Probably stupid question, but tried to do toe raise etc? Worked for me. First two weeks it got worse. Then it got better, exactly as my physio told me.

That's the worst. I tried going barefoot as much as I could; always around the house. I'm not saying that going barefoot was the reason my PF went away, but my PF did go away shortly after I began going barefoot. (Note: I did run barefoot.) I took the advice from Dr. Maffetone after trying myriad of things for about three months.

Good luck. It really is a plague.

My wife has been dealing with this for what seems a few years now. She has been seeing a PT and they are doing dry needling to her now. She's been to quite a few sessions and it appears to be helping a bit though I think it's a ways away from being resolved still. I had PF a decade ago which thankfully resolved through some of the more conventional methods, I can't imagine how awful it is for it to be chronic.

Boot at night, and acupuncture solved my issues. It's often related to your calf muscles and adhesions/tightness. Work the calves a lot more and get them pliable. Self massage cross fiber also helps. Use a hard wood rolling pin, a short (pastry) one if you can find it. Worked for me.

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Gary Geiger
http://www.geigerphoto.com Professional photographer

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awful

I have suffered from PF my whole life and tried everything.
The two things that helped me the most were the boot at night and switching to Newton shoes.

I wear sneakers almost all day at home and find that also helps keep it under control.

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TEAM ZOOT 2020

I had it and it took a year to heal. I received 4 prolotherapy injections, not blood spinning (1x per month) for 4 months and taped my foot for stability for all runs and whenever I slept. PT gave me the taping technique. They didn't use KT tape back then. I taped that foot for two years because I was so paranoid it would come back. Eventually, I cut the cord and stoppped taping.

Some time later I dumped custom orthotics which I had been using for many years for some cheap inserts.

Worked, but it was a long, painful haul.

I got PF in both feet last May. Sometimes I couldn't walk. The left came around after 3 months on its own. The right is now almost well. Tried all the home remedies. Rolling, splint, compression, inserts... Nothing worked. Then I bought some slides and flip-flops from OluKai in November. My right is probably 80% healed. Th soles are fairly firm and the arch hits me in the right place. They were cheaper than inserts.

In my case a long case of PF was caused by my work shoes and had nothing to do with triathlon training. I hope you find a solution for you. I now have brown walking boots that I use as work "dress" shoes. It took me about 3 years to figure this out.

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Ed Alyanak

What type of orthotics? I was self treating with soft orthotics, but I finally got some professional advice and moved to Superfeet (there are a couple of similar brands). Rigid, mostly, with a pronounced curve for arch, cup for heel. I had two rounds of PF, both took a long time and multiple approaches before happening on something that worked. After using the Superfeets about 1/2 time in dress shoes and about 1/3 time in running shoes, I've been PF free for a couple of years. At least for me - hard orthotics, not squishy ones...

Almost the same for me (sans acupuncture). For me, as a ball of foot "striker" the calves take a beating. Now where did I put that dang rolling pin???

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I saw this on a white board in a window box at my daughters middle school...
List of what life owes you:
1. __________
2. __________
3. __________

Orthostatic shock wave therapy.
Also, there a new splint available called an EQ Brace.

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Dr Jay
http://www.Tri-Pod.net

My experience with PF was very frustrating too.

Here is what helped:

1. Not running for 4 months
2. Switching to Hoka Bondis and eventually to Cliftons
3. Learning to forefoot strike when running
4. Walking in Hokas around the house
5. Stretching the ankles vigorously 2x a day
6. One of these things under the work desk, using as often as possible

Best of luck. PF sucks but is beatable.

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Next races on the schedule: none at the moment

Another cortisone shot might help

I had several bouts over the years, never a show stopper but an annoyance nonetheless. Every time, here's what fixed it for me:
- Several sessions of shockwave therapy (key for me)
- Frequent self massage under the foot (with knuckles of my fist, and golf ball)
- Shoes with high heel-toe drop (currently running in 12mm drop Brooks Ghost) & avoid running hills
- When you're bothered by it, make sure to stretch your calves well still laying in bed before getting up.

Got solved every time w the above for me. Again, I never really had it bad that I could not walk anymore though.

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T. Guertin / Spocket

I started developing mild PF symptoms in late 2018. Went to see a sports medicine doctor and he recommended 2 things: 1) strengthening my calf muscles with calf raises* and 2) wearing shoes (even if it's just slippers) in the house. I have done both of those pretty faithfully and I'd say I'm 95% symptom free. Granted my case was mild and I probably nipped it in the bud before it became serious, but just wanted to put this out there since I had good results.

