Plantar Faciitis BEFORE THE TRAIL...ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!

[Outdoorsman88]

Yup. On an easy, and normal outing to a local state park for a nice 14 miler, my heel started hurting like a bitch around mile 9 or so...on the opposite end of the park. Absolutely unbelievable. I have every piece of gear dialed in, my Saloman boots worn in but still relatively new (4 months), and I come down with this a MONTH before leaving. Not in the two YEARS previous that I have been training...no...it had to happen a month before. Granted, no insoles were used. I went out today and bought some Superfeet (which I will say, do feel better)...but still, are you kidding me right now? This may be my body telling me to slow down before hitting the trail...or that I have over-trained for 2 years and should now take a month or so off...but I have a hard time accepting that. It feels like the great spirit of this world is laughing in my face at the moment. Any advice from some vets trolling this newbie forum? Any ideas on how to approach this?

I am elevating my foot, and walking around the house with the insoles in for brief spurts. It just feels demoralizing. Something I have worked SO hard for, is now in jeopardy. Over a simple hike, that should NOT have resulted in this. I have worked out strictly for two years, and have walked every day. Even in the sleet, I was walking. I have watched my diet, got enough sleep, enough sunlight, and everything I could to stay healthy. And THIS still happens. PLEASE tell me someone else out there went through this and made it to the trailhead with no issues...please...

[Teacher & Snacktime]

Ignore it...it will go away. No wait.....

[Lone Wolf]

Yup. On an easy, and normal outing to a local state park for a nice 14 miler, my heel started hurting like a bitch around mile 9 or so...on the opposite end of the park. Absolutely unbelievable. I have every piece of gear dialed in, my Saloman boots worn in but still relatively new (4 months), and I come down with this a MONTH before leaving. Not in the two YEARS previous that I have been training...no...it had to happen a month before. Granted, no insoles were used. I went out today and bought some Superfeet (which I will say, do feel better)...but still, are you kidding me right now? This may be my body telling me to slow down before hitting the trail...or that I have over-trained for 2 years and should now take a month or so off...but I have a hard time accepting that. It feels like the great spirit of this world is laughing in my face at the moment. Any advice from some vets trolling this newbie forum? Any ideas on how to approach this?

I am elevating my foot, and walking around the house with the insoles in for brief spurts. It just feels demoralizing. Something I have worked SO hard for, is now in jeopardy. Over a simple hike, that should NOT have resulted in this. I have worked out strictly for two years, and have walked every day. Even in the sleet, I was walking. I have watched my diet, got enough sleep, enough sunlight, and everything I could to stay healthy. And THIS still happens. PLEASE tell me someone else out there went through this and made it to the trailhead with no issues...please...

green superfeet? i had plantar bad, couldn't walk, put in the green ones and almost immediate relief. you're young. you'll heal fast but don't fast or far when you hit the trail

[Chris10]

Work on getting the PF taken care of, there are all sorts of exercises you can do to help. I've had it before and it definitely hurts, but you may have enough time to get it taken care of prior to your hike....good luck!

[4-iron]

Some good news for you. Diagnosed with plantar fasciitis in January 2011. Went to Springer in mid March. Heel never bothered me. Sight pain comes back every few months. last time was 4 months ago. Different doctor diagnosed me with Achilles tendonitis, a similar but different problem which causes pain in heel. In my case he concluded very tight calf muscles was root cause and I did 6 weeks physical therapy. Pain went away the first week but they suggested I continue to wear the insert and daily stretches. Highly recommend physical therapists. Your case may be different. Good luck.

4-iron

[MuddyWaters]

There are two possible causes:

1) podiatrists and orthopedics will tell you that it is hereditary, falling of the foot arches with age
2) Some people will tell you its the horrible footwear we use that allows the muscles of the foot to weaken, and the arch to fall.

You can find runners who suffered, and dont any longer after a program of switching gradually to minimal running shoes and strenthening their foot muscles.

