Plantar flaciitis

Biking = lower back tightness, lowerback tightness = hamstring tightness, hamstring tightness=calf tightness, calf tightness = achilles tightness, achilless tightness = plantar tightness. Something down that long line of muscles and tendons had to give. OR you changed your shoes either way -- keep up the yoga "downward dog" pose, and every stretch you know down that long line. It also helps to add ice, and keep it up for eternity. If you are me, you ignore the plantar and end up with a heel spur. Take it slow and easy. STRETCH, ICE, STRETCH, ICE.

Do you have orthotics in your bike shoe? If not you might want to invest in some and give that a try. I went to a podiatrist once who said that we may be able to get away without them when running but when it comes to cycling the majority of people out there need them and don't realize it.

I have been dealing with PF for over a year and it has been extremely frustrating!!! The doc's say it is overuse, CRAP. In 2005 I trained and ran 2 half marathons with no problems. I started cycling late in 2005 and did my first tri in Oct 2005. I have only done sprint tri's so my running is very limited and not over 6 miles at any one time. I have tried night splints stretching, ice, tennis ball, rest, custom shoe inserts, over the counter inserts, new running shoes, new work boots and physical therapy all to no avail. The comment above about tight back, hamstrings, calves all leading to the PF is interesting b/c my hamstrings get very tight after cycling. I do stretch my hamstrings and calves regularly so I am not sure what else I can do. Sorry to vent, but I too am looking for someone to help me with this frustrating problem.

I have PF and ITBS and what has helped for me is three things
1.the trigger point footballer/block for PF and the quadballer for my ITBS. It was recommend by a physical theripst that i was sent to for my ITBS.
2 Stretch, Stretch alot and stretch often.
3. Strength training. My pt said mine problem were from tight muscles and muscle imbalances.
Its working for me and thats what i know.

I've had it twice and battled it off a couple of time. When I'm dealing with PF, I tape my foot to give extra arch support. The last time, I started stretching my calves a lot. I haven't had a problem. However, I haven't trained as hard either.

I, too, have suffered from plantar fasciitis for the past couple of months for the first time in my life (isn't getting old fun?). I am not a runner, merely a cyclist and swimmer. My case of PF can be mostly be attributed to tension in the calf muscle(s) from cycling I believe.

What has been helping me quite a bit, though I'm not 100% yet, is very deep stretching of my calf muscles. In particular, the one stretch that seems to work much better than any other is, with shoes on (much better than with shoes off for this stretch), keeping the toes and ball of your foot on a stair step, and allowing the heel to drop down below the step while that leg holds your body weight. Alternate legs repeatedly and hold the stretch about 15-30 seconds per leg. Repeat this several times over the course of the day, and do it every day, especially after you ride. I'd say I'm about 80-90% improved from where I was a couple months ago, and I'm riding three times a week again. This is pretty much all I have been doing to treat it. The other stretching and PF treatments that I found didn't really seem to adequately address the root source of the problem, but this particular stretch provided almost immediate relief.

Give this stretch a try, and I hope you'll find it might give you some relief, too. Your situation may be a little different, though, since you run, it may be that your running irritates the condition even though it developed from cycling... Typically, I have read, this is a condition which afflicts runners. Keep trying different things, you'll eventually get through it. Everyone's body is a little different... Good luck.

PS, one other thing I started doing was to click out of the pedals on alternating sides when stopping for traffic lights, etc. My PF only affected my left leg, and I was always clicking out and stepping with the right leg. I thought it might be that the right leg was getting a little relief during rides, so I figured it couldn't hurt to try alternating.