PF Help: Keep running? Cortisone shot?

Make sure to hit your heel area with hot water when showering after your run. If the shower head detaches, give the area a good blast.

Also, add some sitting on your haunches to your stretching. Hold for 30-60 and build up. You should be on your toes here, and getting a good stretch through your Achilles/lower calf area.

This has been working for me along with loads of lower leg rolling/stretching.

yes , I got the shot , it helped . I took off a week-10 days , and it went away .

As said above, there is no one size fits all treatment for PF.

What worked for me was loosening up and stretching the feet before getting out of bed (even for middle of the night visits to bathroom), loads of tennis ball rolling (had one in the bedroom, one in front of the sofa and one under the desk)

One thing that really made a difference was wearing flatter shoes with no arch support and going barefoot as often as possible. This did make other parts of my feet ache until they adapted and got stronger.

I got something from the back of Runner's World, something that would keep the fascia up in the plantar area. I put it on and walked around the house, and the pain lessened with every step until it was completely gone after ten seconds. After two minutes I went for a run, also pain free.

Amazon sells something similar, NatraCure plantar fasciitis wraps, for $5. Or you can tape the arch up.

I had PF pretty bad about 4 years ago. Pretty bad in the sense that I had to walk using crutches in the morning until it loosened up. What eventually worked for me was dry needling. It won't hinder the healing process and in my case, I was able to run after only three sessions.

It's similar to acupuncture. A very thin needle is pushed into the injury location and then pulled in and out about a half inch while rotating the needle so it punches a new hole in a slightly different location. This is repeated 2-3 times in different locations.

It breaks up scar tissue and makes a hole where blood can flow into the area to flush out damaged scar tissue. My doc said it usually took five sessions. In my case, it was only three. After the first I was 20% better; the 2nd, 50% better; and the 3rd, 80% better. I also switched to running in Hokas when I returned to running. I haven't had PF since.

I've come to the conclusion that nothing is going to help. For every treatment there is an opposite treatment. Don't walk barefoot. Walk barefoot. Arch support. No arch support. Wear Hokas. Wear flats. Get a cortisone shot. Don't get a cortisone shot.

txRUNNERgirl wrote:

I've come to the conclusion that nothing is going to help. For every treatment there is an opposite treatment. Don't walk barefoot. Walk barefoot. Arch support. No arch support. Wear Hokas. Wear flats. Get a cortisone shot. Don't get a cortisone shot.

That's the ticket. You just have to learn yourself . I am kind of against orthotics but today they could have helped. I tore a few fibers the foot I am rehabbing during a mini-tri, about 3 k into the 5k run Had other concerns with the orthotics but probably should have accepted those. It's hard to know. Just try to make progress because doing nothing doesn't work. or maybe it does I am not sure.

txRUNNERgirl wrote:

I've come to the conclusion that nothing is going to help. For every treatment there is an opposite treatment. Don't walk barefoot. Walk barefoot. Arch support. No arch support. Wear Hokas. Wear flats. Get a cortisone shot. Don't get a cortisone shot.

Something will help, but not everyone responds the same to the various treatments, and not everyone has the same root cause. Try to find a good running/endurance PT or chiropractor, try some soft tissue treatments (ART, ASTYM, Graston) or Shockwave treatment. The amount of advice out there can be overwhelming, but eventually you'll find something that works. Hope you get some relief and back to running soon.

Supportive slip-ons can be great for hitting the floor getting out of bed. After feet are warmed up and muscles are stretched, running barefoot or in firm supportive shoes (as long as they have lots of room for toes to spread) should be fine. I think usually the root cause of pf is the arch collapsing mid stance, which could be due to lack of mobility for calf/ankle, or big toe not being spread to where it can keep the foot strong. So... maybe the advice is not really contradictory. Did you try the athlean-x vid? What have you been doing?

txRUNNERgirl wrote:

I've come to the conclusion that nothing is going to help. For every treatment there is an opposite treatment. Don't walk barefoot. Walk barefoot. Arch support. No arch support. Wear Hokas. Wear flats. Get a cortisone shot. Don't get a cortisone shot.

Don't wear Hoka's , you'll look like a clown. better to be a non-clown and limp.

yes lots of great advice here. Hot water, lots of calf and hip stretches, rub foot. Do some running barefoot/vff on flat softer surface like track or artificial turf, to focus on form and how you use your feet. I love these threads, they always remind me of something I should be doing.

donairs wrote:

Supportive slip-ons can be great for hitting the floor getting out of bed. After feet are warmed up and muscles are stretched, running barefoot or in firm supportive shoes (as long as they have lots of room for toes to spread) should be fine. I think usually the root cause of pf is the arch collapsing mid stance, which could be due to lack of mobility for calf/ankle, or big toe not being spread to where it can keep the foot strong. So... maybe the advice is not really contradictory. Did you try the athlean-x vid? What have you been doing?

I wear OOFOs sandals around the house and also bought a pair of their close-toed shoes I wear pretty often outside. Otherwise I'm in running shoes with insoles. Here's a list of a few things I've tried:

Time off

Ice

Heat

Taping

PT

Stretching

Massage

Ibuprofen

Naproxen

DMSO

Volterol

Insoles

Heel pads

Heel protectors

Plantar fasciitis boot

Plantar fasciitis splint

Plantar fasciitis sock

What PT did you do and to what measures? Maybe it takes nearly unthinkable amounts of strengthening exercises?

You should consider some soft-tissue treatment, like ASTYM or Graston. Doesn't look like you're tried that yet. Shockwave/EPAT is another option, although that can be expensive since it's usually not covered by insurance.

Not to add to the information overload, but here are a few things from my notes...

https://www.podiumrunner.com/how-runners-can-improve-foot-strength_134271

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNRxNnWh3KE

also you might try this gizmo, although you could get by with some Therabands instead.

https://www.amazon.com/Elgin-Archxerciser-Foot-Exerciser-Original/dp/B000FOPCWM