First, dear readers, many thanks for all of your suggestions. But my fencing induced case of Plantar fasciitis just won’t go away. I diligently stretched, tried alternative notions, got a cortisone shot and slept every night in night splints. My case was so intractable that I ended up in the hands of a sports doctor who has slapped me into a boot and crutches: one month for one foot and another month for the other in an attempt to avoid surgery. So far it seems to be working.
The downside of this is no building projects or gardening. The upside will be lots of blogging.
Overall I think I’m healthier for having lived an active life. Fencing has occasionally gifted me with a bruised rib, sore knees, and pulled muscles. But each injury is a lesson and, overall, I think I’ve come out stronger.
As one who suffered from PF in both feet for years, I’m living proof that it can resolve itself without surgery, and so is my mom, btw.
I had a custom inserts made, never went barefoot or with flats and wore orthopedic shoes that elevated my heel (Naot is the BEST, visit Lucha’s Comfort Footwear in Downtown Pasadena for a great selection and service). The right shoe gave me immediate relief!
PF can cause stress to the knees and the hips from compensating for the pain of walking.
All of this, and for the times when it still flares up: acupuncture. Instant relief!
Ouch! Sometimes being human is a real pain. And to think I wore high heeled shoes when I was younger! What was I thinking? I know! I wasn’t! Lord have mercy!
I may have mentioned these suggestions before, but repetition is the key to effective communication! Right?
Katy Bowman is a biomechanist that has written extensively about how we move and use our body. She wrote a book that talks about foot pain. Unfortunately the title and front cover disguise it as a book only for women but the content applies to both men and women: http://www.amazon.com/Every-Womans-Guide-Foot-Relief/dp/1936661071
Her other books have helped me avoid knee pain that has plagued me on and off all my life. I cannot recommend her books enough (I’m a bit of a fan girl, if you can’t tell).
Here’s a post she wrote as well talking about plantar fasciitis: http://www.katysays.com/plantar-fasciitis-tight-hams/
And
http://www.katysays.com/a-users-guide-to-hamstrings/
Bonus!: She also has a DVD (Fix Your Feet with Katy Bowman) and another book (Whole Body Barefoot) that might be helpful as well.
Either way I hope you feel better and make use of all this couch time! 🙂
I believe we did get your last rec. for Katy, and I’ve been reading her. I like what she says–and I’m trying to get Erik excited too. Thanks!
I had it for years from running. My best advice is wear birkenstocks around the house as slippers! one of my physitherapy recovery exercises to strengthen my arch was to pull a towel across the floor using only toes crunches after years of doing that to prevent the injury reoccurring I found the toe grabbing you do to keep the berks on your feet does the same thing!
Ow! Take care.
PF and “turf toe” are two ailments that are seemingly benign for people without them and brutal for anyone actually suffering. Good luck on getting better and avoiding surgery.
Having suffered with PF in one foot for over a year and doing all of the DIY treatments to no avail (and not wanting to go see a foot-quack), I finally found foam rollers. These are spectacular and in my case confirmed my suspicions; that (at least in some cases), PF is not always a direct foot pathology but is secondary to Achilles tendon malfunction. Or, one hell-of-a placebo effect! In any event, daily foam roller sessions on my lower legs produced almost immediate relief. I am now a convert and use foam rollers on my entire body as part of my exercise cool-down routine. As we age I suspect myofascial release will be found to be a universal tonic for everyone.