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plantar faciitis
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 2015-09-10 11:05 AM |
 5 |  Subject: plantar faciitisHave developed this painful condition in my third year of Olympic distance racing, what have others found to be the most effective treatment and recovery methods to get back to running and racing? |
| 2015-09-10 11:32 AM in reply to: ride the line |
Master 1793     Essex Jct, VT | Subject: RE: plantar faciitis This injury can be tricky and caused by a few issues. Some are obvious others not so much. Some people have done very well stopping running completely and with treatment get right back at it. Some continue to run and manage the volume and intensity in such a way that they can heal and still maintain some fitness. A good place to start is to have someone who is familiar with running injuries/endurance sports take a look and find specifically what is causing the problem and then you can treat your injury. Good luck. |
| 2015-09-10 12:59 PM in reply to: rsmoylan |
Regular 866 Central Coast, CA | Subject: RE: plantar faciitis I second the notion of seeing a podiatrist for medical advice. I'm currently dealing with PF and keeping it at a manageable level while training for half-marathon and Olympic tri distances. Wearing supportive shoes and a night brace has helped, all at the advice of my podiatrist. To fully recover I will probably need to stop running for a couple of months, which I may end up doing at the start of next year. |
| 2015-09-10 1:43 PM in reply to: MOlsen |
| 82 | Subject: RE: plantar faciitis Not sure if everyone has the same trigger point, but I've had PF on and off in my left foot since college. Mine is almost always triggered by stiff calf muscles, so I focus on stretching those before, and sometimes during my runs if I'm doing a good distance. Usually mine will resolve within a few weeks. I also stretch the calf on the bike, by pedaling with my toes flexed upwards every so often. |
| 2015-09-10 1:56 PM in reply to: ride the line |
Pro 6011 Camp Hill, Pennsylvania | Subject: RE: plantar faciitis I've had a number of athletes and personal training clients who have had it at some point. The most common triggers are footwear without arch support (commonly seen in someone who rarely goes barefoot or wears sandals or flipflops, who goes on vacation to the beach for a week) and building running training load too quickly. In all cases, it's not something to mess with, and aggressive measures are usually best. At the first signs of it:
Don't try to run through it! I have an athlete who got it, and wasn't honest with me about the symptoms. She kept running through the pain, yet not noting it in her logs that there was any pain, and telling me in conversations that it was "just a little stiff". Finally, she admitted how bad it was, but it was too late. The inflammation was too bad, and we'd lost too much of the year. She's now a DNF for IMMD. IMO, PF is one of the worst conditions to get as a runner or triathlete, because it can heal slowly, and it's easy to fool yourself into thinking it's not a big deal. |
| 2015-09-10 2:06 PM in reply to: TriMyBest |
Pro 15655 | Subject: RE: plantar faciitis I had a bad case of it. I saw doctors, wore the boot while sleeping, rolled my foot constantly on a frozen can, and probably tried every remedy short of surgery........including acupuncture. My oldest daughter is a nutritionist/trainer, and another trainer at her club recommended I try a Feeture PF sleeve. I wore it 24 hours a day and in 2 weeks the pain was gone. Then I ran in it as I trained my way back for about 2 months (not the same sock, by then I owned 3 or 4 of them). It worked like nothing else I had tried and I give it credit for a complete cure. Here's a link to amazon so you can see what it is......you can go directly to their website as well, but that was the first link I looked at. http://www.amazon.com/Feetures-Plantar-Fasciitis-Sleeve-Sock/dp/B00CF3AQCW Disclaimer - I've recommended it to everyone I know with PF......everyone has not had the same results, but some were amazed at how well it worked. Just another idea you may find helpful. |
| 2015-09-10 2:22 PM in reply to: ride the line |
Master 2855 Kailua, Hawaii | Subject: RE: plantar faciitis Where is the pain exactly ? PF affected me, mainly in my heels. It got bad enough where it took me awhile to begin to walk every morning. It was very difficult to run without my feet feeling like they were ripping apart (at the heels). What fixed it ???....it was a long process but these helped a lot: 1. the BOOT wearing this during the night really helped a bunch. I had a hard time sleeping with it initially and got used to it. I don't have to wear it now, so it's just during the healing process. Fairly inexpensive off Amazon. 2. wearing a supportive insert in ALL my shoes (work, casual, and training) I found the very simple ProFoot PF inserts worked the best, and are very low cost. I have a few pairs to put into any shoe. These are half inserts, just the heel portion, but they don't slip and feel great. You can get them pretty much any where. For training, I use(d) the SuperFeet Blue insert. I still use that in my running shoes. 3. Foot & calf exercises. Exercises to gently stretch the Plantar. Bend back the toes, extend the foot from the balls of the feet. Stretch the calves. Stretching the heel with elevated forefoot and lean forward (such as on a stair or curb). As for anything else, it's just a guess whether it helped or not. The above 3 items are pretty much what I attribute the healing to. Stick with it because it takes a LONG time to fix. |
