Plantar fasciitis and Vibram Five Fingers

Could make ya better or a lot, lot worse.

Try barefoot running on GRASS... ie a nice soccer field. Dont barefoot run on the roads....

Gall wrote:

Try barefoot running on GRASS... ie a nice soccer field. Dont barefoot run on the roads....

Do not do that if you have pf (I've tried it!) it's too late by that stage.

Make sure you keep you arch support iis in while you are driving. Avoid wearing dress style shoes. You need to support your arch while it gets better. Ideally get some hiking (ie proper walking) shoes rather than running shoes for walking around normally

Different things work for different people but I found a deep tissue massage by a physio + doing heel drops on stairs helps - this gives a far better stretch than just stetching your foot and also stretches your calves which can be part of the problem

Keep your feet straight and I would use the bannisters for support. There is a better video somewhere but couldn't find

I'm doing calf stretches, eight times a day. Sometimes heel drops and sometimes the type where I have one knee bent and leaning forward while the other leg is extended out behind me. I work in a corporate environment so It's kind of hard for me to not wear dress shoes. I've got one of those huge old Brookstone massagers, the type with the two knobs on the end... I sometimes use it on my heel.

Did you beat your PF or are you still feeling it?

You may want to consider Graston technique. It's helped my Achilles issues improve. My chiro says she uses it to help runners with PF.

You do know switching minimal shoes you will run slower, because you calves not used to the impact and you using slightly different leg muscles. My advise and best guess your pf is caused by over high back heeled cushioning shoes. Optimal would be get slightly lower cushioning at the back. About half, your pf and knee problems will dissapear. Minimal shoes risk is you get between the toes sinew pain. Everything has a price.

Whaaat? wrote:

So I'm dealing with a stubborn case of PF. Stopped running for two months thinking it would go away and it didn't. Just a low level ache that never went away. Read on the web that shoes such as Vibram FF are good for strengthening the individual foot muscles to combat the problem. Just wondering if anyone has experience with this.

Oh yeah, I have seen a podiatrist and he gave me some green Superfeet insoles, foam support pads to stick on my arch (not that I have one, I'm horribly flat-footed) and stretches. I started running again and it feels just like before.

HI, I suffered from the very same problem. I thought that arch support would help but the more arch support I had the worse it got. I even tried little extra arch supports that used to come with Nikes. I started running in Nike frees but they still would bother my arch. Eventually I transitioned into xc flats and I've been PF free ever since. What that guy said about being a little slower at first is kinda true. For me, my calves killed for about two weeks. In about a month my calves were totally ripped and I ended up running way faster than I had ever run before. The biggest factor in that was probably that I was able to train injury free finally but I was no longer heel striking and was running more efficiently. I've been in flats for four years now and have not had a running related injury since I started in flats. I have run lots of 100 mile weeks almost exclusively on the roads with no problem. I did however completely change my form when I started wearing flats. For the first month or two every step was a conscious effort and I literally thought about my form for the whole run. That subsided eventually and my stride became natural. It was a pain in the ass but well worth it. BTW I saw a podiatrist who was nice and encouraged me to run in flats or any other shoes without arch support. He was no genius doctor, he was just open to trying anything. Good luck.

Here is my patented process for getting rid of PF in just a few days. Do this right before bed:

1. Take the dull side of a butter knife, kitchen knife, etc, (or any hard, straight edge) and pull across the bottom of your foot, with pressure. Pull the long way, toes toward heel. You're breaking up scar tissue.

2. Use your thumb, or some other device, to knead the underside of your foot. DIG IN! Get down into where it hurts, and really put a lot of pressure on the area.

3. By now, the tissue in this area is probably somewhat puffy and sore. That's ok -- massage it hard with ice. Really rub the ice into it. Use the ice to knead and break up more scar tissue.

4. Set your foot on a bag of ice for 10 minutes or so to cool things down.

5. Sleep in a boot so your foot stays extended.

Do this for 3-4 days and your PF should disappear. Good luck.

Graston is excellent for PF. Also i have my patients get the Strassburg sock. A lot of running stores carry them. Prolonged calf stretches are vital. Running your foot over a frozen golfball for a few minutes a day can also be helpful.

most people end up getting PF from vibrams. id stay away from them.

'Did you beat your PF or are you still feeling it?'

After 3 years finally started clearing up!

