plantar fasciitis help

[gmac]

I need recommendations on dealing with plantar fasciitis. I am a 46 year old male, slightly overweight, and have self diagnosed this issue starting back 3-4 weeks ago.

I run off and on and was running a few weeks ago when my left foot started hurting in the arch area. The next morning I could barely walk. Since then I have bought a couple different brands of inserts and have stayed away from running although I still walk a lot. The pain has lessened but still comes and goes. I know I should probably see a specialist but hoping to avoid a doctor visit if possible and looking for recommendations on home remedy and ideas if on how long this may take to go away if it will go away. Thanks

[BunnyHop]

Assuming that you ARE dealing with PF, I'd suggest making sure that you work on both flexibility and strength.
The only thing that seemed to work for me was making sure I got more flexible from my toes to the top of my head. Rigidity/tightness makes imbalances and injury more likely, so I do what I can to be as supple and strong as I can manage.

Putting something in my shoes to lift the heel a bit did help for a while, I got some arch support thingys that were only about 3/4 the length of my shoe.

That worked for a while, but after a while I had to take them out. Maybe I just didn't need them any more?

Exercises like kettlebell swings, and stuff like Classical Stretch and tai chi also seemed to help a lot. (I really haven't had a huge problem with my PF in recent years so long as I wear good supportive shoes.)

[little bird]

The only thing that seemed to work for me was making sure I got more flexible from my toes to the top of my head. Rigidity/tightness makes imbalances and injury more likely, so I do what I can to be as supple and strong as I can manage.

THIS! I have plantar fasciitis. Yoga is what keeps mine in check. I was also told to never wear less than 1 inch heel shoe. Consider over the counter non steroid meds to get you over the hump. Naproxen Sodium is one that I like. If you don't see improvement soon, consult with a health care practitioner.

[Pam]

I have had PF for about 20 years. 1st started when I was doing a lot of running also. Flexibility has been very in avoiding reoccurrence of PF, but just important has been strengthening my feet. I workout barefoot--including heavy weigh workouts. I don't do high impact workouts, but still do some running.

I often will get a reoccurrence of the PF if I wear supportive shoes much, i.e. hiking boots or terrible for me dressy shoes. So mostly I wear minimum shoes, such as minimum running or hiking shoes, good sandals with a back strap or go barefoot.

[JackieB]

Jill Miller's work with her yoga tune up balls are the ticket for both me and dh. I really like her "On Demand Pain Relief" dvd wall sequence working with the balls under the foot. Almost immediate relief. You can get Pinky Balls at Dollar General or similar.

This isn't the entire sequence, but similar to what is on the dvd: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnKu...72BB64&index=3

I like Miranda's PF sequence in Classical Stretch Season 10.

I"d also agree that you most likely need to balance out your training with working on flexibiity....in particular stretching the calves and feet.

[little bird]

I workout barefoot

I just started doing this .

[muddjeansgal]

I used a frozen water bottle each morning and each evening to roll on the bottom of my feet.
I was taking about 800 mg of advil each day too.
I also changed out my shoes to Skechers and for some reason they help my feet a lot.

[raeven]

I suffered way too many months before finally going to the doctor. As soon as I started what I'm about to tell you, it helped tremendously. Seriously. The number one key is keep the arch elevated at all times. *at all times*. Every step you take barefooted, is stretching that ligament and it keeps the tear in it re-tearing, every time so it can't heal. When you use something to keep the arch from flattening with every step, you're allowing it to heal finally. Also, as has been mentioned...stretches. Foot and calf stretches are key. I now constantly stretch by simply rotating my foot around is various ways any time I'm sitting or laying around...but most especially before standing up first thing in the morning! You can easily google various gentle stretches to do for it. Once the doc showed me on the skeletal foot model how every step was stretching it out and keeping it torn..it all made sense to me why keeping that arch up is so key!

The number one thing that helped me was Birkenstocks. I got the arizona style so I could easily just slip them on and off all day and easily for middle of the night trips to the restroom. Yes, I wore them for every single step day and night for several months until I was sure I was all healed. (Again, I suffered for many months so it took some time!) Also for my regular shoes the doc had me get these insoles.

http://www.superfeet.com/en-us/insol...delux-mens-3-4

Now, doing those things, the pain went away drastically almost immediately. But I used those 2 things on my feet for months to give it plenty of time to heal over. I no longer use the shoe insoles, but I still wear my Birkenstocks 9 months of the year to go everywhere. Love them!

After I went through all of that...a while later I started pushing some workouts again and managed to get PF in my other foot. So not really wanting to wear sandals 24/7 again...I searched around and found something just as good...and way less annoying! (i'm a diehard barefoot gal. My birks are my go to sandal, shoes only when I must! hehe)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQY1COLmeHM

I picked up a pair of these at CVS. I'm not sure if they're still sold there as it's been a couple of years...but I highly recommend them! I'll never ever get rid of them! Wearing them 24/7 stopped the pain again immediately and I only suffered that round for like 2 or so weeks. I would start with these puppies and see how they work for you. Otherwise Birkenstocks were my miracle. I hope all this helps. Remember that no matter what you use, the key is to keep the arch elevated every single step until it's healed! I know how absolutely dreadful that pain is and I never want to suffer it again for sure!

[Cleda]

seem to work well also.

Once I was diagnosed with PF, I could NEVER EVER EVER go barefoot again. And the fear of it flaring up again has kept me in shoes, slippers, etc. ( i was the barefoot gal for all my life so this was a huge change for me.)

While just sitting, Tracing the alphabet with your foot works well (to stretch it). (I think this tip came from Clare many, many years ago!)

I have orthotics to help. I did go to a podiatrist as well to make sure I was treating everything properly. Replacing sneakers/shoes when they are worn out (even though they don't look it) is key for me. I am overweight and have to replace them every few months. I just wear them down. Podiatrist told me didn't matter if I used a $10 shoe or a $1000 shoe, I would wear them down and need to replace them within 2 months or so.

Good luck!
Cleda

[raeven]

I took forever to write up my last reply and some others chimed in as well! Yes, rolling the arch on a tennis ball and golf balls and frozen water bottles all help with the pain. I did all those things for months before finally going to the doc. They help with the pain temporarily. But if you actually have a tear in it, it still has to heal up. Support is key for that. But yes, rolling on the ball especially was a nice relief for a bit. Stretching properly all the time is to hopefully prevent it from re-injury or ever happening! Good luck and hope it heals up soon!