Plantar Fasciitis (Page 2)

PF is the worst thing ive experienced. Had it for about 2 years. I did the ice, stretching, boot, and way too many NSAIDs. I did not find them to do that much. I felt like I was not making progress with this routine and I would end right back to where I started a couple days later. I got the Cortizone injection and it worked great for about 3 months and then the PF came back worse than before. I spent $400 on orthotics that only seemed to press in my heel right where the pain was located. The one thing that worked for me was Ultrasound Therapy. This actually worked to heal the injured area. Tendons and ligaments get very little blood flow. This is why it takes so long to heal. Blood carries the healing mechnisms to repair injuries in the body. My understanding is Ultrasound Therapy works by bringing the healing mechnisms to the injured site creating a faster more efficient healing. Every other thing just seem to help to reduce the discomfort by decreasing inflamation and not actively heal it.

You also may have had a severe form of PF, or physiologically been prone to it.  You're right about blood flow.  Stretching, the boot, icing etc all promote increased blood flow.  Physical therapists will apply ultrasound (they did for me in my initial problem), and though I never purchased a unit myself, they are available for purchase.

The ultrasound did not work for me.  And I will never get another cortisone injection.  Ever!  I have heard good things about PRP.  I think that is what it is called.  Basically blood is drawn, spun through centrifuge and reinjected into the foot.  The whole purpose is to introduce an irritant so that your body will send blood flow to the injured site and heal.  My stubborn case has not reacted to anything I have tried and I have spent boat loads of money trying to cure it.  This may be my next step.

jami

I tried this last night. It was awesome and terrifying and horrible and sublime all at once. It's definitely becoming part of my routine.

ART is great although I have never had it myself.

I would caution against trying everything suggested all at once because you won't know what works for you.

But some suggestions as well is there is a bedtime boot to wear to keep your foot from just going straight. I can't stand the boot so I tuck the sheet under my foot to keep my foot straight.

I do good mornings with 45 bench press bar. That really helped me along with stretching the calf muscle multiple times a day. The good mornings helped to strengthen my hamstrings while also stretching them out which helped the calf muscles relax more.  I admit lately I have not been doing these as much and my PF is flaring up again.

Using a ball to roll against didn't have an effect on me.

I taped for 4 months only when running and that helped for myself. 

I think you will be fine however if you follow one thing and don't just jump to trying something one day and expecting results, not getting them and then trying something else the next day.

Oh and the other thing for myself is that I can really only wear running shoes. Dress shoes, sandals, boots, etc all bring about the PF even when I am taking off time from running. Fortunately my work place allows me to wear running shoes .

Best of luck though with things. While you are waiting for it to heal, give yourself that extra time of not being able to run and dedicate it to the pool or do pool running to keep weight off the joints.

I actually just threw the golf ball in the freezer.  Killed two birds w/ one stone.

I developed PF two years ago, confirmed by my sports Dr. 

Long story short; PT exercises, frozen golf balls, ortho inserts...etc.  Pain was horrendous at times.  I'd say I was over it in about 4-5 months to the point where I could run again. 

Interestingly enough, when it started to get better, it got to the point where it actually hurt more to wear the ortho inserts.  Now I don't use them at all.

To this day, though, there are still times when my PF reminds me that its still there.  Not a big deal now though. 

I guess I was lucky as I've heard some pretty ugly stories.

The Strassburg Sock worked for me.  Seemed much easier than the boot thing.  Currently training for my first marathon.

Jackie
www.funafterfifty.com

This doctor friend of mine gave me a couple other good tips for dealing with foot/ankle tendon problems.

- Avoid stepping barefoot onto cold floors straight out of bed even if its just a couple steps.

- Ice bathe the heel or foot possibly up to above the ankle right after runs. It will help seal in the enzymes and acids that escape into the muscles and surrounding areas.

- Vary the height of the heels in shoes (insoles) or wear shoes of slightly different heel heights to help alter the angle of impact with respect to everyday walking around shoes.