Plantar faciitis advice- season opens the 23rd

[Jhg]

Not sure where to post this. Any advice on effective treatment from your own experience? Just had this flair up and I like to hunt mountain terrain, solo. Thanks in advance.

[RAMMONT]

Mine was so bad that I was using a cane just to hobble around. Doctors wanted to do surgery and cut nerves in my both my feet. Instead I went to a massage therapist that specialized in Plantar Faciitis, they massage the facia in the relevant parts of your body. After my first visit I was able to walk without the cane even though I had numbness and pain. After about four or five visits I had no problems what so ever. That was somewhere around 2011 or 2012 and I still have no problems. I do use a ball that I roll under my feet any time my ankles start to get stiff and that eliminates the problems.

If you push your thumbs along your feet you should find spots that seem to snap and crackle, you will probably also hear the popping and snapping. Those are the facia that need to be separated with massage. It hurts when you push on those spots but that's what you need to do. When you roll the ball under your feet you put pressure on those painful snapping/crackling spots and roll the ball around to separate the facia. If you do things right you will eventually (over a few days) stop feeling pain.

[Charina]

For me, stretching my Achilles and calf helped. Had to stretch multiple times a day.

Most importantly though, either toss or alter the shoes you have been wearing. Get an insert that provides good arch support. For some, just that change alone makes it go away fairly rapidly.

Otherwise, ibuprofen to reduce the inflammation, resting it, stretching, etc. But if it is the same as mine was, it will come back as long as you don't have adequate support under your foot.

[Charina]

I'm packing right now to head out tomorrow afternoon to my hunting spot for the archery opener Saturday. I see I have an extra pair of the insoles at work for me. Everybody's foot is different but these have been very helpful to me.

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[WapitiTalk1]

Rammont, Charina, thanks for chiming in on this. Jhg, I hope you get your situation under control and are fully able to get out after them. Charina, best of luck on your hunt mister. RJ

[Beendare]

Well first, anyone reading this that hasn't had PF yet....should be stretching their calfs daily. They would for sure if they only knew how aggravating PF is.

PF takes a long time to heal...no easy fix...so prevention is key. Things that give you relief while you are waiting for it to heal; Cortisone injection, Ice, roller, heel cushions,Advil, insoles, massage, more ice [hint]

I've had 3 cortisone injections in my life and BY FAR the worst was the one in my foot. PF takes usually between 6 mo and 1 1/2 years to repair. I've known 20 guys that had it...and played basketball with a Podiatrist...its a slow healing injury.

A guy can deal with it while hunting with good insoles, Advil, taking it a little bit easier, stopping to soak feet in a stream, etc

[Ben Nicholson]

Stretch your calves and hamstrings. ALOT! Literally hold each stretch for 1-2 minuets at a time. Do this 5 times a day. Trust me, have a great season!

[Jhg]

Thank you for the great advice everyone. Very helpful hearing how you dealt with it. Going to get new shoes tomorrow, etc.

[Idahonian]

I'm a little late to the party, but here's my advice. I also had it pretty bad but eventually beat it. This is what worked for me; take it with a grain of salt as always!

-There are probably two issues going on: an underlying skeletal/muscular dysfunction and an acute injury. You'll have to deal with both to be successful long term

-The first step will be to get the acute injury, mostly swelling, under control. That will probably involve massaging (either professionally, self with hand, or rolling on a tennis ball), stretching calves at every opportunity, icing a lot, and some anti-inflammatories. The key for me was a two-week "intensive focus on acute injury" session where I took aleve and ibuprofun, submerged my lower leg in a bucket of icewater twice a day, and stretched calves at every opportunity.

-The second step will be to identify and resolve the underlying dysfunction. I went to a good physical therapist, who recommended the lower leg/foot/hip stretches and exercises to strengthen and make more flexible the affected areas. (Basically there was a problem in my gait that was caused, in part, by weakness and rigidity in accessory muscles.) He also recommended insoles that work really well.

-I went for 6ish months of on-again, off-again pain before I really took on the mindset of buying in to really solve the problem. Now I hopefully have established the long-term good habits that can prevent this beast from coming back. They include stretching calves several times a day, rolling my feet every day (mostly using a tennis ball under my desk), using insoles, and trying to maintain the strength/flexibility constantly.

Good luck!

[currie]

Step on a lacrosse ball or baseball and roll your foot around on it

[ishy]

+1 for rolling with a lacrosse ball, and I added a magnesium supplement. Mine flared up just before my first Ironman. Scared me to death because I had heard the stories, but luckily it cleared up quickly and I was able to finish without any issues-at least with PF.