Plantar fasciitis

[freemarie]

Has anyone had to deal with this on the trail? In extreme cases, it is near impossible to walk, and it is my top concern for taking me off the trail. I've got flat feet, and they have a tendency to be problematic while being active. Similar foot ailments may present similar problems. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[mweinstone]

planters makes realy salty nuts and tyhey dont come in even pounds. there allways like 12 5ths of a pound. are they like filberts? i never heard of a nut i never heard of but i never had them.where are they sold?

[Roland]

There are lots of threads on PF, Freemarie. Do a search and you'll find many good suggestions.

I was plagued with PF for a few years. It got so bad, I sought the advice of a podiatrist. Trust me, things have to be pretty bad for this hard-headed ol' bastard to see a doctor.

The doctor explained that the best treatment must accomplish these two things:

1. Cup the heel to keep the fatty tissue centered under the heel. This provides cushion to the attachment point of the plantar fascia.

2. Provide arch support to keep the feet from flattening too much. This prevents excessive stretching of the fascia.

Both of these objectives were achieved using insoles. Superfeet, and alike, have eliminated all my symptoms. If I wear soft shoes (i.e. crocs, runners with padded insoles), the symptoms present themselves in less than a week.

Good luck.

[Pedaling Fool]

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...ntar+fasciitis

[mweinstone]

my friend,( who i owe 90 bucks to for rain pants he made me that i stole),..big john of moonbow gear, had this problem and allmost lost the ability to ever hike ever again. he studyed the disese and went to the right treatments and after being like the most patient paitent on earth, healed it and went on to hike gloriously far and made me really sick with his smart hiking and his cool farm and him being a trail angel and giving his home to hikers and offering me work and being a lady killer....sorry,. anyway,. he knows as much about that nutty foot problem as my brother the dude knows about me being a jerk,..i ment about diabeetees. did you know it means sweet pee? dude told me doctors had to drink pee to help people like the dudeback in the old days. it was how they knew you were diabetic. dude knows more than doctors about diabetees. big john of moonbow that nemisis of mine knows more about pantar facilime, whatever,...than all the dudes and all the doctors in a million plantar wards in a billion diabetic worlds . he is whiteblaze so you need only ask as hes kind and giving and ,...sorry.he'll help you.

[maybe clem]

Custom orthotics from my podiatrist solved the problem for me. You might also want to look into bringing a Strassburg Sock with you on your hike and sleeping with it on - I carry one or two with me.

[Praha4]

you need to give it time to heal first. Learn proper stretching for the calves and plantar fascia. And use Superfeet green or orange inserts for proper arch support in your hiking shoes. I had it last winter, it took a while to get over it.

[freemarie]

Thanks for the link and advice! I've heard green works best for flat feet. Was that true for you, Roland?

[Roland]

Thanks for the link and advice! I've heard green works best for flat feet. Was that true for you, Roland?

I've used green and orange in my boots and blue in my dress shoes. All have served me well.

I also use blue in sneakers/runners.

If you have very flat feet, the green and orange flavors may raise your arches beyond the comfort point. Blue Superfeet have a slimmer profile. I suggest you try these first.

[mweinstone]

hey! this is a thread to help a suffering hiker.

mothers finest, a whiteblazer, who is my dear friend and hiking buddy, heowns a buissnes that makes custom orthotics only. its called situations of abington. he exsplains the feet like god. then he makes you 700 dollar cutting edge insoles and charges you less cause you are a hiker. if he needs, he rips open shoes and builds your orthodics into the shoe. he has a factory, and a shoestore. him and his wife and their child are my dear dear friends. one mention of you being a hiker,... and it will be like hes happy to not be talking to a non hiker customer and he will give you an education and an orthotic that will fix you. some of you may notice i walk like a dummy. mothers finest measured my kneecaps to judge the diff in my legs, i got a girl leg and a man leg, and he imediatly knew the thing i need if i ever wanna look right. but its the kind in the shoe not under your sox and i dont wanna change anything by freaky means. i dont need no stinkin shim. sorry bro. but you may.pm mothers finest or call situations of abbington. theres 2 or 3 hunit saved in it for ya. fact.and he does trail magic with me and jester and others when he can. so you can trust. hope you hike soon.

[WILLIAM HAYES]

while standing up use a rolling pin with a rocking motion on the bottom of you foot under the arch gradually put weight on your arch as you roll it over the rolling pin. according to my sports med friends stretching this way is a good first treatment option-special orthodics and surgery as a last resort are other options-

[Roland]

while standing up use a rolling pin with a rocking motion on the bottom of you foot under the arch gradually put weight on your arch as you roll it over the rolling pin. according to my sports med friends stretching this way is a good first treatment option-special orthodics and surgery as a last resort are other options-

Good point. I had forgotten my Dr. had me do this (it's been a few years).

Rather than use a rolling pin, I was told to roll my foot over a frozen water bottle; same principle but provides icing benefits at the same time.

So, I kept a bottle in the freezer and with a sock-clad foot, would roll over the bottle while sitting at my computer. That method provided short-term relief of the pain.

[leaftye]

Freemarie, you're planning on thru-hiking this year? If so, I don't think orthotics are the way to go right now. Right now you want to make your feet stronger so that you reduce your chance of hurting them on your hike.

