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plantar fasciitis
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I have been battling a mild case of PF in my left heel for the past 4 months. I am seeing a podiatrist every two weeks. Before this injury I was in between marathons, and I now continue to swim and bike in prep for tri's, but no running. I am getting eager to run again. I have done the following:
1. take anti-inflammatories
2. wear a boot/sock at night
3. roll my heel over a frozen water bottle
4. stretch
5. i just got my first cortisone shot last week
6. shoe inserts, but not custom orthoditics

I really am curious if anyone has any other possible treatments, or experience with this injury. Has anyone ran while treating this injury? Thanks!
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Re: plantar fasciitis [cervelogirl] [ In reply to ]
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I would do a search in the main forum. Just talked about PF last week, I think it was.


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I know I'm promiscuous, but in a classy way
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Re: plantar fasciitis [cervelogirl] [ In reply to ]
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I find I have this flare up when I put on too much weight. Not sure if that is the case with you. I got custom orthodics several years ago and won't run without them.

Sounds like you are doing the right things but don't run. Sucks but that is what it comes down to. Running aggravates it.

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce
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Re: plantar fasciitis [cervelogirl] [ In reply to ]
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I ran while treating it but I wasn't very successful at it.

One thing that my PT had me to start doing was to strengthen my posterior tibialis muscle. My issue was that when your heel lands, it is suppose to land to the outside (lateral) side of your foot. What happened to me was that my heel would strike and it would immediately roll to the inside (medial) side of my foot which put a lot of pressure on the fascia. I did some strengthening exercises to get my post tib stronger to help correct this. Have your PT/podiatrist do some strength tests on your peroneal and posterior tibialis muscles.

Another thing is how tight are your calves? Pretty much everything that I hear is have PF is to make sure your calves aren't tight. Get a tennis ball or a TP ball on your calf every day 2x/day and see if that helps.

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http://trainingoferic.blogspot.com/
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Re: plantar fasciitis [cervelogirl] [ In reply to ]
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Oh I feel your pain Sista! I was training for IMCDA in '03 and THREE weeks before the race, I got PF in my left foot so bad I could hardly walk. The one thing I did outside of your list that I don't see listed is Physical Therapy (3x a week). While there, I learned an awesome foot taping method that allowed me to actually run (not 100% pain free but not horrible either). I strongly suggest that you call your PT and setup an appointment as soon as you can.

Here is a website that details how I taped my foot: http://www.heel-that-pain.com/...fasciitis_taping.php

Best of luck!
Leslie

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Life is Short...Run Long
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Re: plantar fasciitis [cervelogirl] [ In reply to ]
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Cervelo Girl

Yes there is one other tx that I have not seen described on this thread in detail. Check out www.tptherapy.com It is an awesome product. I think the company does themself a disservice by not offering a guarantee the way Hammer Nutrition does.It is a small company and I do not believe that they are sitting there getting rich selling people products that don't work. I think they woudl get a lot more business if people could try it risk free.

However, 100%, their therapy tools cured my PF. I know it is a leap of faith to buy a non refundable 60 dollar rolling pin, but there is something about their product that is special and it really works. I felt the PF coming on, and tried a few things before I was referred to TP Therapy. I did not miss a single day of training. I doubt I could have done an IM without it.

If this helps at all, do *not buy the PF DVD, that is sort of redundant. If you promise to send it back, I will mail you my copy (PM me). good luck.

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Re: plantar fasciitis [cervelogirl] [ In reply to ]
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Well, I would definitely add some PF massage tx to your list. I have this problem as well... have had it for years. I have bone spurs because of it, and a lovely little bursa that has developed right at that corner of the calcaneus and the arch, where the fascia really starts. The more tension and pulling on your plantar fascia, the more your body thinks it might "break" or tear, therefore creating more bone to hold onto.

If you can find a good MT, they should be able to work some stuff out for you too. Chances are you have trigger points/adhesions on the bottoms of your feet. It hurts like hell, but it helps! If you can get your Pod. to prescribe, then take advantage of it! Keeping all of the other muscles that attach on the bottom of your foot loose will also help (tib anterior and others)... these basically create a stirrup for you, so if any of them are tight, there will be an imbalance and some over or underpronating/supinating.

Funny thing (or not so funny) about PF, is it usually is not caused from any "foot problem"... it's almost always starts as a muscular/imbalance issue that results in a foot problem :(

Good luck.
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Re: plantar fasciitis [WeRide] [ In reply to ]
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I second the TP Therapy kit! It is expensive, but it was worth every penny. I bought the PF kit, and keep the small rolling pin under my desk at work and roll it under my foot as much as possible, and it definitely helps.

Also, I am very careful to NEVER walk barefoot; I've been wearing Birkenstocks when I'm not at work because they have great arch support. I've found that helps as well.

