The Beast that is Plantar Fasciitis
I don’t really know where to begin with how annoying chronic “injuries” are and I am sure many feel my pain, literally. Two years ago I developed a severe case of plantar fasciitis when training for Boston. You don’t realize how much foot pain can hurt until you are in it. About 1.5 months out I was on this path of running a day, taking 2-4 days off, running another day, taking days off and so forth. Finally after running a half marathon, with what at the time was a PR, I realized rest was the only thing. I went to a foot doctor and he said he could give me a cortisone shot so I wouldn’t feel the pain. But anyone with plantar knows, it just tightens everything up the back of your leg. I felt like not feeling calf/Achilles pain for 26.2 miles was probably not a good idea. I called it and decided not to run. Fast forward to this year after significant time off after my stress fracture. Pretty soon into my training I started getting that tightening feeling again… oh no, here we go. Some freak-outs ensued, including me purchasing an e-book guaranteeing PF to go away in 4 days!! Literally I could have written this book, I was doing everything it said for the most part.
As with any runner, I then freaked out to my physical therapist. My ankles have always been weak and have a TON of movement. We came to the conclusion that the PF was definitely something mechanical. I began working on a PT plan that stabilized my foot and ankle (among other things I will outline below). While I still get some pain, it definitely comes and goes and lets me know when I am not keeping up with my plan, I am able to keep it at bay. Or at least I have for the last 16 weeks I have been training. I am by no means an expert, but I wanted to share with everyone what I do to be able to run. I am hopeful it might help someone out there!
Good Shoes are Key: I use to experiment with different shoes from time to time, but after my first flare up, that stopped. I have found that Brooks is the only shoe that works for me. Harder soles and less cushion are all the difference for me. I use to run in Asics (not a bad shoe by any means, just didn’t work for me), but the cushioning was just too soft and just walking would immediately tighten my foot up. What I have found work best are the Ghosts, Revel, and most recently the new Levitate. I briefly experimented with Pure Flow, but they didn’t work as well as the previous three. Now I have the mentality if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I might try out some lighter track shoes for racing/workouts AFTER my marathon is complete.
Stretch: People always say this. It gets annoying to hear after a while. But I have learned with Plantar, the longer the foot is not flexed or working, it will tighten up. Working at a desk job, I am sedentary most of the day. I make sure to get up and do my stretches periodically through the day. Yes its weird, but my coworkers now just keep walking when they see my stretching. Normal Katie activities. These are some of my go-tos:
Calf Stretches – face wall with leg you want to stretch behind other
Foot Stretch (I do not have a scientific term for this) – heel on ground with top of foot raised against wall, lean forward. I do this ALL DAY LONG.
Stair Stretch – toes on edge of stair and and lower heels. I also have a pack of stickers at work I do this on – no need to find the stairs and I can do it in the privacy of my office
Alphabet – I take my shoes off and write out the alphabet with my foot
Toes – When sitting, pull your toes back toward you
Towel Stretch – crumple up towel between your toes on the ground – this also works if you pick up items with your toes like marbles or clips
Strength Exercising: My feet need to be stronger. Period. Stronger muscles around the ankle can help prevent this movement. For some reason, it only occurs on my right (dominant) side. When I was younger I sprained this ankle too many times to count and overall it has way more movement than my right. For a while I was doing these exercises twice a day. I admit, I could be better more recently.
One-leg Balance: Stand on the affected foot. Lower into a squat. With the other foot make motions to point toe at different points on a clock – ie. 4, 6, 9, 12 and do 15 sets
Hopping drills: front to back, side to side, clockwise, counterclock wise all 20 times
Sole Stretch: both shoes should be off for this. Practice raising your arch while keeping toes and heel on ground. I found it easier to do with both feet – so that’s what I do.
Massage: When in the heart of training, I aim to get massages every 2-3 weeks. It helps. Its worth the money. I get my whole body worked on with a little more attention to my lower right extremity. Depending on how I am feeling, typically I get them 2 days before a long run or the day after. I also actually purchased a self-massger, Pure Wave. It looks ridiculous, but you know what, when I am on the couch relaxing, its perfect to run across my foot and calf.
Foot Rolling: All day when sitting. I use the Roll Recovery R3. I am obsessed. I pack it in my bag everyday and also use it at work. After I run in the morning when getting ready for work, rolling on it. It keeps my foot loose and I honestly can’t say enough about it. I know tennis balls and frozen water bottles work well too. I have also invested in those mini footballs you can freeze with little bumps on them. I think they are meh.
Sleeping Boot: That first step out of bed in the morning is usually the worst! You are hobbling out of bed because of how tight your foot became during the night. When my foot seems to be acting up, I will sleep in the Ace Boot. It will keep your foot flexed throughout the night and when you wake up I guarantee the steps will be less painful.
Rock Tape: I love this stuff. I use it on any ailments I might have. Before long runs especially, I will tape my foot according to the directions. They give you step-by-step instructions on how to tape ANY ailment. I try not to be reliant on it, so for shorter runs I usually opt not to tape it up. I also will sometimes go up my calf/achilles for extra support. Rock Tape can do it all!
Compression Sleeves: This is something fairly new that I have begun to use. In the past I never really understood the compression sleeve/sock thing. I decided to give it a whirl, mostly because of the cool patterns and colors Zensah has, but whatever, it got me to try them. I find they help with referring pain up my calf when I am on longer runs. When you are running 2-3 hours, stuff just gets tight. I am extra cautious with PF and do anything I can to keep that leg loose during my runs. I have found that these sleeves have eliminated some tightness during my runs, as well as when I am done.
Ice: I could be better at this. I usually try to ice after hard workouts, but sometimes life just gets in the way. I still don’t really know how much it actually helps, but I still do it from time to time.
Still with me? That was a ton, I know. Just writing all of these steps got me tired. I am by no means a doctor or have all the answers for battling PF, but I have plenty of experience learning how to run and succeed running with it. I am always looking for new things to try, so if anyone out there has other tips/ideas, please send them my way!!