[Closed] Plantar fasciitis: what worked for you?

Get some PF-specific insoles and wear them in your normal shoes as well as your running ones.

Totally solved it for me.

Get a boot to sleep in. Worked for me.

https://www.braceability.com/collections/plantar-fasciitis-boots-braces

Get a golf ball. Put it on floor and massage base of foot. That’s what I did

My missis, cortisone injection in her foot. Cleared it up pretty much the same day and no repeats since. That was after dicking about for months with physio and foot rollers etc.

Get a golf ball. Put it on floor and massage base of foot. That’s what I did

Oh yeah, tennis ball under foot while at desk was great for short-term alleviation for me too.

Insoles have prevented any further recurrence though.

I should have mentioned that i have a lacrosse ball that doesn't leave my desk! Used for neck, quads etc. I've given that a bit of a go in my feet.

First, get a full and proper diagnosis. PF just means the underside of your foot hurts. You really need to know why.

I spent years trying different podiatrists, different custom orthotics, some in eva foam, some it carbon, some in nylon. Rolling frozen water bottles under my feet. Never tried sleeping in a boot a flexibility was never an issue for me.

What did work for me was correct-toes, barefoot minimalist shoes and a carful transition period.

If you want a long term solution you need to strengthen your foot. Insoles support the foot, but if anything weaken it.
I had really bad PF - what worked for me was LOTS of stretching (every morning/evening) and strengthening exercises (heel lifts, picking up pebbles with feet etc). I also started using barefoot shoes (Vivo barefoot and Merrell) for everyday wear, again strengthening feet.

The stretch in this video works wonders for mine.

I found sleeping with a boot / splint really helped.  It’s not about flexibility, it’s about ensuring that the healing that happens overnight is done in the stretched rather than contracted position.  If it heals in the contracted position as soon as you get of bed and put the foot down you stretch and re-tear the plantar hence the pain early in the morning. Should be worn in conjunction with stretch exercises, arch ball etc for best results.

Insoles can be invaluable if you have flat feet like me.

Foot beds (very high arch - bare feet on a hard floor is a killer for me), Birkenstock’s around the house - good arch support. Lots of calf stretching.

I ended up using barefoot shoes.
It seemed to work for me, but no idea why

Depends on the cause. For me it was over-pronation, solved by orthotic insoles.

My wife has it, and an ultra marathon earlier this year properly knackered her foot. She's been given a series of exercises from her physio that seem to be working. She's back up to 10km without it hurting.

Insoles, I get the super feet ones.
And if you’re on your feet, firm shoes are much better than squashy trainers. I think it’s the whole foot support, and not letting them
Spread out.

Calf strengthening, stretching and golf ball under the foot sorted mine.

Wife's a postie and had this ongoing for ages, finally self referred to local NHS physio who assessed her and then on the spot made some inserts for her shoes & it's done the trick.

For me it was a simple change of footwear at work,
I used to live in Trainers, and on my feet most of the day
Suffered quite badly with PF eventually, then I swapped my trainers for Doc Martens while at work and it stopped practically overnight.

I can still wear trainers but no longer live in them, I rotate several pairs, along with good shoes and trusty DMs and it seems to work ( touch wood )

Or in other words try a new pair of good shoes

Insoles and Birkenstock sandals to wear around the house rather than going barefoot which I used to all the time... Fixed if reasonably quickly.

I also stuck some insoles in the shoes I wear most, but not all of them

G

Insoles certainly made a huge difference for me. Have pretty flat feet, so pronation is significant issue. Used the ones from Aldi, way cheaper and have done the job.

Also stretch calves after exercise much more than ever used to and now cycle to/from footie which also seems to have made a difference

Been wondering if this is what has happened to my foot, except no pain in the heel, just forward of it toward the high point of the arch. Will give Jeff Cavaliere's stretches a go.

Oh also’Vionic’ flip flops round the house, they have arch support.
If you can’t get to a proper foot person, Cotswold Outdoors have a ‘fitting set’ for the insoles, and an advisors who can advise as well as keeping a decent stock (in the Bicester one). Maybe ring though in case they don’t all do this.

Spotted these-
https://www.sportpursuit.com/search?s=Arch%20support

no pain in the heel, just forward of it toward the high point of the arch

I've been experiencing this as well - I'm going to try out those calf stretches in the video

As other have said - proper PF insoles in shoes. Pretty painful and generally uncomfortable to start with as just not used to it but it did eventually work. If and when you recover then make sure you keep using decent supportive insoles (not necessarily full PF ones) in all your everyday shoes to reduce the chances of it coming back.
I also found that getting up and moving a lot first thing in the morning (walking the dogs usually), trying to ignore the initial pain, made a big difference to comfort for the rest of the day.

See a physio (or get a consultation anyway, as you probably can't see one at the mo).
Stretches and massage balls got rid of mine. Haven't needed any long term solutions, like continuing to wear insoles, because it just hasn't come back. I do stretch my achillies more than I used to (but don't play football or tennis anymore!)

As mentioned, I found Birkenstock sandals are brilliant - even if you just use them in the house. When my feet were hurting, putting on the Birkenstocks after taking other shoes off was bliss. Birkenstock copies never worked quite as well though.

PF insoles in shoes. Pretty painful and generally uncomfortable to start

When I put them in my normal shoes it was bliss, a real "where have you been all my life?" moment.

Clearly they are essential for those of us with flat feet, but perhaps stretching and conditioning would be sufficient if OP is new to running.