Good luck!
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Re: plantar fasciitis [cervelogirl] [ In reply to ]
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A.R.T. Active release technique. Do a search on the internet for it? HAd PF very bad in my left foot leading up to and after IMFL. Spent 4 weeks getting ART done and have been PF pain free since. It's intense. I did everything you did except the last two before going in for ART. ART took care of it. And trying to keep my stretching up now. Also, they did some acupuncture as well.

Good Luck.
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Re: plantar fasciitis [NCCB] [ In reply to ]
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My opinion on ART is that it is great for getting rid of your pain today so that you can run tomorrow. It works in the short term but in the long term, I think it is better to eventually get physical therapy to rebuild your damaged body.

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http://trainingoferic.blogspot.com/
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Re: plantar fasciitis [cervelogirl] [ In reply to ]
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Different idea than has been posted yet, but when I had PF 7 years ago I was not training and didn't have a clue what the pain was. I was over weight and decided to lose the weight doing the Atkins diet and lost 40 lbs. It occured to me at some point that the pain went away. After starting to do triathlons and reading about PF I realized that that was what I had before.

So my idea is that in addition to anti inflammatories, looking at your diet my be another cause to look into. If you have a diet that is mostly carbs you may want to try to inject more protien into you diet instead of carbs.

Good luck getting rid of the PF.
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Re: plantar fasciitis [Dan Os Fan] [ In reply to ]
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I don't think you got rid of the PF because you changed diets. I think you get rid of the PF because you lost weight.

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http://trainingoferic.blogspot.com/
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Re: plantar fasciitis [erichollins] [ In reply to ]
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I don't doubt that the reason the PF healed was the weight loss. But if one of the major treatments of PF is to reduce inflammation, then there are alternative methods of reducing inflammation through what you eat. If a person is going to take drugs, spend $60 on a rolling pin, do various stretches or other things to reduce the pain why not do something as simple as alter your diet if it might be a contributing factor? As an example, this a link to that very subject of what foods might reduce or increase inflammation.

http://nutrition.about.com/library/ninflam.htm
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Re: plantar fasciitis [Dan Os Fan] [ In reply to ]
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I got plantar faciitis last November. I got lucky. It only lasted 3 months. Put good insoles in ALL of your shoes. Never walk around barefoot. Whenever you're sitting around, dorsiflex your foot (toes toward shin) and roll your sole around on a tennis ball. Also, here's the taping method I used: http://www.nismat.org/...or/pl_fasciitis.html I wore tape 24/7 for a few weeks. When I started to get better, I only used it when I was going to be on my feet. Then it was just for running. Now I don't have to tape at all.
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Re: plantar fasciitis [erichollins] [ In reply to ]
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I have been running during my pregnancy and my PF has flared up. My fingers are crossed that it goes away once I have this kid and drop the weight.
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Re: plantar fasciitis [Dan Os Fan] [ In reply to ]
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Unfortunately weight gain is not the culprit. I have been in good shape for quite some time now. I have a pretty good diet and have been at the same weight for a couple of years. Thanks for all the ideas. I am going to get the PF Therapy kit and schedule PT 3 times a week. Hopefully the end is near.
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Re: plantar fasciitis [cervelogirl] [ In reply to ]
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I too have suffered from PF in the past and have tried all of your treatments. I also went through several courses of physical therapy, got custom orthotics, and finally had multiple low energy ultrasound treatments. After all this, I discovered that I was hindering my recovery by doing group body pump classes (which involves putting your weight on your heel through most of the class). After ceasing this activity, I was able to slowly start running again and have not had major problems since. My coach had me running in the water with a floatation belt, alternating walking/jogging, and jogging on soft surfaces such as a trail or track. My advice is to carefully look at your overall exercise schedule. Are you doing any activities that load up weight in your heel? If so, eliminate these from your routine. I think core strengthening and stretching were very important in my recovery. I recommend using a foam roller and trigger point technology rollers/balls (Tptheraphy.com). I also have custom orthotics for my running shoes (soft ones are best for me) and carbon orthotics in my cycling shoes (Rocket7.com). Good luck and hope you recover quickly.
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Re: plantar fasciitis [cervelogirl] [ In reply to ]
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I couldn't run the entire time I had severe PF. I was in a walking cast for 12 frikkin' weeks. I had two cortisone shots, and the first one did squat.

Spend the $$$ on custom carbon fibre orthotics, as they will be thin enough to wear in your normal shoes. Also, give up on the heels...

I do run now, but I don't feel that I will ever be able to run enough to be competitive in multisport again, which is why I quit competing. I still have flare-ups two years later, which is one reason why I am not risking it.

I hope this is not your fate.
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