plantar fasciatis suggestions?

Nothing worked for me until I got orthotics. After getting them, it cleared up within a few weeks (I had it for 3-4 months). My insurance didn't cover them, it was around $350 (this included the podiatrist visit, etc).

Another coach and I had this discussion about 15 years ago. We came to the conclusion that it was an injury that you never heard of 5 years prior. We decided that training shoes were the only real difference and that they are now much more pliable and softer. We each (college teams) had a few athletes suffering at the time. We experimented by placing thin peg-board (holes in it) under the insoles of each shoe from the back of the shoe to the ball of the foot. It should not be under the ball of the foot and should be tapered to avoid irritation. This stiffened the shoe and we had 100% success. Try to find the stiffest, boxiest, straight-lasted shoes you can find. Maybe old Brooks Chariots? If desperate, try the peg board, but remember this is an old school remedy, I am no doctor or podiatrist. Good Luck!

I switched over to cushion shoes (NB991) since I was getting up ther in mpw. I started getting PF in my left foot which went away when I changed into different shoes. It seemed like as the cushioning broke down in the ball of my foot, the shoe was putting pressure on my plantar fascia. Just my opinion. I got rid of the cushion shoes and went back to lightweight trainers (NB830) and haven't had a problem since.

Funny thing about this is that my orthotics are the real hard, plastic type. I'm probably just doing what you suggested, only paying $350 instead of $3.50.

I DO have a world of problems with biomechanics and a leg-length issue, so there may be more to it.

Nice idea though!

interesting. perhaps i'm guilty of wishful thinking, but i'd rather give this a stab before resorting to more costly remedies. thanks.

This'll sound strange, if not unbelieveable, to almost everyone, but it might help (it helped me).

Years ago while racing 800s, I injured myself and everything pointed to the injury being plantar fascitis. I tried all the usual stuff and couldn't shake it but continued to run. One of my coworkers saw me limping around one day and asked what the problem was. She asked if I took multivitamins, and I said yes. She then said that she'd read somewhere (she couldn't remember where) that a buildup of something (she couldn't remember what) that's common in multivitamins sometimes presents itself as plantar fascitis. I figured I had nothing to lose and gave up my multivitamin. Within a week ALL my pain was gone and the only time it ever returned was when I tried taking a multivitamin for three days approximately a year later (so I haven't taken any since).

I've looked for articles about this but I've never had any luck, and no one I've ever talked to has heard about it. If anyone on this forum has heard about it, please let me know. I'd love to know what the hell I'm talking about.

Anyway - mcpuddlemaker - if you've tried everything else and you're currently taking a multi, give it a shot. And best of luck. I hope it clears up for you.

G

Having had a reasonably mild case of plantar fasciitis recently, the most useful advice I was given if you want to keep running whilst trating it is to use a tennis ball to massage the sore area.

Basically, whenever you're at sitting down, either at work, or at home, put a tennis ball under the front of your heel, and just roll it around over the sore area. You can put a reasonable amount of pressure on the soft tissue of the heel when your doing this, but ease off a little when you roll it under the tissue under your arch.

I managed to get rid of my plantar fasciitis with the help of the "Strassburg Sock". It is a sock-like device that you wear at night to keep the fascia from tightening up while sleeping. Someone lent me a splint to try at night but I just couldn't wear it. The strassburg sock uses the same principle but it is much more comfortable.

I had severe PF and managed to get rid of it while still running by getting my foot taped before running, wearing shoes with support at all times, and using the strassburg sock at night. You can find it by doing a search on the 'net'.

Good luck!

Birkenstock sandals? See link.

great! i tried a damn splint last track season, but it was impossible to wear because i sleep on my stomach. i'll check that out for sure.

I don't know how anyone can sleep good with one of those splints. The Strassburg Sock is easy

to wear and it eliminates those first painful morning steps. I had really good results with it and so

have a couple of other people that I recommended it to. The main thing is keeping that fascia

supported at all times. I used to run with my foot taped and keep the tape on the entire day until

I put the strassburg sock on at night. I even showered with the tape on. My PF was really bad and

it finally just went away.

In the temporary-relief theme, there should still be up on the Running Times website on how to tape your PF-plagued foot -- with photos diagramming what to do. It's under the "articles" subheads I think -- worth drilling down in the site to find it.

The taping methiond worked wonders for me, and it was showed to me by the article's author, Dr. Brian Fullem, DPM, who is also an occasional letsrun.com visitor and whose medical expertise I will never get tired of plugging b/c he helped me kick my PF.

best of luck