when i experienced this it came on fast and very painful. to the point of not being able to walk when waking up. what worked for me within 2-3 visits was an ART specialist. may be worth a shot.

1) Dont hurt yourself. Dont hurt yourself with balls, rollers, tools, needles (dry or 'wet') therapists who hurt you, etc.
2) Ibuprofen. It reduces the swelling in the fascia, and might stop PF in it's tracks if taken in the most acute phase
3) Dont aggrevate it with loading. Wear soft shoes, with a high 'drop'. Do deep water running up until the race.
4) Dont freak out. Catastrophizing is never good. You might be OK on race day, and you might not.

So in essence, be cool, take it easy, consider ibuprofen, wear soft shoes (even inside) and simply taper more than you usually would.

---

Endurance coach | Physiotherapist (primary care) | Bikefitter | Swede

[quote AverageDave. When jumping up an down on my toes I feel a small pain in the back of the plantar fascia.

?[/quote

Don't jump up and down... Solves that. Your foot should loosed up as you run, the worst time is when you usually first step out of bed in the morning. I always rolled my foot on a plastic pop bottle frozen with water, seems to help.

also get some shoe inserts that have a high support for the arch and also help stop over pronating which can also induce plantars. I bought a spenco insert and it has made wonders of a difference for me. Good luck

I have had it and the best relief has been from getting a big can and freezing it, and rolling my feet out 2-3x a day.

Agreed, it worked for me as well. I tried just icing the bottom of my foot, but rolling it was much better. Also, ibuprofen.

Back off any unnecessary loads on the foot until raceday...hay is already in the barn. DO NOT wear any flip flops or go barefoot if you can. I am battling it right now, and I wear running shoes pretty much all the time, even to work if I can.

Get to see an ART/sports fitness PT/guru if you can...they should be able to break up the fascia. My chiro practices the graston method, and while it hurts like hell, it loosens it up. Keep stretching out your calf for 20 secs x 3, a few times a day, roll calf, roll foot with golfball/spiky ball nice and easy to break up fascia. But be sure not to over treat it. Giving it a few days off, you should see the pain go away, or lessen, and may not hinder your race. However, it may be there when you wake up after raceday. Then get in to see the doc again for treatments until it goes away.

No one can break up fascia or anything like that, no need to spend time rolling or having someone else poke your foot and induce pain. The single biggest correlating factor found and reported in plantar fasciitis is a loss of dorsiflexion range of motion at the ankle. Therefore, you would do best with 3 stretches- passively dorsiflex the ankle while sitting in a chair with the heel on the floor using a towel to pull the foot upward- hold for just a couple of seconds and repeat 10x. #2- gastroc stretch standing, hold 30 seconds repeat 3 times. #3 soleus stretch standing, hold 30 seconds and repeat 3 times. YOu can do these stretches as often as you want throughout the day as long as you are not made worse. Pay attention to the pain and don't overdo anything, however, with this situation, lying around with your feet up will not fix the problem either.

Taking ibuprofen while making you feel a little better may actual reduce the short term healing potential through the reduction of the inflammatory process. Remember that true plantar fasciitis is a mechanical disorder that may start with an inflammatory period. This inflammation triggers the body's response for beginning healing. After 7 days the inflammatory process typically resolves and you are left with a mechanical disorder that is treated through stretching.

This kind of stretching has been the most important for me in controlling plantar fascia pain. Normal calf stretches help. The ones that are most effective are done kneeling down or against the front of a step or something similar and look like these:
:

mortysct knows what's up , You can try taping with a "Low dye" tape job to take some load off the fascia. Can use a frozen water bottle to roll on to reduce pain symptoms.

Good luck on race day!

---

Brian Coughlan:Physiotherapist:innovationphysio.com:HackTriathlete

I would pool run and take it easy until the race. I've had PF on and off for 3 years. I've researched it to death. What works for one person doesn't work for all. PF usually loosens up as you run and it hurts the most when at rest. In my opinion, don't get a cortisone shot. It makes the Fascia weak and it could tear. That's what happened to me. Good Luck!

Thank you all for the advice. I decided not to roll it, stretched often, and purchased new insoles with more arch support. My race went well and my foot didn't hold me back.

iv had this before and couldnt even walk let alone race.. did you have to change your running technique?
Maybe this post might help to get to the bottom of what is causing it so you can get rid of it once and for all.

http://edunonline.com/...-foot-pain-injuries/

When it started i stopped running until race day. I wore running shoes at all times with a high arch. I purchased an insert for my race shoes with a better arch.

I couldn't even feel it during the race. I was very happy with my bike and run performance. I think it can hurt for the first few kms but it seems to warm up and not hurt once you get going, though I think that does hinder recovery.

Since then I have started doing a few exercises and stretches in my routine. I had to take time off running. I think as of just recently I can say I have recovered. It would have been very difficult to recover if I were still training for another race. I feel safe from this injury now with the regular exercise and stretching, and I stay away from shoes without good arch support.

No technique changes. I had a PT help me with the stretches and exercise. I recommend trying all of these things and seeing what works for you, and be patient.