Most of you have probably experienced plantar fasciitis in your years of running. I've had it before, but it is back with a vengeance! It started about 3 months ago and I went to the doctor. The only reason I decided to even get it checked out is that it only started hurting after I completed 55 miles of an ultra race (I DNF'd because I knew something was wrong with my foot). So, I went to see the doc just to rule out a possible stress fracture.For those who don't know me personally, I'm an active duty Marine. While this means "free medical", you get what you pay for! I had them take a look at my foot, pointed to where it hurt and explained how it felt. The doc's advice to me, "just run until it hurts too much"! (Yes, I could have come up with that diagnosis without any help.)
Me and a running buddy that I met during the ultra!
And being a fiend for information, I hopped online to look for the immediate cure to my problem. I started icing my foot, wearing the Strassburg sock, and rolling my foot on some small wooden balls. However, I absolutely did not stop running (nor do I plan to). All this being said, it's getting a little bit easier to tolerate, and it's mostly just my right foot.
So, anyone have some good recommendations for how to keep training while allowing my foot to get better?
1 comment:
Hi Jess,
Thanks for the follow on twitter. I can feel your pain. I fought PF for about 6 months one time. Nothing seemed to help, but there were some things I did toward the end that I think made a difference. In about a two week time span, I went from hardly able to run to completely healed.
The first thing I did was receive A.R.T. treatment from a sports physician. Once you learn how it's done, you can do it yourself. Check out YouTube. There are some videos that will teach you what to do. The theory is A.R.T. breaks down the inflexible scar tissue that rips when you get up in the morning. This allows the fascia to heal with the proper tissue instead of the scar tissue. I used what I learned from A.R.T. in conjunction with a roller designed for the foot (http://www.coreproducts.com/asp_catalog/catalog.asp?pca=527). It has these deep ridges on the side that dig into the fascia. I would point my toes, step on the roller, pull my toes back, and then roll my foot. It hurts in a good way. It also looks a bit like a sex tool so I would not show it to too many people :)
Second was wearing an oversized orthotic all day. My podiatrist put me through traditional treatment which didn't work, but one thing he did do was make me an orthotic for everyday wear. They are hard plastic, so I cannot run in them. However, because they were a bit bigger than my normal arch, they kept my fascia in a stretched position all day. I think that helped because the fascia did not constantly flex as I walked, and any healing during the day happened as it was stretched so there was not a lot of tearing the next morning when I took my first steps.
Hope you get over it, soon. PF is such a nagging injury.
@RunningJoeInJax
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Love the feedback and the motivation. Thanks!