What’s the medical science behind the advice not to walk barefooted if you have Plantars but its okay to stretch that plantars area all night long in a night splint. I don’t get this. i got this crap. It seems to me that if those fascie are stretched, they would pull on the heel, which is causing the pain. Why would you want to force that in a stretch all night long or stretch any muscle pulling on that heel area.
I don’t get it. But I’m sure its the way to go because the heel pain is less after I wear that splint assuming I don’t break down during the night and cast it off from the searing hot pain on the ball of my foot. fyi: if you get this stuff, and they give you a cortisone shot in the heel, and they say, “this may hurt,” COUNT ON IT!
I don’t know how some of you get cortisone shots in your shoulder or knees injuries some of you have—when the condition gets real bad.
nah, you got it a bit confused there. here’s my take on it for what it’s worth.
yes the pain often comes from either the plantar fascia being tight and pulling on it’s attachment point at the heel causing pain, or else the calf being tight pulling on the heel bone, and hence pulling the plantar fascia tight causing paint, or both. Seems like it can also be inflammation in the fascia or connective tissue as well (hence the effectiveness of icing). You can relieve it in a number of ways, one way is by releiving the tension in those areas so either finding an effective way to stretch the plantar fascia or else to stretch the calf. During the night or when the foot is in a plantar flexed position your calf and fascia are in a shortened position which leads to more tightness and pain. The night splint helps to keep this from happening at night by making sure that the calf and plantar fascia remain in a gentle stretch.
If this is really really really driving you crazy (I’ve been there before, twice):
-semi-custom or custom orthotics can help
-make sure your shoes have adequate midfoot support
-strengthening excersises
-ibuprofin
-stretching, foot AND calves
-BUY A TP THERAPY plantar fascia kit, if you are in Hawaii I’ll sell you one, these are gold, absolute gold
I will second the recommendation of Trigger Point. I have worked in a specialty running store and seen a lot of people suffering from PF. We did out best with fitting them in proper shoes and orthotics as well as Strassberg Socks. We had success with these methods but the best treatment was right in front of our face with Trigger Point. We had it in the store but truly didn’t understand what it was.
I was having serious PF issues and all of the usual methods weren’t helping.
Kristian Mandietta with ironguides got hold of me for a few minutes with TP product and worked on my calves. When he was done I was able to do a very fast paced treadmill workout with no problem. I ordered the TP products from their on-line store and have been diligent about using them.
I am happy to say that after a few weeks, I am back to my previous pace and amount of time spent running. The best thing is that I am pain free.
What’s the medical science behind the advice not to walk barefooted Because it’s sensitive to direct pressure. if you have Plantars but its okay to stretch that plantars area all night long in a night splint. I think of it like this: overnight it tries to heal, but it does this in a shortened position. Next morning you get up, stand up and wham, the PF is stretched and undoes any overnight healing…unless it was doing that healing in the stretched position. I don’t get this. i got this crap. It seems to me that if those fascie are stretched, they would pull on the heel, which is causing the pain. Why would you want to force that in a stretch all night long or stretch any muscle pulling on that heel area.
I don’t get it. But I’m sure its the way to go because the heel pain is less after I wear that splint assuming I don’t break down during the night and cast it off from the searing hot pain on the ball of my foot. fyi: if you get this stuff, and they give you a cortisone shot in the heel, and they say, “this may hurt,” COUNT ON IT!
I don’t know how some of you get cortisone shots in your shoulder or knees injuries some of you have—when the condition gets real bad.
Plantar Fasciitis…
Some of the above mentioned techniques work. I am a orthopedic physical therapist. You need to know WHY you are getting PF. What is not being mentioned is one major cause, which is midfoot drop. Orthotics help with this problem, but if the tibialis posterior is not strengthened/stretched, you will still have the problem. Along with this is HOW you are running. If you are not pushing thru the big toe, then you are never going to rid yourself of this condition. Of course there are other aspects which can contribute, but PF is rarely a condition which is inflamation alone…
I have seen all the tricks, pressure point therapies, night braces, dynasplints, cortizone injections…and you need to see why the condition is occurring. Spend the time and money and go to a good physical therapist who treats runners. Call up a bunch of local PT’s and ask them questions. We as a profession, are much easier to get a hold of versus pediatrists and otho dr’s. Get the assessment and you will do much better. Otherwise you will end up with a closet full of junk, and a condition which WILL show up again.