape with water running, spin class, the indoor rowing machine, etc.

Also, (and this is critical) Do NOT GO BAREFOOT, EVER!

Sandy

By: Rachel

Rachel — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 14:06:20 +0000

How about bike riding? Swimming?

Get your booty to the doctor so you can run again.

By: kch

kch — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 15:41:49 +0000

@Dave - Thanks. Things have definitely improved, just not as quickly as I had hoped.

@Frank C - Wow, sorry to hear about your condition - I guess I was being naive, but I didn’t know it could be quite so serious. Thanks for the warning - I’m going to keep on top of this and not push too hard so it doesn’t develop into something more serious.