I finally went to the podiatrist after a few months of not-getting-better, and basically not running this year at all. Diagnosis: Plantar fascitis. Bone spurs on the bottom of my foot and the heel (where the Achille’s attaches). I got taped up (which helped) and molded for orthotics (which arrive at the end of next week). I stretch and ice, as directed. It’s improving, I guess, but slowly.
Apparently this is common, but it still sucks. And it really does hurt. Anyone have advice/experiences/suggestions? My doc seems knowledgeable, but he was in and out in a hurry. And what running shoes are best for dogs like mine (the doc said I also pronate a bit more than 4 degrees)?
I was starting to have minor issues with PF. It sounds like your situation has gotten worse then what mine was. For what it is worth, I was able to basically eliminate any issues I was having by taking stretching a lot more seriously; particularly after long or stressful runs. From my personal experience, tightness in the calf/hamstring has led to all of my problems with PF. Personal favorites are ‘forward/half bends’ and ‘downward dog’.
Perhaps the orthotics will eliminate the problems that are causing your issues. However, stretching it all out can’t hurt. If it gets better be proactive on continuing to stretch it all out.
i’ve been dealing with this as well. i’m no doctor, but here’s what i’ve learned along the way. none of these is a cure-all. but they all work together over time…and man, i mean tiiiiiiiiime.
1.) orthodics did very little for me. the problem (for me) wasn’t the mechanics of my foot, but just years of tightness that i didn’t address. i don’t view it as a waste of $300. just part of an expensive process to sort this stuff out.
2.) you can roll or stretch your feet, but the problem is a result from more of your achilles and calves. you need to stretch them a lot. the TP Massage roller for your calf is great.
3.) you’ll have better days and worse days. stick with the stretching (and icing…and rolling…and NSAIDs…and the nighttime splint) religiously. i’ve not been good about this and i’ll go 2-3 days where it’s getting better. then i’ll stop the stretching because…well, i’m better! then i have 2-3 bad days. just like the training, it’s the consistency that will get you to your goal.
4.) cortisone. this was pretty bad for me. had trouble walking for 4-5 days after my injections (both feet). even with the pain killer added in, it was bad. after about 8 days my feet started to feel better. the jury is still out on whether or not that really did anything.
5.) i’m guessing that my PF came on over 2-3 years. i was able to race with it for 2009 and be OK. but as my volume picked up for 2010 in march, my feet were not happy. so it took 2-3 years to come on…it’s going to take 2-3 months…probably more…to go away. not to mention getting older my body at 35 isn’t as elastic as it was when i started triathlon 10 years ago.
6.) i wear my running shoes 24/7. i wore stability shoes before and have switched to cushioning. as jackmott said, i might move to nike frees as well. but NO FLIP FLOPS. NO CHUCK TAYLORS. i’m in Cabo right now and walked barefoot on the beach with my wife for about 20 mins yesterday. that killed me. serious pain today. i know better. so just try to be smart.
you will get lots of feedback on this topic on slowtwitch. i suggest searching for other threads. i even sent a few PMs to folks that sounded like they had a similar situation to me. now that i have all of this off my chest, i’m going to go ice and stretch.
PF almost always comes from the calves. Get a set of the TP massage tools and work on your calves. Fix your calves - or at least evaluate them - before you start messing too much with your feet. If you can address any imbalances, tightness, disfunction in your calves, you may find a LOT of relief from PF.
After a year and a half of suffering I am thankful for each PF painless day! Over the year and a half I tried everything short of surjery. The things that helped me the most were the TP message kit, changing to neutral shoe, focus on running more on my toes, Strassberg sock, stretching, and changing my bike shoes. I think the bike shoes were the root of my problem. I traced the purchase of these shoes to a month before injury and switching these shoe was the final step in my recovery.
Had PF in my left foot for nearly a year, though not as bad as you. I had heel pain every morning when waking up and walking on it until it loosened up a little, but if I went on a long run (say 8 miles or more), I’d be limping all day, but I was able to run on it with minor pain.
Finally got the rolling pin out of the kitchen drawer and started rolling both my feet and calves on it every night for at least 20 minutes and doing a lot of calf stretches. Ironically, it mysteriously went away after I had to take 4 days off training in Dec. after getting snipped (vasectomy). I continue the stretching/rolling regimen just to make sure it doesn’t return.
Had PF in my left foot for nearly a year, though not as bad as you. I had heel pain every morning when waking up and walking on it until it loosened up a little, but if I went on a long run (say 8 miles or more), I’d be limping all day, but I was able to run on it with minor pain.
Finally got the rolling pin out of the kitchen drawer and started rolling both my feet and calves on it every night for at least 20 minutes and doing a lot of calf stretches. Ironically, it mysteriously went away after I had to take 4 days off training in Dec. after getting snipped (vasectomy). I continue the stretching/rolling regimen just to make sure it doesn’t return.