| 2015-09-10 3:17 PM in reply to: ride the line |
Lethbridge, Alberta Bronze member | Subject: RE: plantar faciitis I'm not a doc, this is just my personal experience. Realize that pf has different stages. When it's really inflamed and sore, the first and only priority is to get the inflammation down and to support the foot to prevent further injury. After it's feeling better, then it can be stretched and strengthened. How much stretching or work it takes to get the foot stronger without re-injuring it depends on how damaged and weak the plantar fascia is. Remember that the weakened fascia is very susceptible to being re-injured so it does need to be built up again or it'll keep coming back. Be very cautious adding work though because, at least for me, it would often feel fine while exercising but then get sore over the next few days. I believe that's because the inflammation from over use can take a while to set in before the foot gets sore again. There seems to be a fine balance between doing enough work to make progress and doing too much to cause a flare-up. Good Luck! |
| 2015-09-10 3:33 PM in reply to: Micawber |
Pro 6011 Camp Hill, Pennsylvania | Subject: RE: plantar faciitis Originally posted by Micawber I'm not a doc, this is just my personal experience. Realize that pf has different stages. When it's really inflamed and sore, the first and only priority is to get the inflammation down and to support the foot to prevent further injury. After it's feeling better, then it can be stretched and strengthened. How much stretching or work it takes to get the foot stronger without re-injuring it depends on how damaged and weak the plantar fascia is. Remember that the weakened fascia is very susceptible to being re-injured so it does need to be built up again or it'll keep coming back. Be very cautious adding work though because, at least for me, it would often feel fine while exercising but then get sore over the next few days. I believe that's because the inflammation from over use can take a while to set in before the foot gets sore again. There seems to be a fine balance between doing enough work to make progress and doing too much to cause a flare-up. Good Luck! This is good advice.
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| 2015-09-10 4:12 PM in reply to: rsmoylan |
| 5 | Subject: RE: plantar faciitis Yes, am going to see the Docs tomorrow to get a diagnosis although it seems to have all the classic signs of PF and then will go from there. I wear the boot as much as I can tolerate it and don't run at all but still bike and swim. I'm hearing patience is required and I'm lacking in that Dept. Appreciate the advice from everyone, bound and determined to get through it this winter and be ready to race in the spring. |
| 2015-09-10 4:16 PM in reply to: metafizx |
| 5 | Subject: RE: plantar faciitis I appreciate it, yes am doing all 3 and not seeing much progress to date, might be irritating it though with other activities. The slow road back I guess... Any experience with Shockwave therapy? One fellow athlete told me he thought it was what made the most difference for him. |
| 2015-09-10 7:23 PM in reply to: ride the line |
Veteran 740 The Woodlands, TX | Subject: RE: plantar faciitis Never dealt with PF myself, but my wife suffered through it for a while. After a few DR visits and no perceived improvement, she ended up going to an Airrosti Rehab Center. She said the "treatments" hurt like a son of a gun, but two treatments and some time on the squash ball and foam roller (and icing) had her back to normal in just a few weeks. |
| 2015-09-11 7:58 AM in reply to: ride the line |
Master 8247 Eugene, Oregon Bronze member | Subject: RE: plantar faciitis I suffered terribly from this in my late teens and early twenties and pretty much tried everything short of surgery with minimal results. Contrary to what others have said, taking time off running did not help noticeably, though cutting back or eliminating speed work and doing most of my running on soft surfaces provided some relief. What did finally work was a combination of stretching (working on calf flexibility) and deep-tissue massage. It only took three or four (excruciatingly painful--I actually threw up after one) treatments and it basically went away. I think the most effective treatment really depends on the cause, and that can sometimes be hard to work out. In recent years I have had some periodic flareups that don't seem connected with what I do or don't do with running. (I sometimes get them