Plantar Fascitis? What to do on the trail?

[Minnitonka]

Do any of you all have plantar fascitis? What do you do for yourself on the trail when it flares up? Is there anything you can do, other than keeping your load light and carrying less?

At home, I can sleep with a foot brace, and ice my feet. But backpacking and hiking for several days, well I have not figured that out yet. I am not willing to give it up for a bit of foot pain.

[Abner]

I can't tell you what to do on the trail. However my daughter had several of these. And there is a perfectly wonderful and easy-ish treatment for this involving apple cider vinegar. I swear it works. But you have to be so persistent and a bit maniacal about following the procedure.

We went to doctors...tried freezing it off, duct tape, everything in the book. Then the doc threatened surgery and said that might not be the greatest outcome....so this is what we did:

Following online testimonials of folks who'd struggled with these for years to no avail but were healed with apple cider vinegar treatments...

I bought quite the gallon of apple cider vinegar. Every evening we soaked her entire foot, enough to cover the offending spots with vinegar. soaked her entire foot in apple cider vinegar for twenty minutes at least...twenty-five minutes at most. Then took a cotton ball and tore off little mini-cotton ball. Dipped that in fresh apple cider vinegar...taped that under duct tape cutting off all air around the plantar, locking in apple cider vinegar, cotton ball and plantar facitis. Then before school put piece of duct tape over wound.

At night repeated process. within five days the offending spot began to disentegrate. The whole nasty thing started sort of falling apart...skin just around the rim, and covering the black root of the plantar fascitis started to peel. We'd scrape away what we could exposing the live root of the plantar to more and deeper penetrating apple cider vinegar. Because the darn things like to spin off little baby growths we'd spot those and vigorously attack them, same procedure. In two weeks, scraping the dead and disentegrating skin away and continuing same vigorous treatment, the whole nasty thing died and we could remove the root. Then continued to treat neighboring flare ups with apple cider treatment, and soon could just cover hole in foot where plantar was and the thing healed on its own.

So for months we struggled with Doctor prescribed treatments, to no avail. And in three weeks the whole thing was over with apple cider vinegar treatments. maybe you could do some version of this on the trail. Good luck, these things are quite tenacious. But you can beat 'um with apple cider vinegar treatments and apple cider vinegar dressings and duct tape. you have to cut air off from the darn things and poison their environment with the vinegar.

[Cookerhiker]

Lots of discussion here.

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...plantar+faciit

[rambunny]

Beat your feet,Beat your feet to Big K-seriously when you get to a cattle stile place the balls of your feet on each step-and slowwwwly lower your heel-you will feel when to stop.Slow down,soak in Epsom Salts &hot H20 in town.Find a curb to do the same on. Massage your feet at night,especially gently stretching Big toe to shin.Of course lighten your load. Carry on Soldier-

[Cookerhiker]

And another one. Enjoy the reading!

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...antar+facitiis

[speedbump]

Yes, I HAD it. I had surgery 2 years ago for it. I was section hiking the NH section and it got so bad, I could not go on. I had ignored it for too long and decided to just fix it. I don't think there is anything you can do while hiking to relive this pain. Nothing worked for me. I had the Topaz procedure, it works and I was skiing 2 weeks after ! Now I am back on the trail and have no issues at all. Good luck !

Do any of you all have plantar fascitis? What do you do for yourself on the trail when it flares up? Is there anything you can do, other than keeping your load light and carrying less?

At home, I can sleep with a foot brace, and ice my feet. But backpacking and hiking for several days, well I have not figured that out yet. I am not willing to give it up for a bit of foot pain.

[texas&fla]

If the pain gets really severe, ask your doctor to give you a prescription strength anti inflammatory for it. I had a really bad flare up this past year and this helped get it under control. Long term..... Minimize the weight you carry in your pack and the weight on your body. Do exercises that work at making the Tissue on the bottom of your foot stretch...check them out online. It helps when the muscles in your feet are strong. Most importantly, get a pair of shoes with very stiff inserts (or buy really good inserts). Never wear shoes with bad or no inserts. This will cause you to strain it again and then you have to start over.

If you are on the trail and the pain is bad you can tape your foot up in a manner that supports the foot. It really helps. Here is a video that covers how to do it. Plus if you google it, you can print out the instructions.


http://www.google.com/search?q=tapin...&client=safari



Good luck. I feel your pain.

Oh yeah... Be careful if you are prescribed a strong anti biotic (for an infection not PF). One anti biotic has a side effect of causing tendinitis. This happened to me this past year. And guess which tendon was affected? Of course, the ones on the bottom of my right foot. It was so bad that I could hardly walk. The only way to walk was taping my foot with seemingly many feet of tape. Bad thing was I was days away from trekking in Tanzania. I did the short trek, but at a very slow and painful pace.

[Johnny Thunder]

every morning/noon/night you have to do the simple (but difficult) stretch. one hand pulls your toes towards your shin. the other hand grips the underside of the food and using the finger tips pushed in the plantar ligaments. 2 1-minute stretches per foot.

also, try skipping rope barefoot for a few weeks before the trip. this is about over-use/under-strength. get your feet used to being used in this way and you won't have a flare-up.

[grok120]

Had good luck with nike running shoes as walking on the airbag lets you walk normally and pain resolves

[Tinker]

I can't tell you what to do on the trail. However my daughter had several of these. And there is a perfectly wonderful and easy-ish treatment for this involving apple cider vinegar. I swear it works. But you have to be so persistent and a bit maniacal about following the procedure.

We went to doctors...tried freezing it off, duct tape, everything in the book. Then the doc threatened surgery and said that might not be the greatest outcome....so this is what we did:

Following online testimonials of folks who'd struggled with these for years to no avail but were healed with apple cider vinegar treatments...

