Plantar Fasciitis

[linaelyn]

Hi all. This is a plea for help, advice, and whatever you might have. I know, Y'all are not doctors, or physical therapists, or whatever. But I'm grasping at straws after well-over two months of not running, and I'm frustrated with the pace of Not Getting Healed Up.

I have been to the doctor (mine is a good one, for sports injuries, at least) and been informed that the reason my heel has been hurting for the past month is 1) directly related to stoopid, rasse-frassa-frickin'-frackin' menopausal transitioning causing general inflamation systemically, and 2) called Plantar Fasciitis. In essence, the tendon that runs from my heel bone, forward towards my toes, is inflamed/irritated/NOT HAPPY. It's been an issue for about three months now.

I'm icing it by rolling a frozen water bottle under my foot. I'm doing the milder forms of the stretching and strengthening exercises recommended by my doctor. I'm taking an NSAID (Advil) before doing anything that will probably upset it (because I'm NOT going to go to Hawaii and skip the Volcano Hike, that's JUST NOT OK.)

My doctor says I'm simply not resting it enough. She says I need "more time just sitting on my keester." I don't do well mentally/emotionally when I sit still for extended periods.

Advice?

Comments

[semielliptical]

I've had mild plantar fasciitis, and what *seemed* to help me the most was calf stretching and eccentric heel drops (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ge3XDjjKofk). And I had to keep doing those, even after I felt better, to prevent relapse.

I emphasize the *seemed* to help because it's hard to tell cause and effect. These are a few good posts about the research evidence on treating plantar fasciitis: http://www.runresearchjunkie.com/the-problem-with-the-treatment-of-plantar-fasciitis/
http://www.runresearchjunkie.com/plantar-fasciiis-how-then-do-you-treat-it/

You have my sympathy! I hope you're able to be active relatively soon.

[lightgetsin]

+1. The particular stretch that I made very sure to do because it seemed to be the really effective one was straight leg in front of you, pull toes towards yourself. Lots of people do it with a towel or t-shirt hooked around the foot, but I'm short and bendy, so I just did it with my hand grasping the ball of my foot. I did it almost every time I stood up for nearly a month. It drove me crazy. It also seemed to work.

Now of course I have a different Achilles issue and I am chewing through the walls because it will not heal. But that's another story.

[linaelyn]

That stretch you describe is suggested in the article as the one to do, first thing in the morning, most especially. I've been doing that, and I do believe it's helped a lot with the 'just out of bed" heel pain that I've had with this! Thank you so much for describing it, and yes, I'm short & bendy too, so I dispensed with the towel and it's a better mechanical motion for me now.

I'm so sorry that you are struggling with the achilles issue. Not healing is so frustrating!! *hugs*

[linaelyn]

WOW. Those links are SO HELPFUL. Thank you so much for taking the time to give them to me here. I'm especially fond of the scientific approach, even though, in hindsight, I came to this post kinda hoping someone would have some magical snake oil cure for me that western medicine hasn't accepted. :-} In my better moments, though, I'd much rather have you show me the standard deviation and the rate of recurrence and such.

I'm been doing the calf stretching, but as I said to Thalia earlier, I really haven't been doing a good job of giving it any rest, as evidenced by my step counter/FitBit thingie. Just two days of being better about staying off it, and doing the stretches and the icing with better regularity, have made the pain lessen quite a bit. Maybe this won't take forever, after all. :-)