Use the highest arch insole you can find. That may be the green superfeet. Or you could try different orthotics. They will probably be uncomfortable. If it makes you sore under your arch, that is good. Your foot WILL MOLD itself to the higher arch insert, it will take several weeks, but after a while you wont even feel it anymore. You also wont have PF pain most likely.

Long term, try the minimalist footwear approach slowly.

[johnnybgood]

Plantar Faciitis doesn't necessarily go away easily, I've had it for 2 months and still have residual soreness after long days at work. I've even been had my heel injected....twice. Ignoring it will not make it go away. Buy Dr.Schols arch supports and heel stretching by pushing against a stationary object like a wall .

[Doc Mike]

Green superfeet, ice as much as possible, slowly stretch it BEFORE getting out of bed in the morning, and assuming no contraindication an anti-inflammatory such as Advil or aleve.


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[Praha4]

same thing happened to me in April 2010, came down with a severe case of plantar fasciitis after a training hike at a local State Park. I did 2 weeks of physical therapy, backed off the training and let it hear up and delayed my start date a couple weeks. Two weeks later it was fine and never bothered me on the hike. You have to back off training a bit, use ice, stretching exercises, and be patient! Resting up a bit the last month before hitting the trail won't hurt you, unless you're trying to beat some kind of speed records. Give it time, and patience young grasshopper!

[upstream]

The stretch described about halfway down this page:
http://www.healthline.com/health/fit...tendon-stretch
has kept my plantar fascitis at bay for several years now.

[Foresight]

Got it for the first time the second week in September last year......just now getting to a point that I would call "good". But, I am 48.....you are 25 so your mileage may vary on that. Hurt like hell all day everyday for a month, then slowly started getting better. Of course, I'm on my feet everyday walking through the woods, crossing creeks, climbing, etc. and that certainly didn't aid in any recovery efforts.

[Almost There]

Had it bad in 2008 before hitting Katahdin. I had three months, but one month might be enough. Saw a physical therapist, and here's what she had me do. Get a metal water bottle, fill it with water, and then freeze it. Each day for 10-20 minutes put it on the ground, and then put your bad arch on it, pressing down roll your foot back and forth. The icing works at the same time your stretching out the tendon. I have not had an issue since. Good Luck!

[Trance]

Orange Superfeet are better. Same arch support with an extra pad for under the front of your feet. Helps with my PF.... it does suck tho.

[magic_game03]

Holy smokes, your wearing solomon boots and you wondering why you got PF? Stay away from the damm boots, get some trail runners, and use those Smart Feet. I don't even put on boots to snowshoe or use aluminum crampons. Last time I wore boots was to front point up Mt. Ritter at christmas. The only time I put on boots is for serious mountaineering with heavy crampons.

…As far as recovering from PF. Ewe, I hope you didn't tear too much, but maybe-just maybe you just bruised your heel which feels a lot like PF. In that case it's just the usual treatment of ice, aspirin, lot's of massaging, good shoes (not too hard-but not too soft either. Go for most comfortable,) keep weight off it (over compensate on the other foot, even if you look funny to your friends and co-workers,) maybe go to the thrift shop and get a crutch. Do what ever it takes … the trail is worth it.

[Lint]

I'll just leave this here (and keep hiking pain free....)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNPfbB2sX5Q#t=17

[magic_game03]

Wow, hadn't hear the name Lint in ages. I remember you through Aria-Zoner PCT '06 at VVR. Anyway, good video. Learn something new every… ok, I never learn. Still, good video.

