I begun to experience some “discomfort” on the back and upper part of the heel a couple of weeks back. Mainly noticed it in the morning. Nothing that hampered my running or walking though. It sort of went away last week. This weekend I noticed the discomfort again, this time on from my heel to the ball of my foot. Again just a little discomfort in the morning and after sitting down at work for extended periods of time.
Is this a mild case of plantar fasciitis? I have not suddenly increased my mileage and I change shoes every other month so I don’t know what it could be.
I’m visiting the doc on Monday but just wanted to hear people’s thoughts.
I just saw a podiatrist on Friday and was diagnosed with PF. Similar symptoms (heel pain, not always in the same part of the heel) as yours starting in June after a marathon. Since I was training for IMMOO, I tried to ignore it and kept going. It would come and go but in late August, the pain after running reduced me to limping for the rest of the day and, especially, in the morning. Anyway, I should have gone to the Dr. earlier. He fitted me up with orthotics and showed me how to tape my foot in the mean time. Also, told me to stay off it as much as possible for at least two weeks.
Looks like I’ll be spending a little more time in the pool.
yup…thats what it is…diagnosis need only be the description of symptoms. Dosent have to come from too much mileage to quick, can come from “overuse”…which is different for all of us…me, 35+ miles is overuse…Prefontaine…100+…the way your foot is built plays a role as well…mine are built like boat oars…as for treatment…you will be lucky if taping and orthotic does it…i slept with a night boot on for 2 years(keeps foot stretched)…hence when you sleep the tissue heals contracted and the first thing you do it the a.m is step on it and it restretches/rips…there are stretches you need to do, pulling yor toes towards you with your hands, calf stretches, all day! tight calves are a huge cause of PF…only cure for me was some whopper cortisone shots…if you get one and it dosent put you through the roof with pain…the DR. didnt get the right spot…I now where NON prescribed orthotics…any that have arch support and a hard bottom beneath the heal and arch…havent had a problem since(two different custom orthotics did nothing, 500.00)…also…roll a golfball across your arch to the heal as it breaks up scar tissue…my two cents! p.s…dont walk barefoot.
I am not a Docor but have struggled with this and done a lot of research on it. PF is caused by one of two things: tight calves, and low or fallen arches. I happen to have both. I have had cortizone shots, done the stretching, worn a heel splint and fortunately only heard about the old practice of surgically cutting the tendon. All of these things have worked to some extent. The best thing I have done to date is to invest in the right shoe combined with custom orthotics. I plan nhaving to continue a rigorous achilles stretching routine daily as long as intend to run any distance. Time off and stetching may be all you need, but you might consider orthotics to save you from next time. Good luck.
I’d agree with most of what imanrbri says. He has been fighting PF for years, I’ve only been dealing with it for months. One thing though, and it might be wishfull thinking on my part, is that custom orthotics have been successfull in treating PF. This is outlined in a study done a few years ago:
OTC Orthotics/rolling foot on a frozen pop bottle/stretching/pain killers
Custom Orthotics
Cortisone injections
Surgery
Since I already did #1, and my Dr. noticed a severe pronation in my left foot, he is pretty confident the orthotics will clear it up. BTW, my PF is only in my left foot.
I think it is pretty typical for the Dr. to diagnose PF based on the one question, “Do you have the heel pain in the morning when you first get up?”
I did have a bunch of x-rays taken to rule out a fracture and heel spurs (heel spurs are a side effect of untreated PF).
Going to the Dr. early in the symptoms is the best thing you can do.
My 2 cents: I had PF for close to 2 years. I believe that the cure is different for everybody, but maybe something that worked for me will work for you. I stretched my calves ALL THE TIME. If I sat down for 20 minutes, I stretched my calves before getting up. I would curl my toes down, kinda making an exaggerated arch in my foot, and stretch by leaning over and pushing against a wall (or usually a coffee table).
I also wore night splints every night and stretched my calves and feet first thing in the morning (gently) before placing much weight on my feet. I tried orthotics, but it just didn’t work for me. I tried taping also, no luck.
One thing that interested me was ART massage. I read an article about it and it seemed like something to try, but my feet got better and I never tried it. ART = active release therapy.
