plantar fasciitis

[carissa]

I'm starting a section hike Sept. 1 from Springer headed to Damascus.
I recently found out I have plantar fasciitis.
I bought new hiking shoes and the inserts, I'm really concerned because right now I just jog with out the 30lb pack.
Has anyone had anything similar, and if so were you still able to finish your hiking goal?
Any advice, suggestions welcome.

Thank you!!!!

River

[cneill13]

I have had it a few times. Unfortunately, the only remedy I have found is rest. It will heal itself but you must give it time.

[Martzy13]

*Not a doctor*

I know some people have worn a boot while sleeping that keeps your foot at a right angle to you leg (keeping it stretched all night instead of loose), but I don't know if this is a fix to the problem or simply a coping mechanism.

[gracebowen]

Dont know your situation. Not trying to imply anything. Just sharing my personal experience. I got it when i weighed 220. I lost 20 lbs and it went away. I have since lost 20 more lbs.

[SteelCut]

I once suffered from PF and had to abort a thru-hike because of it.

Like you, I have since gotten new shoes and proper inserts which helped. Additionally, for me, doing calf stretches has worked wonders. I was able to return to hiking am I am disciplined to do the stretches every day and on hiking days I stretch before, during, and after hiking. I just finished a 200 mile section hike with a number of days of 18-20 miles without any pain.

[spfleisig]

*not a doctor*
Had this too. Got custom inserts from a sports podiatrist. Did a massive amount of calf and Achilles stretching. Did tons of rolling the arch of my foot over a golf ball.

[TX Aggie]

I've battled PF for quite a while, and recently stumbled on stick rollers and Voodoo Floss after watching Early Riser 71's videos. I have to say, those were the first things that have ever worked. Especially Voodoo Floss combined with compression socks at night. If I have a flare up, 2-3 days of rolling, Floss and compression socks and I'm good as new. That's with running 4 miles 3 times a week and doing one 5 mile ruck march a week with a 35-40 lb ruck.

I highly recommend trying roller sticks and Voodoo Floss.


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[Just Tom]

PF is hell. I'm envious of all of you have manged to get it sorted out, I've tried all the gizmos and stretches I could find. I've finally gotten to the point of calling a doctor, phone number is on my desk right now. I've been suffering for about a year. It has drastically cut down on my day and overnight hiking. (I think I've put on 15 pounds this past year due to lack of normal activity). Good luck to you in combating it.

[MuddyWaters]

find a goodfeet store near you, pay them a visit.

[Secondmouse]

Hoka One One Stinson 3 trail Running shoes. yeah...

[shelb]

I ramped up my running back in February and started having foot/heel pain (I was training for a Ragnar Relay that was the 2nd weekend of June). I saw a Sports Medicine Doc... and he said I, thankfully, had Achilles Tendonitis. (He said Plantar Fascitis would have derailed me...). Even so,with the Achilles Tendonitis, I am constantly stretching and in pain. When I last saw my doctor two weeks ago, he cleared me to walk the A.T. for 200 miles, but he said I would be fighting the pain for another year since I am working through the healing process as an active individual rather than immobilizing it and chillin.

[Red Sky]

I had a bad case of it a year ago when I started training for a thru hike. I'd read several places that you could use a tennis ball, or something similar to put pressure on the arch and heel areas of the foot. Basically rolling the ball around those areas with as much pressure as you can stand. I tried this and it did relieve the pain. I'm also using the Dr Scholl's Plantar inserts, and they seem to work well. Did not do my thru hike, but I've done a couple of long weekend trips with no issues. Good luck!

[TexasBob]

I'm starting a section hike Sept. 1 from Springer headed to Damascus.
I recently found out I have plantar fasciitis.
I bought new hiking shoes and the inserts, I'm really concerned because right now I just jog with out the 30lb pack...........

I am wondering how you found out you had PF. If you went to a doctor and got a diagnosis then your doctor should have told you how to deal with it so I am wondering if you self diagnosed this problem. Going to a doctor would be a great idea if you haven't already. I have had PF twice (once in each foot). I went to an orthopedic doctor the first time and he prescribed 4 weeks of an anti-inflammatory, gave me a boot to wear at night and showed me some stretching exercises and within a month I was fine. The second time I got PF was much worse. I did all the same things the second time but it lasted for many months. I think what finally did the trick along with the boot, stretching, etc. was icing my heel area twice a day with an ice bag.

