Plantar Fasciitis

So I've got a pretty good case of Plantar Fasciitis.  Started a few days ago when I would get out of bed my left heel hurt like hell, but it went away in a few minutes.  No issues running or walking so I kind of shrugged it off, although I did roll it on a frozen water bottle a couple of times a day at my (much smarter) wifes' suggestion.  

Saturdays are my trail run day with the group and it hurt more than usual this morning, but still the run started fine.  About 6 miles in I started feeling it and by the time I finished the 10 miles it hurt a bit.  Drove home and barely hobbled into the house it hurt so bad.  Went on line and read up a bit and there is no doubt about it.  

Took some Ibuprofin, rolled the calf, been using the water bottle every hour or so but it hurts.

Reading up a bit and it sounds like people are able to run with it for the most part.  I'm curious to hear what any of you that have experienced Plantar say.  It feels like I should not run on it but I know it takes a while to go away.  I just don't want to make it worse.

Any of you experienced this and found you could or could not run thru it???

After lots of assorted PT about 4 years ago, I purchased an inexpensive 'Foot Log roller' from Roadrunner sports.  Something around the $20 price mark and then found a blog online (I'd have to look around to find it) about how this particular guy used it.  It has lugs on it as well as a smooth part and if you use it according to the directions included, you won't see much improvement.  This guy had me really digging into the fascia in both the heel (along the flat and the sides) as well as the middle portion of the foot, not the ball).  It was the best ever!  I still have it and use it occasionally. It fits easily into suit cases for travel.

Here's the link to the instructions:ronjones.org/Coach%26Train/BodyXerciseLibrary/.../PlantarFasciitis.htm...

I had a moderate case in early 2009 when I was a newbie.  I went to the PT and he treated it pretty aggressively.  No running for a couple weeks with therapy a couple times a week.  He had me stretching my calves at home, rolling on a frozen water bottle, doing that towel thing with my toes etc.  I was allowed to start back to running very slowly and was probably not back to full running for 6 weeks.  I also got different shoes with better arch support for both running and everyday.  Also no going barefoot at all...slippers with arches.  I also started wearing a boot to bed that kept my ankle bent while I slept.  I wore it faithfully for 10 months.  I didn't stop until after my marathon.

It was a long process and a lot of work but I haven't had any trouble since so I guess he fixed it and gave me the tools to keep it away.

Dot / Nancy,

Thanks. This is so weird. Saturday I was literally hobbling about. Every time I got out of the car it was so painful I couldn't believe it. Learned about the brace on line and found one at WalMart down the street so I picked one up. Rolled the calf multiple times, rolled my foot on a frozen water bottle every couple of hours and wore the brace to bed. Woke up Sunday and it felt amazing. Put some shoes on, walked around a bit and actually went out and ran a few miles with no issues.

As painful as it was Saturday, I think I either caught it early or it's a relatively mild case. It sounds as though many people are able to run through it and I will do so unless it gets worse.

I had a bad case a couple of years ago, and went to see a foot doc in a well-regarded ortho group. He was a runner, as it turned out. He carefully examined me, confirmed my self-diagnosis, and gave me some stretches to do. I asked him whether I could run through it. He said I could go ahead and try. He doubted I could and said I likely would just have to take some time off. He was right! I tried, but it was too painful. I took some time off, stretched it, etc. One thing I noticed over the course of that summer when I resumed training was that x-training on the bicycle helped that. It not only permitted me to do complementary cardio in place of some runs, but it actually made the PF feel better. I think the pedaling action stretched it out gently and thoroughly. Good luck with it, and I hope you have a miraculous recovery.

Thanks Michael,

Knock on wood, I'm feeling VERY lucky. I can feel it but am stretching, rolling on the foam roller, using the frozen water bottle and wearing the brace to bed. I have been running my normal schedule with zero issues.

I've got my fingers crossed it doesn't get any worse. The pain that first day was horrible so I'm running easy and not pushing it....

Just keep up the stretches, etc., and you should be able to keep it in check.  That's what I do.

So the PF has been under control, that is until I did another 10 mile trail run yesterday. Last one, 2 weeks ago I could barely walk that afternoon and same thing yesterday. Took care of it and was able to run 5 easy today. I had to skip my regular saturday trail run last week as I had inventory at work. Interesting that the only 2 runs that have aggravated it are 2 consecutive double digit trail runs. Seeing as those are the only double digit runs, and the only hilly runs, I've done since this started I don't know if it's the distance or the hills. I suspect it's the hills so will probably run 10 next saturday on flat ground and see what happens.

Blows me away that I could barely hobble around yesterday afternoon and it feels fine again today....

I wonder if climbing stairs would be beneficial?  Like a minimum of 4 flights of stairs, twice a day to start.

Could be the hills.  The PT made me stay off hills for quite a long time as I was healing.

OR...do you wear different shoes when you run on the trails?

ounce wrote:I wonder if climbing stairs would be beneficial?  Like a minimum of 4 flights of stairs, twice a day to start.

I'm actually a pretty good climber, it's the descents I'm not so good at. Most of my running partners run away from me down hills. I think I tend to lean back a bit and heal strike, which is what I suspect my issue is.

nkrichards wrote:Could be the hills.  The PT made me stay off hills for quite a long time as I was healing.

OR...do you wear different shoes when you run on the trails?

Nope, I have 3 pairs of the same shoe and just rotate. The trails I run are not such that you would need a special shoe.