Question About Planter Fasciitis

The only thing that helped me was acupuncture. I'd try that before you think about surgery. The needles don't hurt, either, just a slight pinch. The heat of whatever substance they light traveling down the needles actually felt good.

Strassberg Sock. I had it so bad that I was hopping on one foot for a week and was out of running for 7 weeks. This, along with the golf ball, ice, NSAIDS, and cross training on an elliptical/stationary bike saved my sanity.

I've heard cortisone shots work for some guys but others tell me there are downsides to this; that it masks the pain and there is a chance it could get worse. Surgery can also work but again, always risks of going under the knife. Don't know any one first hand whose had it. I've been battling PF myself for 5 months. I'm actually starting to believe running more is better.

I was fine after 30km on sunday. Took a day off and it was worse on tuesday. SHould have just run on Monday. I think it tightens up.

I do find the strausberg sock helps.

I don't mean to be insulting, but have you worked to address the root cause of the problem? I ask this just because you only mention the post-injury treatments you've tried.

I used to have frequent problems with plantar fasciitis (although not as serious as yours), and I eventually found that the "cure" was as simple as getting more arch support. I didn't need to try prescription or over-the-counter orthodics; simply buying a shoe with decent arch support and then using an arch cushion insert did the trick.

I had the surgery and it saved my running career. I had planter pretty bad. I was a steeple chaser in college and after a red shirted indoor season where it was beginning to flare up, it went from tollerable to horrible and ended up ending my season early.

I couldn't walk straight for days and even after 2 shots, pt, and all the other causes (including different shoes, orthodics, and what not) i had no choice left but to go under the knife. I didn't run for about 3 months after the surgery, but once i started, and the scar tissue broke down, I haven't had pain since.

The poster above mine is right, address the root cause, usually arch related and things might begin to look up for you.

are you serious? You let the problem get to the point where you lost your scholarship and all you tried was ice and golf ball rolling? 1) get cortisone shots 2) AND MOST IMPORTANTLY--get to a sports podiatrist with a background of success treating p.f. Have soft, custom shaped orthotics made for you. It will take time but you can beat it and get back to where you were before p.f. reared its ugly head. I lost 2 years to p.f. in college too, but didn't give up and beat it with the above plan. all other stuff is a waste of time and you've lost too much time already.

My advice.....compression compression compression.

That's if the pain is in the arch of the foot.

Purchase an ankle brace, Futuro or something similar at the local Wallmart, drug store. They come in s,m,l, so get the appropriate size. Most important, wear it outside your sock, otherwise it will irritate the achilles.

This accomplishes what taping does but as we find out,

one cannot tape day in day out & retain ones' skin.

Slip it on 1st thing in the morning & wear it at work,

all day, everyday, until there is no pain when pressing on the arch. Next, move to wearing it when running.

After a few months, try some easy running without.

Speed workouts or racing, wear it for 1-2 years.

When you finally, hopefully, shed it, any hint of pain in the arch, put it on. I've found the arch has to be compressed to give it a chance to heal.

are you out of your frickin mind?

Address the causes, not the symptoms. Strengthen your feet and lower legs. Walk on carpet or grass barefooted, working the foot to different extremes(toe in, toe out, inside of foot, outside of foot, on heels with forefoot off ground, up on toes). Work up to 2x25m each. Then add some barefoot jogging on grass.

There was only one thing that helped my PF: 2 yrs of no running at all. If I went even for a short jog it was back as bad as ever. Once it was not bad enough to mess with walking expedition mountaneering also helped a bit. Best of luck.

I trained and raced through PF last fall. Which was stupid and stubborn. The PF was even more stubborn! I rested most of January, and it was gone my late March, after coming back VERY slowly. Then, in late July, I developed it in the other foot! I started resting sooner, this time. I rested for 8-9 days, and came back slowly again, and I'm now training at 100%, even though it feels tender after a hard workout, and in the morning, too.

Here's what I did that helped get over it:

Pay close attention to staying well hydrated.

The Strassburg sock. I don't wear it every night anymore, just after a hard workout.

The TP Massage Ball system. The website shows exactly how it works. It's genius.

The "foot stretch" You can't do enough of this, as far as I'm concerned. Sit on the edge of your bed or a chair and cross the effected ankle/foot over the other knee, like you would normally cross your legs. Bend your toes back on the effected foot as far as you can and hold for 10 seconds. Do this three times. Do this fist thing in the morning, and do also this as many times during the day as you can. This was a HUGE help!