[DocMahns]

RICE! Rest/Ice/Compression/Elevation!
Rest it and keep your fitness up by doing some other kind of activity that doesn't stress the tendons and ligaments of your feet
Ice- Fill a water bottle about 3/4 full and freeze it, lay the bottle on the ground and roll the sole of your foot over it while applying a little pressure, do this in the mornings, at night, and before and after any exercise; it will help to reduce inflammation and help with the pain.
Compression- get a compression sock for your foot or wrap it snug with an ace bandage, this will help limit movement of the tendons that are inflamed and keep swelling down
Elevation- when laying down prop your foot on a pillow, remember to keep it "heart high or higher", keeping it elevated above the level of your heart will draw fluid away from the injury and keep swelling down

Also get on an NSAID regimen, I prefer Naproxen Sodium 220mg every 12 hours, you can also do Ibuprofen (the OTC bottles I think are 200mg per tab, but the Rx strength and maximum dosages are 400mg and 800mg, respectively) you can take up to 800mg every 8 hours without worry of hepatoxicity. I would prescribe both to my marines and they generally felt that the Naproxen worked better (unless it was the old salty ones that grew up on Vitamin M).

Get a tennis ball; while you're sitting at the computer (or anywhere) place the tennis ball on the ground and roll your foot over it like the ice bottle. This will stretch out the tendons, increase blood flow to the area, and promote healing. Put as much pressure as you can stand, this is called "Active Release Technique"

[DocMahns]

RICE! Rest/Ice/Compression/Elevation!
Rest it and keep your fitness up by doing some other kind of activity that doesn't stress the tendons and ligaments of your feet
Ice- Fill a water bottle about 3/4 full and freeze it, lay the bottle on the ground and roll the sole of your foot over it while applying a little pressure, do this in the mornings, at night, and before and after any exercise; it will help to reduce inflammation and help with the pain.
Compression- get a compression sock for your foot or wrap it snug with an ace bandage, this will help limit movement of the tendons that are inflamed and keep swelling down
Elevation- when laying down prop your foot on a pillow, remember to keep it "heart high or higher", keeping it elevated above the level of your heart will draw fluid away from the injury and keep swelling down

Also get on an NSAID regimen, I prefer Naproxen Sodium 220mg every 12 hours, you can also do Ibuprofen (the OTC bottles I think are 200mg per tab, but the Rx strength and maximum dosages are 400mg and 800mg, respectively) you can take up to 800mg every 8 hours without worry of hepatoxicity. I would prescribe both to my marines and they generally felt that the Naproxen worked better (unless it was the old salty ones that grew up on Vitamin M).

Get a tennis ball; while you're sitting at the computer (or anywhere) place the tennis ball on the ground and roll your foot over it like the ice bottle. This will stretch out the tendons, increase blood flow to the area, and promote healing. Put as much pressure as you can stand, this is called "Active Release Technique"

Also forgot to add, if you go with NSAIDS it takes three days of constant therapy to reach optimal blood levels for the best treatment, so don't only take it when you have pain, take it throughout your whole recovery.

[leaftye]

As others said or alluded to, training in boots may have gradually allowed your plantar fascia to weaken. I'm not sure switching to trail runners would help at this point.

Good for you if you've found that Superfeet work for you. I tried the green and blue based on all the glowing reviews, but found that their arch is too high for me and actually aggravates my plantar fascia, plus it causes blisters on the side of my heel. Now I'm loath to try other expensive insoles. Fortunately my feet have been very happy with the insoles that come in my shoes.

Stretching as others said is a good idea, but I'd do some other stretches first. Work on the rest of your posterior chain. Even your glutes can add tension to your plantar fascia, so start there, then work your way down to your plantar fascia, but you may find that your plantar fascia already feels better from stretching the rest of your posterior chain. One of the reasons I do this is that I've read that some folks over stretch their plantar fascia and prolong recovery by putting new micro tears in it. By doing the other stretches first, the plantar fascia already has a greater range of movement before you directly stretch it, which means there's less chance of injuring it further as you attempt to achieve a full plantar fascia stretch.

You may want to stop earlier in the day to give yourself more time to cool down with a good stretching routine.

Good luck.

[pipsissewa]

All of the above and get or make yourself a brace like this to sleep in so that your fascia heals LONG, not SHORT.

pf brace.jpg

Or get yourself a Strassbourg sock:

strassbourg sock.jpg

Best of luck to you!