* - 3 x 10 single leg calf raise - body weight only, standing on a block or something that would allow my heel to dip below the starting point (3-4 times a week)

GO GET YOUR BODY MUCH STRONGER CORE DOWN.
LEARN to run better. You run out of sequence and overload your calve in front of your hips with your toes up. fix it . It takes more then just reading about it.

GOOD LUCK avoid the idea it will be fixed all of sudden.

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Technique will always last longer then energy production. Improve biomechanics, improve performance.
http://Www.anthonytoth.ca, triathletetoth@twitter

 
In my case the PF was a result of the chain starting at the hip extending down the IT area, the outboard lower leg, around the outside of my ankle to under the foot causing the PF. The PF was the symptom or result, not the cause.

I'm not sure when it left me, but addressing the lower leg and IT band issues, plus better run form (keeping my pelvis over my legs, body over my feet) the problems I was having knee down are gone for now.

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Training Tweets: https://twitter.com/Jagersport_com
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Some of the things I have done to cure my pf and nip it in the bud of it starts to come back. —Stretching my toes back several times a day
—Very low drop shoes for all aspects of life
—Running shoes that aren’t too short for my toes
—Stopping whatever I am doing immediately if I start to feel the slightest twinge

Good luck. Please keep us updated.

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Oui, mais pas de femme toute de suite (yes, but I am not ready for a woman straight away) -Stephen Roche's reply when asked whether he was okay after collapsing at the finish in the La Plagne stage of the 1987 Tour

Interesting. The Hokas worked wonders for me when I had PF last year. I had it pretty bad and could barely run. I randomly tried some Hokas on one day and noticed the pronounced arch in the Cliftin 4. I went from barely being able to run two miles, to running for an hour with almost no pain. It was that much of a difference. From there, I could at least continue running while working out the tightness in my calf to actually fix the problem. Those Hokas worked miracles.

Those of you that choose shockwave therapy, how did it help? Been having Plantar F. for a few weeks now, and while i think i almost self cured it with a lot of stretching and massaging, my PT did tell me i could try out shock wave therapy. When i read online there was little evidence for the effect of shockwave. The reason why i'm sceptic is that when i have recived direct massage on the area it just seems to get more irritated and i could see the same happening with shockwave. Is it a matter of "it has to hurt more before it gets better"?

Eh, I'd be skeptical of that. Generally if you dig in and start massaging the direct area that hurts, it can sometimes even get worse. If the PF is flared up, it's like something else is tight, like the calf muscle or IT band etc, and that's what you should be working on to release the tension on the PF. Not in every case, but that's usually how it works. I agree it's fine to lightly massage the PF with a golf ball to keep it loose, but very gently...then dig into the real problematic areas further up the leg that may be causing it.

My first PT would sit there with her thumb and dig right into the heel, which was very painful. "I know it hurts, gotta do it!". And it never got better.

I had it SO bad a few years ago. PT, rolling, stretching, boot at night, etc. NOTHING worked until I got a lacrosse ball. Used that to roll my foot and POOF, pain was gone! Worth a shot at least!

After mine wouldn't go away, I figured out it was actually a symptom of "mad calf". I had overused my right calf so much, it was clinching all the time and pulling on the plantar fascia. Wearing the night boot forced my calf to not contract overnight and my foot would be awesome the next day. Forget to wear the night boot, and my foot would hurt like hell walking on it first thing in the morning. And then it would tighten up during the run too soon and tear stuff up all over again. Also, backing off the biking efforts and not running up hills was essential. Those pull on the calf and cause it to overreact and tighten like a rock, that pulls on the fascia and and "reinjures" the area very quickly. Also, any tired running whatsoever screwed up my form and then I would roll my ankles in too much and that would damage it again as well.

If I wore a night boot the night before, ran on flattish ground, ran fresh and not tired, then I could run pain free. Took me a while to figure out the combo, but once I did, I was able to start running again and heal at the same time.

Here's my quick recommendation:

Avoid going barefoot at all times.
Try to wear something with high arch supports.
Consider putting something like Birkenstocks next to your bed and slip them on even when going to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

The goal is to keep that Plantar Fascia from flexing downward when you put weight on your foot. The arch support should keep the foot from flexing and allow the fascia to heal.

There isn't a lot of blood flow into fascia so it's going to take a while. Sorry, sounds like you've been at this a while. Hope you feel better!

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