Plantar fasciitis

[ChrisS]

My feet have typically been pretty much bullet proof until the last few years. Then if I went about 5-6 miles on trails and bushwhacking, the balls of my feet started hurting something fierce. My feet are borderline EE and I was wearing Keen PCTs (which had a good sized toebox) with superfeet green. So I switched to beefier boot (Hanwag Alaskan) with superfeeet orange and I 'm still getting sore feet. My wife thought it looked like I had a bunion forming. So yesterday off to the doctor I went.

He said I've got knobby feet with a high arch and a wide forefoot. As a result, I've developed plantar fasciitis and the pain manifests in the metatarsals when most people usually get it at the heel. So he gave me a stretching regimen and said if I stick to it, the pain should resolve in 2-3 months.

I was curious if anyone else had plantar fasciitis and pain in the ball of the foot and if there were any other inserts you've used to reduce the pain. Or how they resolved it. Most everything I've googled deals with heel pain as a result of plantar fasciitis.

 

[SHTF]

Wife has same deal going on hers are due to really large calves. She's was a gymnast so that is how she developed her issue. She also has really high arches and has struggled to find shoes and inserts that fill the arch to support her. She got the same jazz you did about stretching routine. She went out and got this foot stretcher thing which is rounded on the bottom she puts her foot in that is supposed to stretch out her calves and feet to relieve the pain. But she has same deal can't go more then a few 100 yards without her feet raging on her in the instep of her arch. I feel bad for her for sure. Stretching has been going on for months but hasn't been much relief for her. she's about done with it all. I told her to make another appointment with the Podiatrist to see what other options. Probably not the success story you were after but figured Id let you know your not alone.

 

[couesbitten]

I lived with PF for a year and it would really only bother me in the mornings when I would first get out of bed, hurt so bad that sometimes I didn't think I could walk across the bedroom to the bathroom. After 10 minutes of being up and on my feet, the pain would subside and I would pass the rest of the day reasonably pain free.
Being a pretty dedicated runner, I tried everything suggested to remedy the issue, rolling a golf ball under my foot, frozen water, different arch supports, etc. In the end, I think what really heals PF is time. I think that it just has to run it's course. Mine lasted about a year, and I've had no recurring issues. Good luck, foot issues suck!

 

[mfolch]

I've had this too, as a result of sporting injuries and walking on hard-heeled, leather-bottom dress shoes. I found that stretching helps some, as does going for lighter, softer, flatter shoes (think converse). I ended up getting a cortisone shot, which the dr said would allow the foot to heal on its own. Which it did. It comes back every now and then, but goes away when I switch back to soft casual shoes.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Tod osier]

Mine is heel pain. For me stretches are like magic. Literally a couple stretches a day a couple days can nip an attack in the bud. Walking around the house with bare feet (even a few minutes one day and I can feel it in a couple days) and hiking in the grasslands bird hunting can cause me problems (don't know why bird hunting vs backpacking, might be the boots).

It took me a long time to figure out the cause and treatment, just dumb I guess.

 

[Poser]

I encountered this way back in 2002 when I was doing a lot of LSD type running and it plagued me off and on for 10 years. There is going to be an initial period where there is not much you can do other than find pain relief through icing, stretching, working the inflammation out with a ball etc. once you get past the initial healing, IMHO, you need to strengthen your feet up. Most doctors will prescribe tons of foot support, but I found that you need to go the opposite direction and spend a lot of time barefooted and wearing minimalists type shoes that lack foot support. It wasn't until I did this that I fully recovered from PF. That is controversial advice, but I beat my head against the wall with the conventional prescriptions. I do wear fully supported boots when backpacking.

 

[SHTF]

Forgot to mention wife had 2 cortisone shots also that gave mild relief


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ray]

As noted by others full arch support and barefoot both can help resolve the condition. That tells us that its an individual, one size fits one person only issue. You will have to try things and see what helps or does not.

What I have learned over the last decade of body issues is that most feet problems started in the back/hip and that most back problems started in the feet. Injury, over/under training, not warming up or stretching the things you actually need to stretch. Its a total package situation.

The first thing the osteopath demanded from me was that I stop walking barefoot. Moderate to high arch support running shoes directly from bed. No slippers. Once I recovered I could start wearing minimalist shoes and found that some models have enough arch support. However, walking around barefoot on anything not a sandy beach sucks after an hour. I wear some kind of shoe all the time in the house.

And no matter which direction you choose to go with shoes, you have to limber up all the connective tissue from your big toe to the base of your skull. Its all connected. The reason you have PF is that you have locked up connective tissue and now tissues and nerves are inflamed. Yoga Tune Up Roll Model. Mobility WOD. ROM WOD. Smashwerx (really getting into his youtube stuff this week). All have various types of PF and mobility related tips.

