Plantar Fasciitis
It’s time for me to face it - I really am injured. It’s been almost 2 weeks since my last decent run. I’ve run just two times since February 15 - a 2-mile run last Sunday, and 1 mile on the treadmill on Tuesday. After Sunday’s run, my left heel didn’t feel too bad. So, Tuesday, I thought I would see if I could get in 4 miles at a conservative pace on the treadmill, but I was having so much pain that I thought I’d better stop at 1. This, as you might imagine, makes me a bit depressed.
Although I haven’t been to the doctor yet (I know, I really should, but work has been excessively crazy the past couple of weeks) I strongly suspect plantar fasciitis. My symptoms are pretty classic - pain in the morning which decreases after walking a bit, but increases again after trying to run.
Here’s a video that discusses how plantar fasciitis is diagnosed and treated. It also shows a few stretching exercises, some of which I’ve been doing, and others which I plan to start today:
So, what’s my plan for treating my problem? So far:
- I’ve been icing my foot about once a day. I’m planning to increase this to 2-3 times a day to see if that helps.
- Rest. As I mentioned above, I haven’t run much at all, although I’ve been getting in some non-weight-bearing exercises to try and maintain some level of fitness.
- Stretching my feet and calves.
- Massaging my feet. I think I’m going to make some time this weekend to see a professional instead of only trying to do this myself.
- I haven’t done this yet, but I may start taping my foot to see if that helps.
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Since this problem has dragged on for a couple of weeks already, I’ve pretty much decided that an April half marathon is out of the question. I’m still hopeful about doing the Colfax Half Marathon in May, although I may have to scale back my goal from trying to set a PR to just doing it more as a fun run.
I hope you don’t need this information, but in case you’re interested, here’s some more information on preventing and treating plantar fasciitis:
- Heathtouch.com
- SportsInjuryClinic.net - That page also includes a link that shows a foot taping technique to support the foot while it’s healing.
And here’s another video - this one shows massage techniques for treating plantar fasciitis:
Hope you’re feeling fit and are having a good week. If you have any tips that might help me recover more quickly, I’d appreciate hearing them!
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February 21st, 2008 at 7:59 pm
I developed this condition while I was in the Marines and, due to complications, I developed necrosis in some tissue which wasn’t any fun at all. It resulted in me leaving active duty early and going into the inactive reserves. This was about 25 years ago and I still have trouble with it. I can’t walk on hard surfaces for very long without having significant pain.
If you’re developing this condition treat it early and avoid corticosteroid injections if at all possible.
February 21st, 2008 at 9:49 pm
Kristen,
I wish I had a miracle cure that would help you out. I see that you seem to have a pretty good handle on it, and that the “treatment” that you are doing will get you back on your feet in no time. Good luck and keep us posted.
Dave
February 22nd, 2008 at 8:41 am
@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.
February 23rd, 2008 at 7:06 am
How about bike riding? Swimming?
Get your booty to the doctor so you can run again.
February 23rd, 2008 at 8:39 pm
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
February 25th, 2008 at 7:40 am
Bummer! That stinks, big-time. But you’ve done your research and seem to be on track… hope the healing comes quick!
February 25th, 2008 at 8:52 am
@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!
February 28th, 2008 at 8:22 am
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
February 28th, 2008 at 10:36 am
Thanks, Katie. I like you’re “minimal taping” idea. I’ll try that out.
February 28th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
[...] 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 [...]
March 5th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
@Sandy - thanks for the tips - I had never heard of the Graston technique before. I’ll check into it.
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:24 am
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.