Plantar fasciitis

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 GDes 24 Aug 2019

Anyone got any advice on treating this? I'm actually asking on behalf of my wife, who seems to be struggling with it getting back into running post baby. Any must do exercises? Or is it just a case of rest?

Any advice much appreciated

 wbo2 24 Aug 2019
In reply to GDes:Start with stretching the calf regularly,  not wearing knackered shoes , or shoes with inadequate cushioning and hope it's not a bone spur

 Pedro50 24 Aug 2019
In reply to GDes:

Several good threads on this if you do a search, including one started by me in 2016. 

In my case one visit to a physio who showed me good exercises and a visit to a podiatrist who made me some custom insoles. I didn't get on with a strassburg sock.

I was able to walk the John Muir Trail 5 weeks later with only modest painkillers for the first 5 days. So don't despair. 

2
 goose299 24 Aug 2019
In reply to GDes:

Roll the foot over a golf ball. 

It knackers but helps

 andyd1970 24 Aug 2019
In reply to GDes:

I got plantar fasciitis last November and I’ve still got it but not as bad.

I had it chronic and found the best fix for me was sports massages and I’ve now got custom made insoles off the NHS after seeing a podiatrist.

Calf exercises and plantar exercise using a towel but if she goes to see a good physiotherapist she’ll be pointed in the right direction

The insoles were the game changer for me 

 Jack 24 Aug 2019
In reply to GDes:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Trigger-Point-Therapy-Workbook-Self-Treatment/dp/1...

This book has a lot of advice on treating all sorts of stuff. The chapter on feet deals with plantar fasciitis. It's worked for me, but can be painful in a good way. Best 15 or 20 quid (or whatever I paid for it 10 years ago) I've spent.

 Still use it regularly and it keeps me running.

 kaiser 24 Aug 2019
In reply to andyd1970:

> I got plantar fasciitis last November and I’ve still got it but not as bad.

> I had it chronic and found the best fix for me was sports massages and I’ve now got custom made insoles off the NHS after seeing a podiatrist.

> Calf exercises and plantar exercise using a towel but if she goes to see a good physiotherapist she’ll be pointed in the right direction

> The insoles were the game changer for me 

I'm very much the same...  Had it since October, but the recent fitting of custom insoles via the NHS after a gait assessment has very rapidly cleared it up.

If you're using your feet a lot (like hikers and runners do) then you've got to get to the underlying issue or the problem will continue / return.  Often (I'm told) it's a mild pronation that needs to be corrected.

 vscott 24 Aug 2019
In reply to GDes:

Depending how bad rest can be needed - I made mistake of using golf ball (as above) too much and worsened it for a while. Less brutal than golf ball is a food can or tennis ball - straight from the freezer good. Otherwise - tight calves seem to me the most common cause, so massage and stretching. Strasbourg sock did help ( worth trying if feel like it ‘goes’ first thing in the morning), and insoles - either custom or try a few designs - in both running and daily shoes. Good luck.. it’s an utter pain but does get better/ manageable. 

 andyd1970 25 Aug 2019
In reply to kaiser:

Nightmare isn’t it but yes your right 

 MG 26 Aug 2019
In reply to GDes:

Anecdotal but I found 1 ibuprofen a day solved symptoms and condition rapidly. 

 StuPoo2 26 Aug 2019
In reply to GDes:

I run a bit.  I had this (what I think anyway) bad a few years ago - I was limping at work. 

Physio told me my problem was probably over use + small injury that had then gone a bit chronic due to failure to allow it to heal.  Physio explained that my biggest problem was that the Platar Fasciitis is used to walk i.e. if its all inflamed/sore then just walking around can be enough to stop it healing and make it go chronic. 

Physio explained that, in my case, stopping using it completely (crutches) would allow it to heal but still working wasn't going to work.  (10,000 steps a day - 5,000 steps per foot? Could be right... ?)  I had been stopped running for ~3 weeks by the time I went to see the Physio and felt it was actually getting worse.

Physio gave me this and it was fixed quickly:  https://www.rdash.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Plantar-fascitis-taping...  You'll find YouTube videos for the same thing.  Kind of a pain to do it yourself first time round ... but get the hang over it afterwards.

Physio's explanation was that this basically relieved the Plantar Fasciitis from being in use while walking. If you aren't using it - it will heal.  Does feel a little odd under your socks.  

I honestly felt better the minute I taped it up (I guess maybe the Physio knew what they were talking about when they said this would take the Platar Fasciitis out of action ).  I was running lightly maybe 3 weeks later again.  Need to work back into distance pretty slowly - build it up +1-2 km at a time.  Minute you feel a twinge - back off, tape it up, rest it, start over.  I could definitely "feel" it when I started to come back to running - it wasn't gone away for a while.

If I feel a twinge now I tape it up for a day or two proactively and I've never had it come back.

It's the same tape as you use on our fingers for climbing.  Don't buy the over priced colored stuff for climbing .  Search Amazon for "zinc oxide tape" and you can buy giant roles there.  Get the widest stuff you can get - will mean less time/effort to get your foot strapped up.  

May be irrelevant - I have big feet (12) and low/flatish arches.  Those with similar feet are apparently prone to this type of injury according to the Physio.

Cheers

Post edited at 13:35
Removed User 26 Aug 2019
In reply to GDes:

I have had this a couple of times over the years and i have bought normal foam insoles from Boots or Aldi and cut a hole in them just under the heel.  Works a treat for not a lot

 two_tapirs 26 Aug 2019
In reply to GDes:

> Anyone got any advice on treating this? I'm actually asking on behalf of my wife, who seems to be struggling with it getting back into running post baby. Any must do exercises? Or is it just a case of rest?

> Any advice much appreciated

If you can afford it, try a Podiatrist.  I suffered for ages with PF, then saw the podiatrist who made me custom fit inner soles.  I started to feel positive results after a few days, now I wear them, all the time (about a year on) and the PF is kept at bay.  I have found that if I don't use the inner soles for a week or so, the PF can return, although that's possibly due to me being lazy and not stretching...


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