Good luck!
I keep a golf-ball in my briefcase and whenever I’m working at my desk, I put in on the floor, take off my shoe and gently ‘massage’ my heel with it by rolling it underfoot.
I had a not-so-bad case, my wife had a pretty bad one, but we both beat it.
I got Orthotics for my everyday shoes and wore them for about a year, rolled my foot on a golf ball some ( maybe 3-4 times a week)
and did the toe-crumple exercise with a towel a few times a week. I treated for about a month with NSAID ( I think the one that is off the market now- celebrex?).
That got me back on my feet, but I still had to be careful and a few days in hard shoes could bring a flare up.
Long term I’ve modified my running stride to a higher tempo, mid/fore footstrike. A pair of Newton’s helped train this, now I just run in lighter weight
neutral trainers and have had no problems for 2 years. The happy ending is my first Boston Qual marathon back in January.
My wife had a much longer recovery and eventually had to give up martial arts…but my honest opinion was she was a poor patient. She would be pain free
for a few days and then go out and do everything just the same, so she never really cured anything.
I think you need to figure out how to beat your pain…and then keep doing that (rest, Ice, golfballs, NSAID, whatever) for about a month after the
pain subsides.
I had PF for 9 months last year, I tried everything = rest for 3 months, then stretching + icing + + + nothing was working
In January I bought night splint at walgreens and I have been wearing them since + otc orthodics in my shoes and had no problem since then
I ran a marathon two weeks ago
The brand is FUTURA and is about 30 USD each
best buy for me and it is not soo difficult to slip with
.
Left foot had it for 1 year 2 months. Podiatrist visits, orthotic, splint, ice, everything cited above, shots, etc, massage, stretches. I tried running in minimal shoes, I did all the bullshit posted by people here, hoping some kind of shotgun approach would work over time. I did continue to run low amounts, 12-18 miles per week, and became an expert in PF taping.
Sometime in February of this year, I woke up and it was gone. I have no idea why. It disappeared and I did nothing before it I could identify as a fix.
Here’s the kicker. So I get back into running, get the mileage up to 25-30 and so on. Boom. I now have it in my right foot (heel) and it feels worse than the left.
After a year and a half of suffering I am thankful for each PF painless day! Over the year and a half I tried everything short of surjery. The things that helped me the most were the TP message kit, changing to neutral shoe, focus on running more on my toes, Strassberg sock, stretching, and changing my bike shoes. I think the bike shoes were the root of my problem. I traced the purchase of these shoes to a month before injury and switching these shoe was the final step in my recovery.
anyone else link their pf to bike shoes? I’m suspicious but don’t want to stop both biking and running.
1: night splint or strassborg sock.
2: ice massage- roll the foot on a frozen water bottle 10 mins 3x daily. REALLY work the pressure.
3: stretch. 90 secs (time it, it’s a lot longer than you think) 3x daily. Gastroc and soleus stretches. (google if necessary but you know what they are)
4; Non steroidal anti inflammatory gel- voltaren or similar (needs to be prescribed by an MD). Also ,traumeel worth trying. (homeopathic equivalent)
5: if all else fails, run hill repeats- HARD. You’ll tear it, that’s the equivalent of a surgical release. (TIC)
KLM Footsoldier Shell (OTC orthotic) under regular inserts in running shoes while running (buy 2 sizes bigger than shoe size).
HTP Heel Seats in all other shoes (took a couple of days to get used to). They have a bar on the front of the cup that stretches the plantar fascia.
Ibuprofen, stretching, exercises (picked up small round stones with my toes - about 10 per foot twice a day).
Went from severe pain in the mornings to running a marathon. I now wear Superfeet Green in running shoes and the HTP heel seats in all other shoes and that has kept PF away.
I’ve had a heel spur for about 2 years now. I could still run with no pain, but the morning after my heel would be really sore. I’ve tried everything, stretching my calf, foam roller, rolling my foot on a golf ball and ice bottle, the sock, boot. Nothing really worked. Then again what doesn’t work for me may work for others.
I was recently fitted for orthotics about a month ago and wear them constantly, I would say I’m almost pain free.
I had PF last summer and started running in Vibram Fivefingers, and it gradually went away within about two months. I started wearing as flat of shoes as I could to work as well.
Now, the only time I feel any pain is if I wear shoes with too much support for too long at work while standing.
The orthotics may cut the pain down, but they are not fixing the problem.
I searched but have not found anything definitive…please bear with me for a minute…
I have pain in the bottom of my foot in front of my heel, my heel is fine but right in front on the out side bottom, it’s getting worse. It started about a month ago. I thought maybe I stepped on a rock or a root while trail running but today after a 125m ride it is very sore and I’m glad I don’t have to run right now. Does this sound like PF? On the bottom of my foot?