on trips when I'm not running at all.) My guess is it has more to do with footwear when not running. I'm on my feet much of the day at work, walk around a lot on vacations sometimes, and the kind of shoes one wears in the tropics usually don't have much support. Still not sure what the work solution is without violating our dress code (we can't wear athletic shoes, or non-dressy Tevas/sandals, for normal classroom teaching), but I try to wear supportive shoes as much as I can. Currently I have one pair of Tevas which are marginally dressy enough for work and have enough arch support, so I make it a point of wearing them if my feet have been feeling sore, or preventively after harder runs (they tend to get sore when I'm tired). In general, though, women's dress shoes, esp. sandals, just aren't foot-friendly. Would love it if anyone had recommendations for reasonably dressy women's sandals with good arch support. I can't buy them here but could order to pick up at winter break. Recently found the "sleeve" product that LB refers to and it seems quite effective; haven't tried it while running but might do so. Unlike the boot, it's perfectly comfortable to wear to bed and around the house, or even to work (albeit probably not in sandals), and packs well when traveling. |
| 2015-09-11 8:13 AM in reply to: Hot Runner |
Pro 15655 | Subject: RE: plantar faciitis Originally posted by Hot Runner I suffered terribly from this in my late teens and early twenties and pretty much tried everything short of surgery with minimal results. Contrary to what others have said, taking time off running did not help noticeably, though cutting back or eliminating speed work and doing most of my running on soft surfaces provided some relief. What did finally work was a combination of stretching (working on calf flexibility) and deep-tissue massage. It only took three or four (excruciatingly painful--I actually threw up after one) treatments and it basically went away. I think the most effective treatment really depends on the cause, and that can sometimes be hard to work out. In recent years I have had some periodic flareups that don't seem connected with what I do or don't do with running. (I sometimes get them on trips when I'm not running at all.) My guess is it has more to do with footwear when not running. I'm on my feet much of the day at work, walk around a lot on vacations sometimes, and the kind of shoes one wears in the tropics usually don't have much support. Still not sure what the work solution is without violating our dress code (we can't wear athletic shoes, or non-dressy Tevas/sandals, for normal classroom teaching), but I try to wear supportive shoes as much as I can. Currently I have one pair of Tevas which are marginally dressy enough for work and have enough arch support, so I make it a point of wearing them if my feet have been feeling sore, or preventively after harder runs (they tend to get sore when I'm tired). In general, though, women's dress shoes, esp. sandals, just aren't foot-friendly. Would love it if anyone had recommendations for reasonably dressy women's sandals with good arch support. I can't buy them here but could order to pick up at winter break. Recently found the "sleeve" product that LB refers to and it seems quite effective; haven't tried it while running but might do so. Unlike the boot, it's perfectly comfortable to wear to bed and around the house, or even to work (albeit probably not in sandals), and packs well when traveling. The only drawback I found while running with it is that as it gets a bit worn it tended to roll a bit under my arch......so I had to buy a new one a couple of times in the two months I wore it running. It could be just my running style, or foot plant while running, because I know others that did not have that issue. Other than that it was pure gold for me. |
| 2015-09-11 8:27 AM in reply to: Left Brain |
| 65 , Tennessee | Subject: RE: plantar faciitis I have had this twice. Thankfully if you catch it early and treat it it should not keep you down for long. Firstly, get a new pair of running shoes. PF pain is a warning sign for me that my shoes are worn out and need replacing. Secondly, stretch your calves! Tight calves can lead to PF. Trust me, it REALLY helps keep it at bay. Thirdly, roll your foot on a frozen water bottle at least 3x a day. It works wonders and I always keep one in the freezer just in case. |
| 2015-09-11 10:19 AM in reply to: ride the line |
