Plantar fasciitis options

Strassburg sock beats other night splints that don't keep the toes extended. Merely keeping the foot dorsiflexed is not ideal. That said, some people have issues sleeping through the night with any device. If you get the sock, keep a little room at the end of the toes to make this easier.

Check out

www.grastontechnique.com

i use it and ART to treat PF and results are pretty good. In 6 years, i have only had one failure in well over 100 patients with PF.

I am about 95% over a bad case of PF. It lasted over two years.

For me, the Stassburg sock does not work, my foot seems to 'slip out' of position during the night.

I had success with a $40 over the counter night-split I purchased as CVS (Dr. Schols?). I also recently purchased a 'Feetures' compression sock specifically for PF symptoms.

YMMV.

night splints & funky socks are quack methods. Might as well get some 19th century doc to bleed you or something.

What worked for us, as far as a quick fix for PF: switch to minimalist shoes, take a hard look at your mechanics - particularly foot strike - and fix what needs fixing, ice & do the ball rolling/massage type exercises. That's it.

Sounds like a familiar story. I had struggled with PF on and off for years until I reached a similar point as you in 2010 where it felt like I was being stung by a bee with each step. Finally, I took nearly 6 months off in 2011. Used a nighttime splint for the first 2 months and continued with stretches afterwards.

Finally, when the pain was about 98% gone, I returned to running using only vibrams and minimalist shoes. I ramped up the mileage as conservatively as possible and wasn't even back up to 5 mile runs until three months into my return to running.

The PF went away as my feet strengthened and hasn't come back since, other than a twinge or two or minor soreness here or there. One word of caution, though, the minimal shoes cured my PF, but at the cost of aggravating my achilles, which I struggle with last year. As my mileage increased and the heels continued to ache, I stuck with light weight shoes, but switch to ones that had some height in the heels. Also, added in toe raises and drops every morning on stairs.

As far as splints go, they are effective in eliminating about 75% of the pain within a month even if you continue to run, but they will not eliminate pf.

achilles issues are a common prob when switching to minimalist shoes, which is why you gradually transition into them from traditional trainers. My achilles were sore for months off & on until I found a zero drop shoe that still had some cushion - Altra trail shoes. But I'm 46, 5'11 & 205 lbs, so if you're younger, lighter & not as creaky as me, maybe won't be as much of a prob.

Compared to you, Lance is a God. The sock and night splints are not as you say...quack methods. If you think massage will get rid of PF faster than either you are a complete fool.

Yeah, don't listen to My Name is Lance. By his comments, he has never used a night splint. If he had, he'd be saying what I am now - it works. It is, however, just one modality, but it's very important. The sock works well as it bends the big toe up as well as simply flexing the foot. Bad thing is the first few nights can be painful as the big toe is not used to the pressure. But the makers claim it allows the fascia to heal overnight in a stretched position, and this is exactly what happens. As you know, the first few steps in the morning are hell as you can literally feel the fascia crackling and jiving. Night splint = no pain. No pain = good in my book.

I was struggling before the night splint. The other method I found very beneficial was to take precisely zero shit from the fascia and not just massaging it but attacking it like you hate it. For me, this involved cotton socks and a polished wooden stair. Position the ledge of the stair just in front of the calcaneus, place your entire weight on that foot and slide the foot over the edge of the stair up into the middle of the arch. Repeat. You can HEAR the fascia popping and crunching. Take no notice. Attack it like you hate it. I working this out after, well, getting drunk and hating the damn thing so much I got reckless and didn't give a shit anymore. Lo and behold.

Good luck.

my daughter had PF & tried the night splint. Ineffective & uncomfortable.

Didn't say massage would cure PF. I think the biggest factor was the shoe switch & mechanics fix.

I have found that Tuli’s ¾ GAITors provide great support for my arch and relief for plantar fasciitis. They fit in all of my running shoes as well as everyday shoe wear and boots, giving me optimal relief all day long. You should also try deep stretching! When you improve your flexibility it will help rehab your plantar fasciitis. The ProStretch Plus from Medi-Dyne works wonders and gives you a stretch that you can’t replicate anywhere. Here is the Medi-Dyne website http://www.medi-dyne.com/pain-solution-center/heels.html and they also provide instructional videos on how the products really do work!