There are several things you can do. Go barefoot at home. Wear minimalist footwear outside of the house. Do an assortment of calf raises barefoot when you're not out walking. Don't just stretch your plantar fascia. You do want to stretch your plantar fascia, but you also want to stretch your calves, hamstrings and glutes. Don't forget that your plantar fascia is connected to your toes. After a walk, make sure you stretch frequently afterwards...you might even want to do a hot foot bath. The goal is to strengthen your feet without hurting them further.

There are various foot massaging tools you can use. I prefer smaller and harder things to really dig into my feet, but you may find relief with something else. These things not only stretch your plantar fascia, but also help break up scar tissue, adhesions and bone spurs so that your feet can try to repair themselves correctly.

Of course there's one other thing you can do. Reduce the load on your feet. Go on a diet and reduce your pack weight.

When you start your thru, make sure you stretch often, consider using that stretch sock at night, and maybe also use ibuprofen at night to reduce inflammation. Don't cheat yourself with footwear. Make sure you switch our your shoes frequently. The midsole wears out after 300-400 miles and will make your feet work way harder than they need to, which of course leads to injury. Strangely enough, I find that minimalist footwear hurts my feet less during long hikes. I'm not exactly sure why, but I think it's because the thinner soles allow the rocks in the trail to massage, stretch and increase blood flow to my feet, in effect allowing my feet to work to their best potential.

Now if you're done hiking, then I guess orthotics can be okay along with other forms of reducing work on your feet, although some people have reported that they improve more quickly when they allow their feet to exercise more.

Oh wait, I looked at your old posts and realized that I've told you almost all of this a few months ago. Have you not been doing them, or has it not been working for you?

[SawnieRobertson]

Custom orthotics from my podiatrist solved the problem for me. You might also want to look into bringing a Strassburg Sock with you on your hike and sleeping with it on - I carry one or two with me.

I think this is good advice, taking the Strassburg sock along. After hiking for several months in 1999, my return home included two years being a couch tomato and two foot surgeries. Also, two podiatrists, I might add.

A recent conversation with Chase gave me great instructions about how to avoid this chronic problem during my thru attempt this year. He did the above as well as stretching, I think, but also he massaged his plantar fascia every night using a vitamen E oil. (I'm going to get more detailed info before marching away in March.)--Kinnickinic

[Roots]

Thanks for the link and advice! I've heard green works best for flat feet. Was that true for you, Roland?

I, too, am flat footed with the same multiple issues. Especially after a long section I hiked. I tried all inserts and found the pink Superfeet work the best for me. They have an extra cushion for the ball of the foot of which I really need. Wearing the right amount of thickness in a sock (Smartwool..Not the adrenaline series...hiking socks work great for me) is important for me as well. Good Luck!

[freemarie]

Leaftye, I have done stretches but mostly after running. It hasn't been too much of a bother lately. Although it does feel sore when I've been barefoot for a long time. I hear it can strengthen the foot, but it seems to make mine ache. I'm assuming that could be because my foot isn't as strong as it needs to be. For massaging tools I tend to use a tennis ball or raquet ball. Just curious how other flat footers handled it on their hike.

[BJStuart]

There are several things you can do. Go barefoot at home. Wear minimalist footwear outside of the house. Do an assortment of calf raises barefoot when you're not out walking.

Read the book Born To Run and you'll go out & get yourself a pair of FiveFingers or Nike Frees. My feet are much happier the closer to barefoot they are. It does take some getting used to, but strengthening your feet seems to be a great idea.

[Lilred]

The doctor explained that the best treatment must accomplish these two things:

1. Cup the heel to keep the fatty tissue centered under the heel. This provides cushion to the attachment point of the plantar fascia.

2. Provide arch support to keep the feet from flattening too much. This prevents excessive stretching of the fascia.

Both of these objectives were achieved using insoles. Superfeet, and alike, have eliminated all my symptoms. If I wear soft shoes (i.e. crocs, runners with padded insoles), the symptoms present themselves in less than a week.

Good luck.

Wow, this surprises me. Crocs are what cured my plantar fascitis. My doc said it was due to the thick, hard rubber sole. A knock off won't work. I literally would be limping with pain, put on my crocs, and the pain and limp instantly went away. Wore nothing but crocs for 3 months and haven't had a problem since. Crocs do both those things you listed.

[freemarie]

I realize the green superfeet are for active lifestyle including hiking, but it also is for medium and high arches, which obviously does not mean me..will that be beneficial or counteractive?

[Gipsy]

My Dr. diagnosed me with this. OMG it was awful. I'd wake in the morning and walk like a 99 year old man for the first 30 minutes of my day. I was prescribed VIOXX (back before it would kill ya) took it for a month with no relief. I did exercises and everything, The Dr. even considered injecting the fascia with steroids (which I refused because of the risk of rupturing the fascia, which would require surgical repair).Nothing seemed to work.

My father suggested Calcium supplements, that they had worked for him, for the same thing. As a nurse I immediately start trying to figure out the mechanism of action that calcium had on this predicament, and couldn't come up with any. However, I was willing to try anything at this point, so I started on the Citrical. Amazingly, It was improved a little more each morning, with total relief in 5 days. Not sure how it works, but it did the trick. Have had friends that it has worked for also. I can't promise 100% that this will work for everyone, or that it won't work. Either way, its cheaper to try than a Dr. visit, prescription meds, and physical therapy

I took 1200mg of citrical twice a day (morning and bedtime) until the pain was relieved, then for 1200mg a day for a month. I repeat the process for flare-ups.

Hope this info helps others.