I would find a good Sports Medicine Physical Therapist. My PT has helped me through some PF and don't think any other physician would have been able to help me like she did

my wife saw a chiro who does ART (he came recommended). She was 3 months out from having to pass an AF Reserve fitness test, and was unable to run because of the PF. The ART guy got her running again and able to pass the test.

None,

Golf ball, pain to break up any adhesions of the soft tissue and then strengthen your feet-problem solved.
IMHO

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"If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not too much, we would have found the safest way to health"
- Hippocrates, 460-370 BC

That may help, but my PF did not get better until I used a foam roller on my calf

Not a homeopath.

I'm still waiting for Homeopaths without borders, to head to Africa to sort out the Ebola problem :-)

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TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"

Having had this a few times and successfully getting over it quickly, the best doctor is a softball. Or a tennis ball. Not kidding. Plantar F (capital F for a reason) is not fun but keep a ball at work, at home, and you can hopefully work through it.

I work with folks with PF on a regular basis.

Has anyone checked your arches to see if your navicular bone is dropping? If you can, have someone stick their pinky under your arch while seated, noting how far under your arch they can insert it before touching tissue. After they remove their finger, stand (weighting the arch) and have them try it again. Are they able to insert it as far? Often, the dropping of the navicular bone plays a key factor in developing PF. If you're seeing more than minor drop in the arch, consider getting some sort of arch support (but NOT the squishy, Dr. Scholls inserts). Something like Superfeet, or SOLE or Montrail inserts. Each has a different profile, and you will likely need help picking the right insert. I know running without my inserts is like BEGGING for a case of PF.

Now, that said, PF is often treated as if it is a stand-alone issue, but very often it goes hand-in-hand with muscle adhesions in the calf. Do you feel like you stretch and stretch your calves but they always seem tight? ART or trigger point massage is especially good at breaking up those adhesions so that you can regain full suppleness in the muscle.

That said, while you are trying to heal, arch supports may feel painful. It really takes a week on them to acclimate and adjust, starting with a little time on them each day, increasing throughout the week, before running on them.

A foot brace is a good place to start, but the Strassburg sock is a better option to increase the dorsiflexion of the foot by the pull it exerts on the toes. Icing may not be the best option (people will argue back and forth over this), but while it helps to relieve some inflammation it also reduces blood flow to tissue that is already under-served. And decreased blood flow isn't great for healing.

Are you having pain when you first step out of bed? Always go into shoes or sandals with some sort of arch support. The plantar fascia is especially susceptible when you wake and needs time to get "warmed up." Tracing the alphabet with each foot before getting up can help.

Lastly, I made it through a marathon training plan with PF because I taped the foot before workouts. There are a lot of opinions on taping in general, and specifically which manner is the best. I prefer an X shape using Luekotape followed by three strips across the foot, pulling from the lateral to medial side with each piece. There are lots of videos for KT applications on youtube. Good luck!

I second this rec. I'm 2.5 months into my first case of PF (no injuries in 20 years of running until this) and I started at the chiropractor. He checked everything out, cracked toes, ankles, heels and did scraping of the fascia underneath the foot, calves, hamstrings. Seemed to help a little, but no real progress. One month of that and I switched to my massage gal. She worked on my feet and calves three times (once a week for three weeks) and that's where I saw the most progress. I got a cheap pair of orthaheel inserts and orthaheel flip flops and those are amazing for comfort And pain relief.
I had taken two weeks completely off of running in the beginning and then kept trying to run with no real success. Took two more weeks off and really gave it a seriously slow start to get back into running and have been managing 3-4 miles every other day (slow with. 5-10 minute walk at the beginning). I think I am on my way out of this miserable PF hole. I've been working a lot with ankle flexibility and hip/glute strength at the gym. I am sure that helps, too.

It sucks. Seriously sucks. Good luck to you- take your time....

Kelly

FWIW, PF reportedly takes about 160 days on average to heal. Awesome, right?

Thanks for the tips. I'll try out all that.

The only other random symptom I have is the the inner tip of my big toe feels numb/asleep off and on for the last three weeks.

I think muscle tightness might end up being the cause. To manage my IT band I was VERY diligent about stretching. After IMTX though I slacked big time in stretching :( I have always had tight hamstrings so I think that is the tight link in the chain. I'll see what the PT says though.