Beginnings of plantar fasciitis?

[Henevere]

Hi, all. My arches have been bothering me, and I'm hoping someone here will have some insight as to what's going on and what I can do about it. My arches have started to get really uncomfortable if I stand up for a while. It's not really pain, but sort of an ache and a strong yearning for pressure on the arch, like a roller or a strong massage. A couple of times in the past week I have had a strange sensation when I took a step like I stepped on something small and hard (like a Lego or something), but nothing was there. Today when I got up from sitting at my desk for a while my heel hurt when I put pressure on it, and later when I got up again my arch hurt to the extent that it made me limp for a few steps before it got normal again. I'm very concerned that this could be the beginnings of plantar fasciitis, and I'm hoping to nip it in the bud.

My feet are generally strong -- I haven't worn shoes in the house for years, and I have been wearing Vibrams or flexible ballet flats since about May. When it was warmer I was running barefoot; since it's been colder I've been running in Vibrams only once or twice a week, and hiking in Vibrams once every couple of weeks. (I can only run about a mile at a time; I can hike for hours.) Since we've been experiencing cold and rainy weather in the last month, I have been wearing Sketchers sneakers, dress shoes with a more substantial sole, and mid-heeled boots. Perhaps the change to more traditional footwear is causing the problem?

One more thing -- every time I run or hike, my soleus muscles end up sore for days. I stretch after I exercise, and continue stretching periodically until the ache subsides. I have no idea if this is connected to the arch thing.

If anyone has any insight or advice as to what could be going on with my arches and what I can do to try to keep it from getting worse, I would appreciate it very much. Thank you!

 

[Barefoot TJ]

It definitely sounds like

It definitely sounds like PF. You need to stretch your calves constantly, ice, and sleep with a night splint. Having tight calves can cause injuries to the Achilles and the Plantar Fascia, since that tissue is connective.


I think going back to traditional footwear is what caused this problem for you. I think it allowed your arch and calf muscles to weaken leaving you at risk. Traditional footwear with raised heels work some parts of the calf, while wearing nothing or truly minimal footwear works other parts of the calves. With barefoot running or walking, it will take time to develop those parts of your calf muscles that have been underused.


Stretching your calves is most critical to your recovery, but if you can work in more barefoot/minimalist running, you will also develop your arch muscles. Right now, your plantar fascia is bearing the weight and the impact forces, and it wasn't designed to do that.


Try this: http://www.footsmart.com/P-Step-Stretch-10094.aspx. It's the Step Stretch and you can get it at www.FootSmart.com. It really works great. If you have this problem in both feet, they also have one for both feet, so you can work your calf muscles in both legs at the same time. Also get a night splint/s and wear them at night. If you don't keep your foot in a flexed position while you sleep, you risk retearing the fascia with the first step you take after you have been idle for awhile. That's what is called "the first step of the morning pain," which you described above.


And again, I borrowed this from my last post to Zap and Cassie, since I think it will help you too, and I am too lazy to retype all it.


You should take some serious anti-inflammatories. After I had those problems with my tendons in my wrists, arms, and feet, my doctor prescribed some really powerful anti-inflammatories called Voltaren. It also comes in a topical gel that you can rub onto the skin for instant relief, since the pills take a couple of days to take effect. I also took an all-natural anti-inflammatory at the same time called Inflamarest, you can get from your local Herb Shop. This combination really helped me get through the worst of it. Please consider seeing your doctor for a prescription and get to your local Herb Shop.

 

[Humboldt-explorer]

You could use this product at

You could use this product at night when you sleep if you wanted.......

http://www.thesock.com/

You could try this therapy if you have a therapist in your area......

http://www.astym.com/

 

[SaraLord]

Hello Henevere,I'm sorry

Hello Henevere,

I'm sorry about your trouble. I've been barefoot/huaraches depending on weather since about April 2010 with most of the summer off because I didn't know what a foam roaller coulddo for me (runner's knee for 10 years kept me from running). Now the knee works fine but I pay extra special attention to my feet and calves.

I'm no expert but think perhaps your recent shoe wearing is compounding your aches. Muscles that haven't worked for years are now being asked (at least temporarily) to go back to their old unloved ways when you put on shoes. They aren't exacly pretty but you may wish to look at www.softstarshoes.com. I call them elf shoes and wear them everywhere which is as close as you can get to being shoeless and shod in public. This is the company that makes runamocs.

Stretching: What is your stretching regimen? There is a lot written about not doing any static stretches anymore but the jury is still out for me. A foam roller might really help with your calf; there are some great websites with instructions. Also, consider getting a golf ball or short length of 1/2 inch PVC pipe. I spend about 10 minutes several times a day rolling across the bottom of my feet with each of them (at separate times of course). Done slowly, especially after a run, they can really stretch out your PF. I concentrate on my heal, arch and ball. Another great PF stretch to try: sit cross legged with ankle on top of opposite knee. Grab toes/end of foot and pull toes slowly and firmly toward that leg's knee. hold for 30-60 secs. Repeat several times, both legs.

Someone at runner's world shared that running BF and in VFF's led to a pulled calf muscle, thinking that it wasn't serious.

http://www.runnersworld.com/community/forums/runner-communities/barefoot-running/barefoot-running-cause-of-soleus-strain

I'd advise taking running very slowly until you know that you've ironed some of these aches out.

In my experience, it takes much longer than any of us want to admit getting conditioned for BFR.

Hang in there.

 

[Henevere]

Thanks so much for the

Thanks so much for the responses. I really appreciate it.

After a few days of only wearing VFFs and super-flexible, thin-soled flats, my feet feel better. Not perfect, but definitely better. I do think it's the traditional shoes that are getting to me. I realized that the irritation began after a few days in the heeled boots doing stuff that required me to be on my feet a lot. I need to find some good alternate work shoes (especially since my favorite soft ones are really starting to show some wear). So far I have had very little luck finding something that would look appropriate with a suit, but I'll keep looking.

I have been taking your advice and stretching my calves and feet. I think I will hold off on the night splints since I'm not having too much pain at the moment. Hopefully it will stay that way.

Thanks again for the advice!

 

[Humboldt-explorer]

Dress shoes ?  Here is the

Dress shoes ? Here is the only min shoe option for this style shoe. Contact company for more details......

http://www.flexiblefootwear.com/integrit.html