[Puddlefish]

It can be caused by a few things. If it's caused by heel spurs/bone growths, you're screwed and it will never go away. I just have to start off really slowly every morning I hike, until the pain kind of levels out, everything that can be stretched gets stretched and I can just ignore the nagging pain. Takes about a half hour of limping before I can start moving.

[Maineiac64]

https://dctproflex.com/collections/f...ts/dct-proflex

heard an interview with a world renowned sprint coach and he said this was best thing he had ever used. I have not tried it. Keeping it stretched is the key.

[KDogg]

I had some bouts of PF on the trail. Ended up getting some KT tape (it's a thing) and applying it according to the youtube video. Worked great!!!! Get the more pro version as the glue is better. The cheaper version lasted only a day, the more expensive pro version lasted three to four. Obviously this doesn't replace doctor's advice but for me it was enough to heal without stopping. Wish they had this stuff when I was a kit playing sports.

[Another Kevin]

For me, it took wearing custom orthoses (fitted by a podiatrist) around town, after getting a cortisone shot to quiet the inflammation. As well as a lot of rest, stretching exercises, rolling the feet over a frozen water bottle, sleeping in a restraint, and so on.

I'm finally to the point where I'm starting to get back into hiking - put in about ten miles on a day trip last weekend without major trouble from my feet. But it took over a year to get to that point, and it's going to take months to get back into hiking fettle after that long away.

The second foot took less time than the first, because I broke down and went to the doc and got the work done. (I kept trying self-care when I got it in the first foot. At least the doc told me that everything I was doing was stuff he'd have told me to do.)

Getting old is not for sissies.

[K-dub]

For me, it took wearing custom orthoses (fitted by a podiatrist) around town, after getting a cortisone shot to quiet the inflammation. As well as a lot of rest, stretching exercises, rolling the feet over a frozen water bottle, sleeping in a restraint, and so on...

Snip

Getting old is not for sissies.

I had it bad one time and had to get a shot in my foot too. Also, my DR. gave me orthotics to wear in my shoes.

Old people

[jgillam]

I too have suffered from PF a few times in my life and understand the misery it brings.

My latest bout started in August of 2016 and finally went away this April. During this time there were days when I couldn't walk unless I absolutely I had to.

During this bout I used a sleeping boot, did lots of calf stretching, rolled a ball under my feet, aggressively rubbed the bottom of my foot on a rounded table edge to break up scare tissue and took three different types of medication as prescribed by my podiatrist. All of these worked but, the anti-inflammatories worked the fastest. I have also worn custom orthotics for over a decade now, since my first experience with PF. This time we made a new set with even higher, more supportive arches.

During this time, a friend of mine who owns a sports store and has decades of experience in fitting athletes at Purdue University, gave me the most helpful information.

He said that people with PF need stiff shoes. At the time I had just purchased a pair of Hoka Mafate 4's because they made my feet feel okay at the store. Even though they felt stiff in my hands, he said they weren't nearly as stiff of a shoe as I would need. After a few weeks of the pain coming and going, I broke down and purchased Salomon XA Pro 3D's with a rock plate. These shoes are much stiffer and pretty much ended my suffering. Three times since April, I have decided to wear the Hoka's for the day, mostly because they are still essentially new and needed to be worn. Each time my feet have hurt heck for a few days afterward until the anti-inflammatories calmed things down again. A few days later, after wearing stiff shoes again, things are great and my feet are back to normal.

Please don't take this the wrong way. I like the Hoka's and don't think they actually caused the problems. They just didn't help my existing situation at all.

The trick is to be proactive. My wife has also suffered with PF for over a year now and won't do anything because she doesn't want to fuss with it...guess what, she hurts everyday.

Hopefully this information can help someone one. I truly feel your pain and frustration.

[TX Aggie]

I had some bouts of PF on the trail. Ended up getting some KT tape (it's a thing) and applying it according to the youtube video. Worked great!!!! Get the more pro version as the glue is better. The cheaper version lasted only a day, the more expensive pro version lasted three to four. Obviously this doesn't replace doctor's advice but for me it was enough to heal without stopping. Wish they had this stuff when I was a kit playing sports.

I thought KT tape was a gimmick at first too, but then I tried it. Between stick rollers, Voodoo Floss, and KT tape, I've become a big believer in compression therapy.


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