After almost a year without it it;s coming back…
A year and half ago i suffered from heel pains that were diagnosed as plantar fasciatis. I went through the whole process of physical therapy, self massages, ice, sticking with my custom orthotics and on the contrary even tried some barefoot running.
In the last week i’m starting to feel the familiar annoying tickeling pain in the same heel despite the fact my running volume has been decreased significantly towards the tri season. I even participated in the 100 runs in 100 days challenge with 6-7 runs aweek without heel pains.
It’s not the i’ve been running totally pain free (legs\feet) but the heel one wasn’t there. I guess that it came back due to calf tightness or at least feeling of tightness.
What should I do now? Should I look for an orthopedist or a good PT?
If anyone has any good recommendation for either of those in NYC please share it with me…
You need to keep at the calf stretching particularly the soleus. I’d also suggest looking for small tight knots in the soleus area & really working them out. Use ice rolling out bot hthe calf * heel area.
I’d also suggest doing foot strengthening exercises to keep it from resurfacing.
I’m dealing with a really inflamed PF that cropped up 2 + wks ago. I had to use crutches for a week. I have an IMCDA. Grim. I have a night splint that I use whenever I feel it coming on. Worth the bucks. Might even find one on craigslist.
I’ve also found that the toe stretchers have really helped my current PF. I put them one while watching tv etc. One needs to build up to wearing them for long periods. But since they have helped so much I decided to look into having them in my shoe during the day. There is a silicone product kind of spendy $65 called correct toes that will do that.
I’ve been trying my own version before buying. I bought on of the silicone toe inserts at the walgreens type store that fits between the big toe. That helped. Then I took an old beat up silicone heel pad & cut pieces to fit between the rest of my toes. Been surprised how much it’s help.
My PF only went away when I started wearing the Strassburg Sock ever night to sleep. It was pretty annoying at first, but it eventually took care of the problem. If I ever feel a minor case of PF coming on I pull out the Sock for a few days and it always goes away. My n=1 experience.
Chad
What are these toe stretchers you are talking about?
I guess that my poor foot mechanics cause this re-occurrence of my PF but unfortunatly I dunno how to make it dissapear for ever (the PF not my foot ).
I wish I could make sure that the orthotic itself doesn’t cause it even though everything was almost fine even when I ran 60-70K per week.
Maybe I just have to keep strengthening and stretching my legs\feet persistently.
Tape your foot. I have been running for 20 years and only had one bout of PF last year and the only thing that kicked PF was taping my foot. I tried everything that is usually mentioned for months and nothing worked. I then tried some of the taping techniques I found online and none of them worked. Then I tried one my sports chiro suggested and I was clear in three weeks while running. I have looked for a video online explaining this technique but I have never found one. This taping method will basically take the pressure off the PF and let it heal. I will do my best to explain it. Get some Cover Roll and LeukoTape. Cut off about a 3 inch strip of Cover Roll on the place horizontally on the top of your foot. This should be placed where the arch is and will protect the sensitive skin on the top of your foot from the tape. Now take the roll of LeukoTape and start it in line with the Cover Roll on the top of the outside of your foot and tape under the foot towards the arch. When you get to the arch you need to give the tape a good tug to make it nice and tight and then anchor the tape to the top of the foot where the Cover Roll it. Make sure to keep it tight until you anchor the tape. I normally complete the circle just to make sure it is secure. This will feel very uncomfortable at first but it will lossen up a bit over the first day. I normally left this on for a week at a time. It will feel very strange to walk and run at first but you will get used to it and it won’t take long to not need it anymore.
I had a bad case that lasted for two years… I tried all of the “traditional” stuff. Orthotics, stretching, ice, the night boot thing, motion control shoes, cortisone injections… and more. None of that worked. I had good and bad days but the pain was always there.
This is what worked for me.
No stretching.
No orthotics.
Minimalist shoe for running. Cushioned shoes are fine as long as your feet can move in a natural way.
Barefoot as much as you can (not necessarily when running).
BTW, I have also noticed that when I drive to work after my early morning runs, my foot would be in pain for the first 20 steps or so after getting off the car and walking to my office space.
I don’t have the problem when I run and don’t have to drive afterwards. Something about the leg/foot position while driving.
Tape your foot. I have been running for 20 years and only had one bout of PF last year and the only thing that kicked PF was taping my foot. I tried everything that is usually mentioned for months and nothing worked. I then tried some of the taping techniques I found online and none of them worked. Then I tried one my sports chiro suggested and I was clear in three weeks while running. I have looked for a video online explaining this technique but I have never found one. This taping method will basically take the pressure off the PF and let it heal. I will do my best to explain it. Get some Cover Roll and LeukoTape. Cut off about a 3 inch strip of Cover Roll on the place horizontally on the top of your foot. This should be placed where the arch is and will protect the sensitive skin on the top of your foot from the tape. Now take the roll of LeukoTape and start it in line with the Cover Roll on the top of the outside of your foot and tape under the foot towards the arch. When you get to the arch you need to give the tape a good tug to make it nice and tight and then anchor the tape to the top of the foot where the Cover Roll it. Make sure to keep it tight until you anchor the tape. I normally complete the circle just to make sure it is secure. This will feel very uncomfortable at first but it will lossen up a bit over the first day. I normally left this on for a week at a time. It will feel very strange to walk and run at first but you will get used to it and it won’t take long to not need it anymore.
Well this is the funky old lady style.(footsmart $15) Yoga toes are the same thing except more expensive. Pro-Tec makes some also.
The straussburg sock does the same thing as a night splint. Strengthening the foot enables one to get away from orthotics walking & running barefoot are good for developing that as well once once you get the pain under control. I stopped using orthotics a few years & switched to more “flats” min. type shoes.
The ladies at the tri store pointed me to shoes that work and I suggest to my friends - skechers goruns. Soft, flexible, lots of arch support, no heel strike. Sort of perfect for a lot of cases of PF. Meb wears them. I gave myself PF with a set of old shoes when I was working on a house, had it for a long time, tried all the usual solutions, and finally got rid of it with the shoes. There are a variety of models they have at the stores, and the original model has the most pronounced arch. They felt odd at first, but like the runners at the tri store, I used them as street shoes. One more minor thing is bike shoe cleat position. Like others, when I had PF, I found that moving the cleats back just a little made a difference and stopped flareups.
I tried everything for a year to heal/manage the pain from PF…ice, stretching, night splint, barefoot, arch support, dry needling, cortisone shot and nothing got rid of it completely. It really hurt after Boston, so I got a PRP injection and it is 100% better one month later. I waited 10 days after to start running, I had it done on the Air Force Academy free so I didn’t wait the whole 3-4 weeks before I started running again–if I had paid for it I would have waited longer. Not saying it works for everyone, but it worked for me and I wish I hadn’t waited so long to get it done!
I even didn’t think that the bike shoes and cleats might be the reason for the flare-ups.
I’ve never read about the fact bike shoes can cause PF.
It worths a try.
Damn PF…
Does anyone think that PT could help here or everything is home remedy style?
I picked up a feetures sleeve at a tri store while on vacation. Works great for running and I sleep in it at night. Heel pain was gone in 4 days and has not returned.
I like the strassbourg sock as well but can’t sleep in it as my toes go numb.
).
Well this is the funky old lady style.(footsmart $15) Yoga toes are the same thing except more expensive. Pro-Tec makes some also.