Plantar Fucking Fasciitis!

[IrianofWay]

Having run for about a decade in my own bumbling unstructured way, I have had just about every tendon related problem there is .... but not this one. But now I have the full house!

Was running my 3rd 10k and was doing well - good pace, breathing well, started slow and then began to overtake people as I reached the 3k mark. And then my foot started to ache underneatn. Not too bad and I ignored it. 5k it was worse. Around 6 k I started to walk and at 9k I sobbed all over a marshall who drove me back

I thought it was broken at first as it felt a little bit like the time I broke a metatarsal but I went to the minor injuries clinic and got it checked out. Very releived that that wasn't the case.

So fed up. I had trained really hard and was beginning to increase my distances with an eye on a half in september.

Assuming I am very good and do all the stuff I am supposed to, can anyone advice how long it might take to start running again?

I struggled with it around Christmas time. I took around 5 weeks completely off. I also started wearing fit flops or decent trainers everywhere, even around the house, and from the moment I got up in the morning. I didn't run until there was no pain at all….it took a good 2-3 weeks to avoid pain when walking or first steps in the morning.

I tried a foot-brace thing but it did my head in to sleep with it on and didn't really seem to help much. Rolling a tennis ball under the foot felt like it did more good.

I lost lots of fitness (exacerbated by the fact that I was back to running for 2-3 weeks before a different injury hit, with another 3-4 weeks off), but was still fitter than if I'd not started, iyswim.

Can you cross-train? Swimming is ideal - use a pull buoy to avoid any leg stuff if necessary. Cycling may or may not work depending what aggravates it.

It is shit. I was so frustrated and so upset and cross every time I saw someone going for a run. I hope you get over it quickly. But please don't be tempted to run on it until it is feeling 100%…..I know someone who tried to keep running and caused years of problems.

Wear heels, that helps, (obviously not with running) or... Find a very good podiatrist, with the right professional equipment to print some insoles especially designed for your feet. I pay about £130 for a pair every two years, but they are worth e v e r y penny.

It took me about three years to get approaching normal after plantar fasciitis started. And several years later it's still a problem if I stand or walk too far. See your GP and ask for a chiropodist referral. Or go private if you can, to get inserts made. May be a while before you're running again unfortunately.

I got a pair of the fit flop lace up trainer type shoes and they were a godsend. Did more for me than anything else I tried, and it eventually cleared up after months and months of agony.

Thanks folks.

I googled and found a stretch that helps. I was able to walk to the bathroom without shooting through the ceiling. Am taking ibuprofen and trying to rest it as much as possible. I rolled one of the dog toys under my foot for a while last night but it hurt too much to do it for long.

I had some merrel sandals until recently but they broke and I decided they were too expensive to replace so was slopping around in some flat pumps and converse I will have a look at fitflops - looks as if I'll need to spend that money anyway...

I am not giving up all hopes of the HM in september..... or at least the 10k the same day ...but I am trying to be realistic.

" I was so frustrated and so upset and cross every time I saw someone going for a run. "

Yep. I was swearing at all the runners we passed on the way home

I had it and my sister recommended a physio that worked at the local sports centre.

He uses the 'Braston' or 'Graston' Technique. Google it. It involved massaging the affected area of my foot with a metal implement. You will go to the top of your pain thresh hold, but it works.

No drugs are used.

YY to the advice to always wearing shoes, even around the house.
Converse, ballet flats and the (natural?) desire to walk barefoot around the house did for me a couple of years ago.
Now, I wear Birkenstocks Madrids in the house - with socks in winter . I take them off at the side of the bed each night, and put them on as soon as I get up next morning.
I made sure I changed all my footwear so it has at least a 1 inch heel, so I have nothing that is completely flat, and now have very little trouble with PF.
Good luck with it!

It's a bugger. My physio recommended filing an empty pop bottle with water, freezing it, and then rolling it under your foot. Seemed to help but it took ages to mend and still flares up if I have the audacity to walk barefoot for a bit.

It goes against nature, not being able to walk barefoot!

I got it a couple of years ago, also during a run, from a wrinkled sock believe it or not . It took me about 6 months to realise what it actually was, by that time the initial pain of the injury itself had worn off and it was more like a constant dull ache.

I got some gel heel cups from Amazon and wore them in everything. Yy to wearing shoes all the time in the house (I had ballet flat crocs with the gel heel) I massaged the area by rubbing my thumbs really hard over the sore bit until I felt a 'give' then stretched by putting a scarf round my toes and pulling on it to really flex my foot.

After about 3 months of this regime I was completely better. I don't run any more though (I took up kettlebells instead while I was recovering and stuck with it) so don't really know how long it'd take to run again.

Try regular massage. At one point I could barely walk but massage really helped the attack plus keeps further ones at bay if I do it regularly.
No equipment, just use your hands. Firm.

I had 3 weeks off also over Christmas with it. Horrid injury. The first week I could barely walk, had to walk on my toes with a bad limp. Sleeping was agony.

It slowly improved and I was able to get back to running. I did find massaging the bottom of my foot with a small ball helped a lot, kept the balls in the freezer. Also stretching on the stairs, dropping your heel down with your toes on the step.

I've not had any problems running since. I run up to 40 miles a week and no problems. I think it was caused by running on an uneven footpath which was being resurfaced. The ground was an odd surface.

I do still get heel pain sometimes when walking, oddly. Sort of a pressure under both heels even though it was only one foot that got the plantar pain. I've always been a fan of comfortable footwear but I've become even more evangelical now about supportive shoes.

The bottom of my foot is much much better - only time it hurts really is first thing in the morning. Problem is I know have a really horrible pain across the top of my foot in front of my ankle. I am wondering if I have caused it be walking differently because of the plantar or whether it was actually there before but I didn't notice because they other pain was so bad.