Plantar Fasciitis Treatment

[joereed]

Hi folks,

I've heard a few people in the group mention that they have had plantar fasciitis in the past, and I've heard a few different options for treating it. I'm curious as to what worked for you in treatment of yours? I've had some flare-ups in the last few weeks.

One thing I will be doing is wearing the Strassburg Sock. Any other suggestions?

Joe

[Jilligan]

Hi Joe,

I developed a nasty case. I went to the traditional route for almost a year (rest, therapy, orthodics, etc). I can honestly say NOTHING WORKED except for acupuncture with electrical stimulation. I did that and it was GONE in three weeks. I still stretch and wear orthotics, but haven't had a flare up since.

Ruimin Liu 385-7585

good luck,
Jill

[Dr. J]

Joe:

Having treated and been treated for plantar fasciitis, it is difficult to pinpoint a specific treatment that works for everyone.

I try to hit it with a full court press before it gets bad. That includes:
1. Eccentric Exercises for the calf muscles
2. Strassbourg sock
3. negative heel shoes -Earth Brand makes some, but they are generally pretty ugly
4. check and make sure the your work shoes, whatever they may be, have soles & heels that aren't worn unevenly
5. deep tissue work in the calf and intrinsic muscles of the feet
6. avoid fast running and running beyond the point you muscles are fatigued (if intrinsic or calf muscles are fatigued and stop working when you are running-increased pressure is placed upon the plantar fascia/joint capsules of the foot. Easy, light jogging until symptoms are gone
7. Make sure your cleats on your bike shoes are tight and new. Having participated in a few Epic Camp training weeks (training camp with 4-7 hours cycling/day for 7-10 days), I've seen both plantar fasciitis and achilles tendonitis flare up and be treated with cleat changes. Contrary to what many people suggest, I have found that for plantar fasciitis and achilles tendonitis, increased float in your cleat and pedal system exacerbates this problem. Knee issues seem to respond favorably to the increased float, but if you don't have knee issues, I recommend switching to a system with less float (in the look pedal system, this corresponds to going to a grey or black cleat instead of the red cleat.)
8. roll a tennis ball under your foot (many people like to put them in the freezer before using)
9. Stretching exercises for the plantar fascia and calf 1st thing in the morning and last thing you do before bed.

If that doesn't work, then extra-corporeal shock wave therapy can be prescribed.

I know that is lengthy, but that is the full court press of things I try. If this isn't successful, I always rule out other causes of heel pain.

Best of luck,
Jeff

[joereed]

Thanks much! Great info. I've worn the Strassbourg sock the last few nights and that is definitely helping, but I think I need to incorporate a few of these others. #6 on the list will be my last resort!!! :D

Thanks to both of you for your replies.

Joe

[AntonioGonzalez]

Yo Joe,

I've dealt with PF for over a year now and just recently was able to get it to go away. Things that really made a difference- deep self massage with a small foam roller over the soleus of the calf. Painful but effective. This next one is a bit odd- I sleep on my stomach at night, and my feet are effectively pointed back when I sleep. I started sleeping with my feet off the end of the bed so my feet weren't continually 'extended'. That alone made the morning discomfort almost disappear. Hope this helps.

[jmain]

I was listening to NRP's 'doctor Zorba Pastor on Your Health' program and one of the callers had planar fasciitis. Zorba recomended always wearing shoes/sandles, anti-infamitaries, and wrappnig the feet. There is a link for how to do this on the web site (scroll down): http://www.wpr.org/Zorba/resources.htm Don't know if this is agressive enough though with athletic induced PF...