I think if I'd done all those things to start with it would have been faster. However was not competing and if you have the time most things go with rest. This didn't work though but putting on weight does not help either! I noticed certain things like using the clutch on car without supported shoes was really making it worse

You could try the stradberg sock thing at night but if you stretch it propery before getting up that does the same thing

You absolutely have to get out of dress shoes as that will probably do it more harm than running. Over here they have makes like Clarks which are better support. Then stick your arch support in. If you get some sort of a proper shoe

I used these and found them better than gel type. I suppose you should go for proper measured orthotics but I think as long as your arch is supported it should do the trick

It was really frustrating as would go for a run not feel much then the next morning be hobbling around. Now if I go for a run its much better.

Just remembered something else it actually started picking up when I was on holiday and was swimming a lot and on my wife's suggestion did some walking and stomping around on all the small beach pebbles while in the water. Golf ball never worked but that definitely helped!

The human body doesn't work that way. While I have no doubt that you physically injured yourself somehow, the injury has long since healed.

It only takes days/weeks for an injury to heal, including breaking the femur bone (6-8 weeks).

The remaining pain is caused by lack of oxygen to the affected area. Your brain is causing the lack of oxygen, not an injury. I speak from experience (10+ years of "plantar fasciitis" in both feet that went away after reading a book, and practicing stress release for a few weeks).

You have TMS and the cause is emotional. Every human being experiences TMS at some point:

http://aaroniba.net/articles/tmp/how-i-cured-my-rsi-pain.html

Harvard Unviersity link

http://www.rsi.deas.harvard.edu/mb_what_is.html

Link to the book on TMS by DR. Sarno

http://www.amazon.com/Mindbody-Prescription-Healing-Body-Pain/dp/0446675156

The reason absurd crap like rolling a golf ball under your foot or walking on pebbles works is because you're actively fighting against what your brain is trying to do (oxygen depravation) by encouraging blood flow to the area. The solution is temporary at best for many people, but even if successful it does not address the cause (emotional). The pain will just move somewhere else, in time. Or you'll get different symphtoms like high blood pressure.

This is an excellent explanation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J-Nbhpi4IA

Yeah VFF made my PF alot worse. I don't recommend them.

ukathleticscoach wrote:

Gall wrote:

Try barefoot running on GRASS... ie a nice soccer field. Dont barefoot run on the roads....

Do not do that if you have pf (I've tried it!) it's too late by that stage.

^I agree with this 100%.^

Anyway this is what worked for me and my PF was really bad...

Rest - 10 Days in a row totally off (in my case)

Custom orthotics for running, Superfeet (blue) for everything else.

This book - Expensive for a small, 100 page paperback, but it was worth it to me. Especially the stretching.

Pro-Tec Night Splint - Can't walk with it, but I found the Strassburg sock too annoying to sleep with.

Beware of advice from posters who make absurd claims like knowing what the cause is and how to treat it in 6 easy weeks, without so much as even a glance at your feet.

Whaaat? wrote:

So I'm dealing with a stubborn case of PF. Stopped running for two months thinking it would go away and it didn't. Just a low level ache that never went away. Read on the web that shoes such as Vibram FF are good for strengthening the individual foot muscles to combat the problem. Just wondering if anyone has experience with this.

What shoes were you running in when you first started dealing with PF? If they were something very soft like the Pegasus or Vomero I would suggest trying something much firmer. I've had success beating PF from switching to a firm trainer. I'd personally recommend Adidas but I have also heard that Mizuno are pretty firm aswell.

Jim Lahey wrote:

Whaaat? wrote:

So I'm dealing with a stubborn case of PF. Stopped running for two months thinking it would go away and it didn't. Just a low level ache that never went away. Read on the web that shoes such as Vibram FF are good for strengthening the individual foot muscles to combat the problem. Just wondering if anyone has experience with this.

What shoes were you running in when you first started dealing with PF? If they were something very soft like the Pegasus or Vomero I would suggest trying something much firmer. I've had success beating PF from switching to a firm trainer. I'd personally recommend Adidas but I have also heard that Mizuno are pretty firm aswell.

This is the funny thing about lots of injuries, etc. I was running in a firm trainer and got pf. I need the most flexible shoes to avoid getting pf. I can ball my shoes up into a ball. If the shoe isn't flexible my pf flares up almost immediately.

Try WALKING barefoot on some trails every day.

20-30min or what ever (longer if it feels good) , does not have the risks of going straight into VFFs with an injury and will strengthen your foot even better.