Tips for Plantar Fascia??

[rmkrause]

Originally Posted by Lulubelle

Orthotics, good supportive shoes, a strasborg sock (can get at some athletic stores...Athlete's Foot is where I got mine) to wear at night, a strap/belt that you can use to do a good stretch before you get out of bed.

I bought a Strasborg sock myself since I didn't like the idea of wearing the big bulky night splint booty. After a few weeks, I found the sock to be worthless. Soon after I started to see a podiatrist and she also said she found the Strasborg sock not effective among the patients she had seen use it. She said the mechanism is not the same since the sock mostly just pulls your toes up. Yes, this gives a stretch but is different from a hard platform that causes a state of dorsiflexion. What she said was more or less what I had concluded during the few weeks of use - it felt like it predominately pulled on your toes. I got a bulky splint booty shortly aftwards and while yes, annoying for a while to wear in bed due to the bulk, I found it a lot better.

[rmkrause]

Originally Posted by Cheddarchick

I feel your pain...If I don't do stretches before I step out of bed I come crashing down with the pain. If I do them, it is only a dull ache...My question is if God had made us bare footed, why do we get plantar fasciaitis forcing us into hard soled inserts??? Weren't we built to be bare footed???

Sure, but how many of us in America spend most of our time walking barefoot on natural surfaces?

[rmkrause]

Originally Posted by Tekdivr

I've worn hard soled orthotics for approx 20 years and they are a God send. Without them, I can barely stand up in the mornings. Highly recommend them and takes no time at all for them to take affect. Initial invest is approx $300 but well worth it. I've tried the boot, but not a fan.

Personally I prefer my SOLE Signature Dean Karnazes Custom Footbeds to the custom ones my podiatrist made - cost wasn't such a huge factor for me personally since after insurance they were about the same cost but I found the support of the SOLES to be superior to my customs. My wife has also come to the same conclusion.

They cost about $40 online and the big thing about them is they are heat moldable - you stick them in the oven and then put them in your shoes and wear them for a few minutes and they conform to your feet. The concept works very well.

[rmkrause]

Other things to try are:

Drawing the alphabet in the air with your toes

Epsom salts - for a period of time afterwards I'd feel 100%. Then the pain would come back but at least it'd give me a short break

Physical Therapy - Stuff like Graston technique which is a metal bar that is rubbed on the feet. Had this done once, it hurts. ART (Active Release Technique) works for some people too

EPAT - Radial Shock Wave Therapy: a non-invasive technique that is best described as being like having a small precise jackhammer striking the bottom of your feet to cause micro-trauma to cause your body to heal itself. Yes, it hurts, but less than the Graston IMHO and the pain goes away almost immediately after the machine stops, and it's only a couple of minutes per foot.

ESWT - Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy: Same thing they use to break up kidney stones how I understand it. This does require a local anesthesia and could be seen as being a step up from EPAT

[Cheddarchick]

Brutal....sounds simply brutal....we should all live barefoot on the beach....

[theduckguru]

Have some good shoes with good support.

If your feet are flat, consider getting some orthodics.

Stretch alot.

[Aquatrax]

Originally Posted by theduckguru

Have some good shoes with good support.

If your feet are flat, consider getting some orthodics.

Stretch alot.

My wife had it and this is exactly how she got over the pain, still wears the inserts

[EODiver]

I had similar problems, and tried the stretching and everything. What worked best for me was a frozen water bottle rolled under my foot and wearing crocs when not at work.

At work I had to change boots for something different (Merrells). A combination of both fixed the problem for me.

[Lulubelle]

Good solid suggestions here. One thing I didn't see mentioned was modifying your activities. Plantar fasciitis is an overuse injury. So while you are trying these suggestions to make it better, it is important to avoid the activity that got you there to begin with. Doesn't mean you don't exercise, it just means you have to modify what you do.

I had a terrible case of it when I was running a lot. Part of getting better was running very little and getting on the bike and in the pool.

I had another bout of it after an extended medical leave. I jumped back into daily intense weight bearing exercise too soon and my foot freaked out. Back on the bike and back into the pool. I have a recumbent bike at home now because it is the one thing that I can do no matter how bad my foot is.

PF is tricky. It feels better and better as the day goes on. So you think, "I think I will go for a run." Then the next morning you get up and it is worse. Overuse.

Also, commit to ugly practical shoes until you are all better. That part really hurt my feelings, I am a shoe horse. But I have all sorts of granola shoes to kick around in on my casual time to keep my feet happy.

Good luck.

L

[mrm777]

Good tips here.... I was diagnosed with PF too. I got a pair of off the shelf orthodics for my high arches with foam heel lifts that go under them from my doctor, doing stretches about twice a day, trashed the flip flops for crocs, and wear only enclosed shoes and good ASICS now. Ibuprofen helped at first but don't like to take stuff so stopped that after a while and concentrated on other solutions such as just staying off the foot until it was better. Gained 3 lbs but back to walking and climbing hills for exercise now. Also doing the stretches after warming up a bit. Much better, and have learned not to chance it or push it.

(How does the frozen bottle exercise work??? sitting, standing, reps???)