I bought quite the gallon of apple cider vinegar. Every evening we soaked her entire foot, enough to cover the offending spots with vinegar. soaked her entire foot in apple cider vinegar for twenty minutes at least...twenty-five minutes at most. Then took a cotton ball and tore off little mini-cotton ball. Dipped that in fresh apple cider vinegar...taped that under duct tape cutting off all air around the plantar, locking in apple cider vinegar, cotton ball and plantar facitis. Then before school put piece of duct tape over wound.

At night repeated process. within five days the offending spot began to disentegrate. The whole nasty thing started sort of falling apart...skin just around the rim, and covering the black root of the plantar fascitis started to peel. We'd scrape away what we could exposing the live root of the plantar to more and deeper penetrating apple cider vinegar. Because the darn things like to spin off little baby growths we'd spot those and vigorously attack them, same procedure. In two weeks, scraping the dead and disentegrating skin away and continuing same vigorous treatment, the whole nasty thing died and we could remove the root. Then continued to treat neighboring flare ups with apple cider treatment, and soon could just cover hole in foot where plantar was and the thing healed on its own.

So for months we struggled with Doctor prescribed treatments, to no avail. And in three weeks the whole thing was over with apple cider vinegar treatments. maybe you could do some version of this on the trail. Good luck, these things are quite tenacious. But you can beat 'um with apple cider vinegar treatments and apple cider vinegar dressings and duct tape. you have to cut air off from the darn things and poison their environment with the vinegar.

This is a plantar wart. I had one of these and had two surgeries back in the 1980s. The second one got it completely and left no scar tissue (the main concern when getting the wart excised).

I have also had plantar faciitis (Pain under the foot caused by tendon problems). X-rays showed a bone spur under the heel. I was fitted for and began using custom orthotics. I've since moved to OTC orthotics with good results.

[rocketsocks]

I too have used custom orthotics,and have never had that same problem return,I'm a believer!

[doritotex]

I can't tell you what to do on the trail. However my daughter had several of these. And there is a perfectly wonderful and easy-ish treatment for this involving apple cider vinegar. I swear it works. But you have to be so persistent and a bit maniacal about following the procedure.

We went to doctors...tried freezing it off, duct tape, everything in the book. Then the doc threatened surgery and said that might not be the greatest outcome....so this is what we did:

Following online testimonials of folks who'd struggled with these for years to no avail but were healed with apple cider vinegar treatments...

I bought quite the gallon of apple cider vinegar. Every evening we soaked her entire foot, enough to cover the offending spots with vinegar. soaked her entire foot in apple cider vinegar for twenty minutes at least...twenty-five minutes at most. Then took a cotton ball and tore off little mini-cotton ball. Dipped that in fresh apple cider vinegar...taped that under duct tape cutting off all air around the plantar, locking in apple cider vinegar, cotton ball and plantar facitis. Then before school put piece of duct tape over wound.

At night repeated process. within five days the offending spot began to disentegrate. The whole nasty thing started sort of falling apart...skin just around the rim, and covering the black root of the plantar fascitis started to peel. We'd scrape away what we could exposing the live root of the plantar to more and deeper penetrating apple cider vinegar. Because the darn things like to spin off little baby growths we'd spot those and vigorously attack them, same procedure. In two weeks, scraping the dead and disentegrating skin away and continuing same vigorous treatment, the whole nasty thing died and we could remove the root. Then continued to treat neighboring flare ups with apple cider treatment, and soon could just cover hole in foot where plantar was and the thing healed on its own.

So for months we struggled with Doctor prescribed treatments, to no avail. And in three weeks the whole thing was over with apple cider vinegar treatments. maybe you could do some version of this on the trail. Good luck, these things are quite tenacious. But you can beat 'um with apple cider vinegar treatments and apple cider vinegar dressings and duct tape. you have to cut air off from the darn things and poison their environment with the vinegar.

Plantar fascititis, an inflamation of the connective tissue on the bottom of the foot, (tendons/ligaments), not plantar WARTS! A completely different ailment. Apple cider vinegar would not help plantar FASCITITIS.

[Minnitonka]

Hi Abner, thanks for taking the time to write and explain that to me. But I think waht your daughter has is something different, maybe plantar warts? Plantar facsitis is a swelling of the tendons or ligaments inside the foot- so it can't come off.

Good luck to your daughter, that sounds painful too!

[coach lou]

Lots of discussion here.

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...plantar+faciit

Somewhere in this thread, it was suggested to do stretching before you actually rise in the AM. Point the toes up then down. I have been doing this for the past 2 months, it definitely works, it is not a miracle, but it works for me.

[Ender]

This is what I did:

I got custom orthotics, and after a couple years my feet were fixed, so I stopped wearing them. That was back in 2003-2005. Recently I had a bit of a flare up again over the winter, but when I started running this spring barefoot style (using vibram five finger shoes) the pain went away.

[max patch]

I've had it twice over a ten year period and there was no way no how I could go backpacking for a 3 month stretch each time. Day hikes of 5 miles was the limit.

[Blissful]

Just went to Dr for it today and got an arch support and an ankle band to exercise. I was also taught the towel-gathering with your toes to strengthen the ligaments.

[Minnitonka]

Thanks to all of you for yor help, suggestions and links posted. I will check them out. I really appreciate your help.

[loveluck]

thumbs up Good luck!

[Abner]

Oh my, sorry about that Minnitonka, completely misunderstood the nature of plantar fascitis. I'll take down my posts. Best of luck with your situation. So sorry to bother you with a discussion of plantar warts! I'm really embarassed. Thanks for being nice about my mistaken attempt at helping you.