I had a severe case of PF when I used to work in an assembly plant and I was on my feet for 15 hours a day on concrete. I struggled for two years and it was bad enough that I had knots on the tendon that runs from the big toe and attaches to the heel (pardon my lack of official terminology). I iced, stretched, cortisone shots, tape, orthotics, etc. The way that I recovered from it (besides quitting my job) was to wear a good pair of shoes at all times. As soon as I got out of bed, I put the shoes on. As soon as I dried my feet getting out of the shower, I put my shoes on. I even talked to my boss and asked if he cared that I wore my running shoes to the office and he said that it was not a problem. I always has the shoes on and they slowly recovered. Once I go to the point of near recovery, I started to put dry rice in a shoe box and put my foot in the box and picked up rice over and over with my toes. My feet cramped constantly at the beginning but they slowly got stronger and stronger. I have not had any problems since. I start to get a little weak and I start doing the exercises again.
I had symptoms just like yours. They began after I accidentally rode 130 miles (wrong turn) while wearing a new, first pair of Carnacs.
My doctor told me to stop going barefoot at all, even at home. With that advice (along with altered insoles in the Carnacs) I never had to cut back on running or biking, but the morning tenderness hung around for two years. Periodically I would think it was gone, and a short stroll to the refrigerator sans slippers would tell me otherwise. I was one of the lucky ones - best of the same to you.
yup, look like PF. had this too a while back. basically everything said here is a good way to treat it. i didn’t see anyone icing their feet, though. try it immediately after a run (if you decide to keep going) for about 15 mins at a time. also, ask your doctor to prescribe anti-inflamms as well. COX-2 inhibitors are very effective and can be taken once a day only–very convenient. try not to run through the pain as it will get worse and cause bone spurs. rest for at least 2 weeks. be wary that the pain usually goes away with activity, but it doesn’t mean that everything’s OK.
also, the trick that REALLY did it for me was to switch from heel-striking to mid-foot striking ala POSE method. haven’t had PF since! took care of occasional knee pains and achilles tendonitis as well.
My wife, (not an athlete) was diagnosed with PF. After years of foot discomfort that increased to foot pain, orthotics made a noticeable improvement. After a few years of orthotics, the pain had re-appeared and increased to the point of intolerability.
A local chiroprator offers a “Low Intensity Laser Therapy” for foot pain. I’ve never seen the process, so I can’t describe it, but I can say that my wife is 100% pain free. She still wears the orthotics, but after about 2 months of Laser Therapy, all pain was gone. It’s been well over a year now, and every step is pain free.
Your results may vary, but I think I’d throw LILT into the mix, a step or two ahead of surgery.
ART does help. I’ve got the orthotics (still a work in progress) and was still suffering so I gave it a try. Once again, wondered why I waited so long. He works on my feet and calves and my feet are happy 90% (should be 100% as soon as I can rest them too) of the time now. It does hurt worse than ART on the ITB though.
Had it for quite some time before I discovered the ONLY two things that work for me:
1- Stretch the living crap out of the bottom of my feet / calves daily.
2- Run. I was told to rest, but that only seemed to tighten things back up. If I don’t run for an extended period of time (2 weeks-ish) then it starts to flare back up. Keep running and stretching, things stay loose and I’m fine.
I’ve had PF since May. It’s never been bad enough to keep me from training though. Sore in the am and ok the rest of the day (although I can still feel it’s there). What has helped me is a gizmo I ordered on the internet from www.thesock.com. This puppy has really helped out. I can now wake up and head straight out and do my 2.5 hour training runs without pain. Sure the PF is still there, but the sock has made it pretty ignorable. After IMFL I may have it looked at more in depth, or just stop running for a couple of months.
I’ve had PF since May. It’s never been bad enough to keep me from training though. Sore in the am and ok the rest of the day (although I can still feel it’s there). What has helped me is a gizmo I ordered on the internet from www.thesock.com. This puppy has really helped out. I can now wake up and head straight out and do my 2.5 hour training runs without pain. Sure the PF is still there, but the sock has made it pretty ignorable. After IMFL I may have it looked at more in depth, or just stop running for a couple of months.
I have The Sock, too. It helps to “manage” the pain of PF, but doesn’t really fix the problem. Same with stretching.
I did the “pick up rice” thing for a while, and it was helping. I think I’ll go back to it since my PF is flaring again right now. I also found swimming helped for some reason – probably the stretching and circulation that comes with low-stress flexing of the foot and ankle.