Plantar Fasciitis

Not only is Plantar Fasciitis (PF) every runners nightmare it is a literal pain in the – hmm, hmm foot!

I did battle this horrible affliction 8 or so years ago in my left foot and after months of stretching and rolling my foot I found that deep tissue massage of my calf was what really ended it. It has not been so easy this time around.

The PF has taken up residence in my right foot this time and is holding on tight to it’s claim. It has ended several of my intended long runs recently inflicting such intense pain that I was not even able to walk out the rest of the miles. Frustrating does not even begin to describe my feelings towards this squatter that will not leave.

I am battling back and am starting to regain ownership of my foot.

Here are the things that are working for me.

1. Deep tissue massage and stripping of the foot, calf and shin. I have a love hate relationship with my massage therapist. I guess that is not really true, I do really like her but what she does to me hurts worse than child birth. Find yourself a good therapist that will get to know your body and can work deep enough to loosen up those knots.

2. Yoga and specifically yoga for your feet. I follow Yoga with Adrienne on Youtube and she has a great 30 minute yoga for the feet video. Check it out below.

3. Stretching the calves and shins. Check out these two videos that I have watched. I now use the stretches daily.

4. Foot care. Not sure what else to call this but proper supportive shoes, arch support and self care go along way to healing or preventing PF. These are some of the items I have added to my arsenal.

5. Rest. There I said it, don’t hate me. Not one runner I know likes to contemplate taking time off especially when there is a goal in the near future. Let me tell you friends that this is really important. If you do not give the body time to heal you can possibly turn a 2 week recovery period into a 2 month or longer recovery period. Take a deep breath find a good blog to read or a motivational running movie to watch and give yourself a good foot rub and know it is for the greater good!

Are you currently battling PF or have you in the past? What has worked for you? Try out some of my ideas and let me know how it goes.

Thanks for reading and keep on adventuring!

See you on the trails soon!