Plantar Fasciitis

I have had plantar fasciitis twice. The first time it went away in about four months, or likely the symptoms went away (that annoying pain in the heel especially getting out of bed in the morning). Every day I iced my foot, soaked it in Epsom salt, and I purchased a good pair of running shoes.

About a year later I got it again and it took me about eight months to get over it. I did some light farmers carries while wearing Chuck Taylor's. As soon as I put the weight down, I was walking with a limp. The next morning the excruciating pain in my heel made it impossible to stand up after getting out of bed.

I ditched my Chuck's and got a pair of running shoes. They had a thick heel and i thought it be perfect for me since I'm a heel striker.  Little did i know that such shoes actually encourage one to heel strike to a greater degree. 

I was also very aggressive with the aggravated tissues. I stretched my foot at night and in the morning. I massaged it with my hand and my rolling muscle massager.  My massage therapist also dug into my heel and my calves (I knew the tightness in my calves was part of a greater problem).

After about two months of the above protocol I had some improvement, but my heel was still really tight upon waking.  I bought a plantar fasciitis boot to wear at night so i could get over the nagging heel pain. This boot keeps the foot neutral since our feet relax during sleep and spend the night in plantar flexion. After a few days it didn't hurt to put pressure on my foot when I woke up. But my heel still ached throughout the day, particular after training.

I was still missing something. I continued with massage, stretching, ice and Epsom soaks. I wore my boot every night. After four months I still was hampered by this pain which limited my mobility and activity choices. At this time, I also had a chronically stiff neck, nervous tingling in my arms with occasional numbness and my hips were always screaming at me whenever I sat down. I went to see a chiropractor.

One month of chiropractic care alleviated much of my neck and nervous pain symptoms. The tightness in my hips began to relax and my hamstrings generally felt better as well. The chiropractor also used graston technique (imagine tissue rolling with a butter knife) and performed this on my foot during each visit.

In short time, my foot pain began to subside as well. At this point I had been suffering for five months. I still had not succumbed to cortisone shots or orthotics. I was still looking for another shoe to wear so I could perform strongman events without ruining the progress I had made. 

At this time I knew I needed to begin some increased movements for my calves, ankles a d feet. I began doing seated calf raises. I started my calf raises with a light weight and really let my heel stretch at the bottom of the movement. I slowly increased the weight on these and this made the stretch even more effective. Within a couple training sessions, I didn't have the same aching that followed my training sessions for the previous six months.

At this time a friend of mine was raving about his Merrell barefoot shoes. He was so impressed by their comfort that he bought me a pair as a gift. These shoes are wide and flat so my foot had room and I could easily wear them for static lifts like squats and deadlifts. They felt kind of weird at first. I could feel my feet on the ground with every step and as a heel striker I found myself walking differently to avoid slamming my heels with every step.  After a month, I was training and walking around without paying attention to my foot pain: it was gone! 

I read that barefoot shoes actually strengthen the tissue on the bottom of the foot since it allows the foot to feel the surfaces being walked on. This engages the fibers on the bottom of the foot whereas the extra padding of some of standard running or athletic shoes inhibit this contact and subsequent strengthening.

It took me over seven months to rid myself of this injury and I would not wish it upon my worst enemy. I tried a lot of methods to recover from this injury and perhaps the most important ones were footwear and going to the chiropractor. For me, the mistake was wearing Chucks left my feet unprepared to handle the stress placed on them. But the gift of Merrell changed my feet drastically, improving my gait and strengthening my feet in the process. The other critical tool for recovery is to find out what other issues are affecting your gait, to find out what greater issue your heel pain is a symptom of. My posture was terrible and with my regular massage and chiropractic adjustments I improved my alignment and began doing away with bad postural habits. No more slouching over means no neck or hip pain and ultimately a decreased likelihood of my heel pain returning.

The other methods I used such as ice and soaks and rollers are also helpful but those only offer short term relief. Seated calf raises and the nighttime boot were even more effective tools for recovery.  The boot was the best investment for the short term relief tools. Calf raises are a step in the direction of long term rehabilitation and prevention. I suggest you use these tools if you are suffering but changing your footwear and addressing your greater issues either skeletal or muscular will shorten the duration of plantar fasciitis.