 

[deadwolf]

I can tell you what helped me...Orange super feet, and stretching out my feet before getting out of bed in the morning


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ytlogger]

Try all above.

Ice, or frozen something in a can that you roll your foot over. In my case it seems to be connected(no pun intended) to tight calf/Achilles. This exercise also helped: Lay a towel on the floor, place your foot on it and curl your toes to grasp the towel, repeatedly.

 

[307]

The foot is the victim, not the cause. Strengthen the lateral hip. Weak hip increases q angle, allows tibial rotation and foot pronation which unlocks the bony structure of the foot and puts all the force into pf tension.

Or, endlessly chase the pain at the foot.

 

[greentimber]

The foot is the victim, not the cause. Strengthen the lateral hip. Weak hip increases q angle, allows tibial rotation and foot pronation which unlocks the bony structure of the foot and puts all the force into pf tension.

Are there some specific exercises, movements, stretches, etc. you'd suggest? I'm also dealing with PF.

 

[Poser]

The foot is the victim, not the cause. Strengthen the lateral hip. Weak hip increases q angle, allows tibial rotation and foot pronation which unlocks the bony structure of the foot and puts all the force into pf tension.

Or, endlessly chase the pain at the foot.

Your choice

I've read some similar information before. This type of advice tends to get swept under the rug because it doesn't directly deal with the pain and most people want pain relief. Timeline wise, I can see where my PF went away completely when I started lifting weights again. A lot of people who have PF are runners and runners have notoriously weak posterior chains, so I could certainly see a connection there.

Well that settles it: low bar backsquats and deadlifts in for the win, as always.

 

[307]

(Easiest to more advanced)

Clam shell, banded monster walks, sled push/pull, farmer carries, suitcase carries, waiter carries, lateral bounding.

Learning to control the knee with the hip is the most important aspect. The foot is the end of the "whip", you control it at the handle (trunk/hip).

Use the clam shell to learn how the lateral hip/glut med feels, then train with carries and a little bit of lateral bounding. Use the ballistic movements (bounding) judiciously and focused on balance and control rather than volume or intensity.

 

[307]

I've read some similar information before. This type of advice tends to get swept under the rug because it doesn't directly deal with the pain and most people want pain relief. Timeline wise, I can see where my PF went away completely when I started lifting weights again. A lot of people who have PF are runners and runners have notoriously weak posterior chains, so I could certainly see a connection there.

Well that settles it: low bar backsquats and deadlifts in for the win, as always.

Sagittal plane movements are not likely to improve hip stability and control.

 

[Poser]

Sagittal plane movements are not likely to improve hip stability and control.

False.

 

[Titan_Bow]

I suffered from PF pain for several years. I switched to zero drop, minimalist shoes, and began running in them, and after several months the pain I had been dealing with for years just went away. That was 3-4 years ago and I've never had pain since. The only downside is it's hard to find hunting boots that are minimal heel-toe drop

 

[Oz Bow]

From what you have described (experiencing pain in the ball of the foot) it sound like it is more likely to be metatarsalgia.
I'll qualify this with "I'm not a doctor" however my normal job involves lots of medical reports as well as liaising with Doctors and Specialists. A proportion of this work involves cases of Plantar Fasciitis.

A second opinion may be worthwhile?

Typically, as most of the respondents have indicated, PF is experienced in the heel/very rear of the arch. A common misconception is that you will only get it if you have a job that has you on your feet all day and not someone in sedentary job. This can be experienced by people irrespective of the type of employment/outside activities.

As was described in one of the early posts"... mornings when I would first get out of bed, hurt so bad that sometimes I didn't think I could walk across the bedroom to the bathroom. After 10 minutes of being up and on my feet, the pain would subside and I would pass the rest of the day reasonably pain free.." this is pretty much how a lot of people come to experience it. If you have a job that is seated (and have PF) you will also have a experience when getting up from the desk.

In the majority of cases PF are self-limiting/self-correcting.

Having previously had a number of episodes of PF myself I'll say that the following worked for me ("your mileage may vary"as they say)
-rolling a ball under the foot, particularly the affected area
(starting with a tennis ball to begin with, then as things improve and get more flexible gradually working back to a racquetball ball, then a
squash ball and finally a golf ball).
- where possible walking barefooted.
- switching to wearing minimalists type shoes that lack foot support and had a zero drop sole. (this was done after walking barefoot for a time and seing results, proof of concept etc)

In closing I would recommend the Wikipedia entry regarding PF as it is one which is a good laypersons summary of the evidence based medicine regarding PF.