I also started seriously doing CORE work. That's pretty key, too, I think.

Those five things--with rest when it was bad--is what "cured" my PF. It's very important to do these things ESPECIALLY when/if you are in a rest period!

You HAVE to attack this injury VERY aggressively. Don't give up!

Its not insulting at all. The problem with mine is I'm starting to wonder if its PF at all, or if it's something else. The podiatrist I saw works at one of the top sports clinics in the South East and he told me it was PF, so I guess I had a good reason to believe him.

Also, it's not so much that it has been continuous for two years. I've run in periods during that time. This summer I ran for a month straight doing really low miles(20-30 mpw) all on grass and dirt, then one morning I woke up, took two steps on my run, and it was back. I have arch support for my shoes and have been doing barefoot strides on grass twice a week since I was in a freshman in high school (I graduated in 04). I'm really at my wits end about this, so any and all advice is helpful. If anybody has anything else to contribute please do so. Thanks.

for the last time, I'm going to tell you what works.

I went through everything and even more kooky stuff listed in this thread so far. Some stuff works temporarily, some doesn't. PF can come and go on its own for no rhythm or reason. What finally worked, for good, was this.

1)cortisone shots (will buy you time and clear up the inflamation, which otherwise will hang around for months)

2)custom-made orthotics, (soft)-from a podiatrist who has a success in treating pf.

I can't state it any simpler to you.

quit asking for more kooky things people have tried and get serious or forget it. Taping arches, wearing special socks, doing core work, running barefoot, etc, etc, is just not going to get it done.

If all other forms of conservative treatment have failed such as splints at night, stretching, icing etc. then surgery could be the way to go BUT go to someone that has a good reputation at it. It is easily one of the top complaints for podiatrists so many will say they are experts in it but go to someone that has proven results.

If you are willing to have possible out of pocket expense....extracorporal shockwave therapy (sp?) is the new thing. Problem is, most people in the US don't do a high enough frequency for it to work so US studies have been inconclusive on the subject but there are a couple studies from other countries showing great results. Theory behind it is that it pretty much creates a bunch of microtears in your plantar fascia and this causes bleeding as well as break up scar tissue, with healing it heals 'normally' and you're pain free, most insurance companies won't reimburse though because, as I said, no good US EBM studies. Also, I gave the very dumbed down version of the technique, I know.

Anyways, surgery is almost always insurance friendly in most states as long as you have at least 2 years of non invasive measures documented but it can be a very chronic problem, so if you want to be up and about then surgery looks like your option. Wherever you go, ask the success rates, heal rates etc. so you can way the costs of it as most doctors should go over it but many don't go over the exact numbers.

coachkritter wrote:

Strengthen your feet ... Then add some barefoot jogging on grass.

This worked for me. I used arch supports, etc. to let it heal, then started toward minimalist shoes, and finally barefoot. My feet (arches) are much stronger and I have not had a bit of problem for ~3 years.

one more time... wrote:

for the last time, I'm going to tell you what works.

I went through everything and even more kooky stuff listed in this thread so far. Some stuff works temporarily, some doesn't. PF can come and go on its own for no rhythm or reason. What finally worked, for good, was this.

1)cortisone shots (will buy you time and clear up the inflamation, which otherwise will hang around for months)

2)custom-made orthotics, (soft)-from a podiatrist who has a success in treating pf.

I can't state it any simpler to you.

quit asking for more kooky things people have tried and get serious or forget it. Taping arches, wearing special socks, doing core work, running barefoot, etc, etc, is just not going to get it done.

Both of those solutions are basically just pain relief and do not address the root of the problem. Claiming that CORE work, for example, is a "kooky" way of addressing it ignores the root causes of PF. PF is an indication that things are haywire elsewhere. I.e., the soleus, your lower back, etc. But hey, be my guest and go shoot yourself up with all the cortisone you like, and just see where that gets you.

AND STRETCH YOUR CALVES TOO. That fascia is all connected up the back of your legs. It's that tightness, along with weakness that causes it in the first place.

SONOREX. Ask yout podiatrist if he does it. It's non invasive and breaks up all the scar tissue.

ART. find someone in your area

agreed. I did actually have planter release surgery awhile ago, but may not have, had I found acupuncture sooner. It has saved me.