| 261 | Subject: RE: plantar faciitis I've been dealing with it for the past 6 months or so and have kept it at a manageable level by doing the following, most of which have already been recommended: 1.) Switched to a more supportive shoe. Looking back at my logs I can trace the start of my problems to switching to the Hoka Stinson Lite... I loved the shoe and how my legs felt the next day after a run, but it was too unstable for an overpronator like myself. I switched to the Brooks Beast and hate the shoe (feels like running with concrete bricks for shoes), but my PF issues have diminished to a manageable level. 2.) Superfeet insert (green) in every shoe I wear... ALL DAY. 3.) Graston technique. A friend had some luck with this but I didn't want to pay for it (I'm cheap) so I did some searching on YouTube and noticed the tool the guy was using looked like a butter knife. I had my wife grab some from the kitchen and had her go to town... it was amazing how many bumps, knots, etc she could feel the first time she did it, but it's much better now. Initially she was doing it every night (calves too), but now she just does it once or twice and I seem to be fine. The technique is fairly straightforward... put some baby oil on your feet and then have someone go to town with the back end (not the serrated part of the knife... that might hurt). Just have them work it in, back and forth over the bumps. Start gently... it will be uncomfortable but it shouldn't hurt. Like others have said... I'm not a doctor, but the combination of those changes seems to have helped me significantly. |
| 2015-09-11 12:14 PM in reply to: Left Brain |
Master 2406 Bellevue, WA | Subject: RE: plantar faciitis Originally posted by Left Brain I had a bad case of it. I saw doctors, wore the boot while sleeping, rolled my foot constantly on a frozen can, and probably tried every remedy short of surgery........including acupuncture. My oldest daughter is a nutritionist/trainer, and another trainer at her club recommended I try a Feeture PF sleeve. I wore it 24 hours a day and in 2 weeks the pain was gone. Then I ran in it as I trained my way back for about 2 months (not the same sock, by then I owned 3 or 4 of them). It worked like nothing else I had tried and I give it credit for a complete cure. Here's a link to amazon so you can see what it is......you can go directly to their website as well, but that was the first link I looked at. http://www.amazon.com/Feetures-Plantar-Fasciitis-Sleeve-Sock/dp/B00CF3AQCW Disclaimer - I've recommended it to everyone I know with PF......everyone has not had the same results, but some were amazed at how well it worked. Just another idea you may find helpful. Thanks! Ordered this just now. I have a mild to moderate case that started only in the last 2-3 months. Probably because I've been wearing semi-supportive mostly-flat sandals nearly non-stop all summer and I usually wear more supportive shoes. I have a night boot that is making a big difference, but I don't want this to get to the level other people are describing. Not at all! |
| 2015-09-11 12:36 PM in reply to: brucemorgan |
Pro 15655 | Subject: RE: plantar faciitis Good luck with it! I wore it 24/7. Just wear it under your everyday socks during the day. |
| 2015-09-11 5:39 PM in reply to: 0 |
Sensei Sin City | Subject: RE: plantar faciitis I would defer to most of the posts above BUT from personal experience (and honestly, I'm not even sure it was PF)... I was getting out of bed in the morning and it basically hurt to walk - obviously putting weight on the heels SUCKED. Talked to my strength coach and he gave me some interesting advice that resonated with a LOT of overuse injuries I had/have. It's the tightness in the tendons and muscles "upstream and downstream" of the pain, - direct quote. Looking back over the year, my knee pain? Went away when I worked my ITB. I currently have a junky elbow (AKA tennis elbow) so I work on loosening my forearm muscles and the tendons above the elbow. Recently overdid some calf work and they got really tight, which started hurting me KNEE. So once I got my calf loose, knee pain went away. So back to my "PF"... Foam roll the calves and stretch them out. Also, I spent some time before going to bed just mashing out the tendon in the arch of the foot (from big toe to heel) Hurt like hell at first - similar to ITB work on the foam roller, but just keep at it. I even "graduated" to rolling it out with a Lacrosse ball. I just think triathletes just get really tight calves and feet from all the s/b/r and probably don't work it out as much as they should. Good luck. I think I caught mine early and it already started to suck. I can't imagine if it got REALLY bad.
Edited by Kido 2015-09-11 5:40 PM |
| 2015-10-14 8:26 AM in reply to: Kido |
| 5 | Subject: RE: plantar faciitis i appreciate the advice, and realize that a lack of sufficient stretching of the calf muscles has played a role for sure. This PF does not go away easy even when cutting out running and doing most of what is recommended. Part of the challenge is addressing the frustration and patience required as a result at the same time as doing everything possible for the physical aspect. Living and learning! All the best. |
| 2015-10-14 8:34 AM in reply to: brucemorgan |
| 5 | Subject: RE: plantar faciitis good stuff, ordered one and will see how it helps. Still trying to get a handle on this PF, not improvement after 3 months is frustrating! |
| 2015-10-14 8:46 AM in reply to: ride the line |
Veteran 486 Newcastle, England | Subject: RE: plantar faciitis Sleeping in a Strasbourg sock worked for me - along with tennis ball and frozen bottle of water |
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