For those who have had plantar fasciitis

PB Junkie

Barefooters
Oct 31, 2011
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Idaho
I've been battling a bad case of PF for about 5 or 6 months. I'm going to physical therapy, rolling my foot and calves and using a frozen water bottle. It is better, but still healing. I think part of the problem is being a 51 year old female whose hormones are affecting my fascia, tendons and ligaments.

My physical therapist said it seems like my arches have fallen a bit and of course, said I need supportive shoes, blah blah blah.

My question: have any of you gone through this and what was the final outcome? Were you able to continue with minimalist shoes or barefoot?
 
I suffered a bad case about 2.5 years ago. Has your PT tried the electrical pads and or Graston? I think these treatments helped mine, plus I tried many other things. I did go back to footwear and even some soft arch supports during the healing phase.

No episodes since being healed. Running has been going great. Not barefoot running much, but I am sure I would be fine if I wanted to.
 
I posted this back in 2010 to another member. Not to be lazy...my mind slips sometimes in my old age. ;) This was before my final MN surgeries in 2012. I was still in transition period, which I don't recommend to anyone, as it's best to just ditch the shoes completely and start over, fresh, but hey, you all can live through my poor choices and experiences, right?




I've developed a case of Plantar Fasciitis (PF) too from walking on my heels trying to avoid putting weight on the balls of my feet where the cyrosurgery [for Morton's Neuroma] was performed. I did this for the first three months after the surgery and still do it a little, since my problem with Morton's Neuroma (MN) (directly caused by wearing and running in shoes) was not resolved by the surgery; if anything, it's worse than before the surgery. Sucks, I know!

But anywho, I've dealt with PF before, and YES, you can have PF in that exact area just like the doc said. In fact, the first time I had PF (developed while running in a pair of ASICS Kayanos), I was dealing with it, doing all the usual treatments, when one morning, I awoke with the worst pain I have ever had in my feet in my life, exactly where you described, and it radiated up and down, just like you described. Apparently, I had slept with my foot in the wrong direction and tore the PF even more or cramped it up. It hurt like Hell! I'll never forget it.

I recommend if you have PF and sleep on your stomach, then try to sleep on your side or your back. When you have PF and sleep on your stomach, you are allowing the plantar fascia to recoil, opposite from the position you want your foot to be in while sleeping with PF. You want your foot to be in a flexed state (not pointed) throughout sleep and as much as possible during all times.

The second time I developed PF, I got it again from putting on a pair of Kayanos. I was going to pick up my race packet for a half marathon I was running the next day. It was raining, and I didn't want to get my VFFs wet, since I was going to run the half in them, so like an idiot, I put them on instead. I took two steps, and the PF reignited in my right foot. Hurt like Hell, but somehow, I managed to run the half the next day.

Now mind you, your foot will feel much better if you can walk around in soft, spongy shoes, but it will take you twice as long to get over PF if you baby it that way, so I don't recommend it...but I am NOT a doctor.

This is what I did to get rid of it:
  • I got a night splint to keep my foot in a flexed state while I slept. (A little difficult to do now with two afflicted feet.) If you can't get one, be sure to gently but seriously flex your feet several times as soon as you wake up before you even take that first step. Any exercise that points your toes to your knee/shin will work. PF is known for "the first step in the morning pain." The reason is, the fascia recoils while at rest when the foot is in the pointed direction, and when you take that first step, you are forcing the fascia to stretch rapidly without warm up which in essence redamages the fascia even more.
  • I got a Step Stretch (below) [get at Walgreens or other pharmacies or order online] and used it religiously throughout the day starting with as soon as I woke up, before my run (once I had rested enough and was able to start running again), and before I went to bed. It comes with good exercises to follow in order to do it best. They even have a double one for those of us too lazy to spend the time doing each foot separately [if you have two feet affected].
  • I used a frozen water bottle and rolled it under my foot while I was sitting at my desk and table.
  • I took anti-inflammatories for the maximum allowed dose for the maximum allowed duration.
The first time I had PF, I followed these treatment, but I also relied on the cushyness and "comfort" of shoes and ran in them as well (not understanding that they were the cluprit to both my MN and PF)--it took two whole months to get over the PF. The second time I had PF, I cut the shoes out altogether and got over the PF in just one month.

This info took hours and hours of experience, research, and experiment, so I know it's good advice. I realize you probably know all this already, but just in case, I wanted others who might be suffering the same to know as well.

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Thanks Rick White and TJ. It gives me hope. Still not running, but it is healing. I roll my foot before getting out of bed and then use the heating pad. I was able to do these exercises this morning, where previously it was too painful. I just couldn't imagine having to go to regular shoes.

 
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PBJ - sorry I can't offer much advice as I went through PF (I think it was anyhow) but it seemed to go away in a couple weeks with stretching and taking it easy. It was in spring of 2011 and what led me to find out about barefoot running which I later started that summer/fall. Since going barefoot I have not had it again though I have had lots of issues with tight calves/Achilles/arch cramping.

I recommend if you have PF and sleep on your stomach, then try to sleep on your side or your back. When you have PF and sleep on your stomach, you are allowing the plantar fascia to recoil, opposite from the position you want your foot to be in while sleeping with PF. You want your foot to be in a flexed state (not pointed) throughout sleep and as much as possible during all times.

You know I was wondering about that recently. Not in regards to PF but my chronically tight calves. I usually sleep on my stomach and my feet point down, which like wearing high heels, allows the calves to retract and shorten. I've tried sleeping on my back from time to time but I can rarely make it happen. I've never seen a night splint but I wonder if something like that would help prevent my calves from being so tight in the morning.
 
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I had it for around a year. I went to one of those crazy holistic doctors and got this treatment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prolotherapy , it felt better after two treatments and was completely gone after 3 (treatments are spaced apart 2-3 weeks). I also kept running during the whole thing. Since then I have not had any issues with my foot or my Achilles tendonitis.
It is a horribly sensitive area and was very painful, but it worked and was reasonably inexpensive. It might even be worth trying out dry kneedling or acupuncture as the mechanism is about the same I believe.
I have other theories about cures for this, ITBS and other over use injuries but I'll keep them to myself.
 
PBJ - sorry I can't offer much advice as I went through PF (I think it was anyhow) but it seemed to go away in a couple weeks with stretching and taking it easy. It was in spring of 2011 and what led me to find out about barefoot running which I later started that summer/fall. Since going barefoot I have not had it again though I have had lots of issues with tight calves/Achilles/arch cramping.

You know I was wondering about that recently. Not in regards to PF but my chronically tight calves. I usually sleep on my stomach and my feet point down, which like wearing high heels, allows the calves to retract and shorten. I've tried sleeping on my back from time to time but I can rarely make it happen. I've never seen a night splint but I wonder if something like that would help prevent my calves from being so tight in the morning.

Definitely, I would say the same applies to tight calves...which can lead to PF as well, so be careful.

If you can't sleep on your back then try your side. Use a long body pillow to help force yourself into that position. It sucks, I know because I had grown so used to sleeping on my stomach for my entire life, but if I can do it, you can too. It will take some time to get used to, and sometimes you will still find yourself aching to roll onto your tummy, but you just have to force yourself back onto your side.
 
You know I was wondering about that recently. Not in regards to PF but my chronically tight calves. I usually sleep on my stomach and my feet point down, which like wearing high heels, allows the calves to retract and shorten. I've tried sleeping on my back from time to time but I can rarely make it happen. I've never seen a night splint but I wonder if something like that would help prevent my calves from being so tight in the morning.

I do think a night splint would help you. It helped me a ton -- I'm back out there putting on barefoot miles as a result!