Are you feet flat or flattish OP?

Had it really bad, for me it was caused from having a relatively high arched yet flexible foot and riding hard in what I realise now were inadequately supportive shoes. It can be so hard to treat once bad so do all you can to treat it once you've identified it. I used to feel mine tear every morning when walking on it, took over 5 years to recover and still get twinges.

The only thing that worked for me was ensuring that all of my cycling shoes were as supportive as possible in both insole and upper. I found with supporting the arch I could avoid strain and continue riding while it healed- I use the Sidas custom molded insoles, or the 'Sole' thermoformable insole - and can only ride in what many would consider a stiff XC race shoe...

Also- be brutal in looking at any footwear that you wear day to day. Everyone is obviously different but for me I can't wear any shoes that don't offer enough support - flat soled shoes are out, the right running shoes or something like the Salomon XA Pro has enough support built in, anything else I add an off the shelf running insole- though it's a minefield as the right insole can differ shoe to shoe. I use the 'Currex RunPro' insole in most of my everyday shoes and they're spot on for me and unobtrusive.

As above, rolling a ball under the foot helps a lot. I found a softball works great, or a small metal canister filled with water then frozen - then you can roll and ice at same time.

I didn't find that undertaking physio or their PF specific insoles were as much use as getting the above right...though seeing a physio would probably be useful first for analysis.

Also- once healed, do regular foot strengthening excersises. If you mainly cycle, then you might need to crosstrain to strengthen the foot - running on soft ground offroad/ fell running works for me.

Good luck.

I also found that getting up and moving a lot first thing in the morning (walking the dogs usually), trying to ignore the initial pain, made a big difference to comfort for the rest of the day.

This is because (as explained in my earlier post) the initial pain is from the re-tearing of the tissue that had started to heal overnight (as without a foot splint the foot naturally ends up in a position whereby the tissue is contracted).  The initial pain eventually subsides through walking but the cycle then repeats the next day so you are treating the symptom and not the cause.

I've had it twice, both brought on by playing 5 a side football, I assume it was down to the repeated impacts wearing shoes with minimal cushioning / support. I changed from boots to astro trainers with a bit more cushioning after the first time but this did not prevent it happening again.  I've not played since for fear of its return (the second time around was worse).

Some useful posts, thanks everyone. I'm not new to running, but I've had a big break from it (used to race Tri/fell running etc). My reintroduction was very gentle, but still caused the PF. I had a touch of it years ago but it went pretty swiftly with rest so didn't need a full set of measures.

That video above is interesting and underlines the importance of the biomechanical chains effect. One of the things I noticed when trying to research solutions is that as a cyclist a lot of advice can appear conflicting because a lot of it is aimed at running/ upright sports and doesn't necessarily apply to cycling due to the unique way a cyclist applies force through the ball of the foot, instead of the balanced weighting and rolling occurring between heel and forefoot when upright.

There's a whole school of thought against insoles/ arch support in running/ upright sports and I agree with that as its important not to immobilise the foot here (though you might need to until tissue has healed), as that can lead to weakness and altered motion. In my experience though, cycling should be treated as an exception to that rule due to the unnatural way force is applied through the foot as lever, for me robust arch support in a cycling shoe is essential and is the only thing that allowed me to continue to ride without pain after years of irritation. A good bike fit at somewhere like CycleFit seemed to confirm that.

PF caused by running alone and not cycling, could require quite different solutions.

I spent months trying boots, socks, rolling, steroid injections, mileage reduction, stretching. Pretty much everything.

Turned out I needed a bike fit. My position was putting too much stress on my achilles, and thus the plantar fascia. All the docs said 'don't worry about the swimming, cycling, and lifting, those don't cause PF. Just cut the running'. Soon as the bike fit was done, the PF cleared up.

Interesting, do you remember what the main thing adjusted on the bike fit was? As far as I understand it, placing cleat position slightly rearward on the shoe, with a corresponding shuffling forward of the seating position, is one thing that can help to stabilise the foot on the pedal and prevent the achilles overworking to maintain form through the pedal stroke...probably a whole combination of things though.

Truthfully, I can't, it was 5 years ago now. And I'd be hesitant to suggest anything as I'm not an expert, and it'll be different for everyone. I should point out that I got the bike fit purely by accident, it was a birthday present. It wasn't in an effort to cure the PF, so I wasn't paying a massive amount of attention to it, and frankly, after being a cyclist for 40 years I thought I knew it all about my own position.

@MrSheen has it with that video

I've used insoles which I still do

I've tried the boot, helped for sure

I've used the golf ball which certainly offers temporary relief

With those calf stretches I can do what I want with no issues, during lockdown 1 I built up to a longest cross country run of 20 miles and I'm now walking 100K plus a week on rock hard pavements in steel toecap boots and I've not had a problem. The boot and golf ball helped the first time I had it but I still couldn't run for 18 months, when it came back I went down the same route until someone showed me that video. Within a week I was back running again and I just do them occasionally now if I feel any discomfort starting.

They may not work for you but the results for me were so quick I'd say they are worth anyone trying

After having PF for around 6 months it cleared up when I was told to take proper doses of ibuprofen for a week to help an unrelated sprain. By proper dose I mean that I had been taking the dose as per the packet but at 16 stone it was probably too small. In any case the nurse at minor injuries suggested a higher dose for the sprain and it cleared up the PF as a side effect.