Coping with PF

It's better than nothing.

It's just air, no big deal.

I think running easy through it is fine just as long as it is getting better. If your running is keeping it from getting better, you just have to stop running for a little while.

For me, taping worked wonders. I kept my foot taped pretty much 24/7, not just when running. That made the biggest difference for me. I have been over it for almost a year now, but I still wear tape (just when I run, though). When I don't wear tape I can just barely feel PF starting to come back.

can you explain how you were taping you foot?

thanks

I know this may not be a popular answer, but let's look at this logically. One or two miles a day will, more than likely, be enough to keep the already inflamed area from healing. At the same time, however, it will not be enough to really maintain any sort of fitness. It seems like a lose/lose to me. I think you'd be better off just sucking it up and resting for a little while. There are a lot of people on this board who will tell you to run through PF. Ironically, there are also a lot of people who claim to have suffered from it for years.

There were several things that helped me, but the main factor was religiously wearing a night splint for a very, very long time. Yes, it sucks majorly. But I noticed an improvement right away. I had much less pain and cramping in the morning because my foot was being held in the correct position for healing to occur by the splint. I wore a hard night splint for months, probably close to a year. Then I switched to a soft night splint that attaches at the ankle -- I don't recommend the strassburg sock which attaches at the knee. Anyhow, besides the splint, the other factors that helped were:

1. ONLY wear shoes with arch support, or put arch supports into shoes you already have. The worst thing you can wear is a flip flop with no support. If you want the PF to heal, you need to support it in the position most conducive to healing.

2. NEVER walk around barefoot, including in your house. Again, walking around barefoot will strain the injured area.

3. Re-evaluate your running shoes. I used to wear relatively harder trainers prior to the PF. I had to change to cushioned trainers, which made me feel a lot better.

4. You will very likely need to put some kind of arch supportive insert in your running shoes instead of just the factory insert. I recommend Sof Sole Stable Trac if you have flatter feet. They are ridiculously light. If you have higher arches, then you definitely need some kind of support -- try Sof Sole Adapt moldable inserts. Also very light.

I dealt with pf for over a year, couldn't get it to go away. I did everything in the book. Stretching, icing, physical therapy, the boot while sleeping, taping my feet, iburprofen, getting lots of rest...screw it all.

I got the strassburg sock and it got rid of my PF in 2 days. Now I just do normal stretching, use the stick on my calves on a non regular basis, and wear the sock when I sleep every night.

http://www.thesock.com/

http://www.thestick.com/

I found that the boot did very little. I prefer the sock because it stretches more of your calf and soleus, and still stretches the plantar fascia better than the boot ever will.