I have found that Tuli’s ¾ GAITors provide great support for my arch and relief for plantar fasciitis. They fit in all of my running shoes as well as everyday shoe wear and boots, giving me optimal relief all day long. You should also try deep stretching! When you improve your flexibility it will help rehab your plantar fasciitis. The ProStretch Plus from Medi-Dyne works wonders and gives you a stretch that you can’t replicate anywhere. Here is the Medi-Dyne website http://www.medi-dyne.com/pain-solution-center/heels.html and they also provide instructional videos on how the products really do work!

I never used the sock so can't speak about it. I did a lot of massage, ice and strengthening. What helped me the most was switching shoes. I am not advocating Vibrams or anything but I only run in lightweight trainers. I also switched from stability to mostly neutral shoes. That is what has helped me get over PF.

Currently I switch daily between Mizuno Precisions, a lightweight neutral, and the Brooks Pure Flow, a light weight shoe with 4mm drop.

I've noticed it is worst in the morning and after sitting all day (I have a desk job). It may look ridiculous to wear the sock at work, but I'm thinking a footrest that keeps my foot dorsiflexed during the day may also help some of this.

I had it for the greater part of a year and tried the following methods to no avail:

ice

orthotics

picking up a towel with my toes

anit inflamatories

the sock

the boot

4 months of no running and wearing supportive shoes.

finally I got results by running barefoot around a grass field trying to land forefoot.

Then it went away and I've been able to wear shoes for months after the barefoot running.

Strengthening is the way to go in my opinion.

Get it checked out to make absolutely sure it is pf and not just tendinitis.

KimberleyK wrote:

I've noticed it is worst in the morning and after sitting all day (I have a desk job). It may look ridiculous to wear the sock at work, but I'm thinking a footrest that keeps my foot dorsiflexed during the day may also help some of this.

This is a good idea, but no need to wear the sock. Just position your foot so it is tucked right under your chair in the dorsiflexed position and forget about it. It stays where it is and you can just let it be. I did this as I was sick of the twinges whenever I'd get outta my chair to do whatever after 20-30min inactivity. No pain. And as I said in a previous post, no pain = good in my book. I credit this also with helping me recover. One other thing I forgot to mention was gel arch inserts for your shoes. They work wonders also.

You are on target with the stretching you are doing. My questions would be if you are specifically stretching the plantar fascia as well as the calf muscle? Reaserch does show minimal affectiveness with the night splints but the compliance rate is so low, meaning most people won't use the night splint since it is not comfortable to sleep in. My husband is a marathon runner and I am a physical therapist. He had plantar fasciitis for 10 months and he did try the night splints but they didn't work for him. After more reserch into PF, we developed a tool that specifically stretches the plantar fascia which tightness in this area often leads to PF. For my husband, this has relieved him of his pain from PF. The tool is called the JWedge and you can find it and learn more about it at www.jwedge.com I hope it helps you.

...or you could just do this stretch and not buy a weird device.

http://ronjones.org/Coach&Train/BodyXerciseLibrary/Flexibility/PlantarStretch-%281%29-400.jpg

I wrote a little blog about it. I have struggled with it for almost two years now. Here is the blog addy: www.jdaviddark.blogspot.com Enjoy and hope it helps.

I used the splint at night (I was very consistent about it), did stretches and got deep tissue massage to the area. I also wore the Vibram shoes around the house for a few hours a day and wore light trainers for running w/custom orthotics. Since then (2 and half years later) I have not had any problems w/the PF.

I agree w/others about getting achilles soreness when using minimal/light shoes. I find you have to massage/stretch your calf muscles regularly and alternate your surface from road to treadmill until soreness subsides.

PF doesn't go away overnight, it's a long process. You have to find the source of the problem--like others mentioned, stride/mechanics and try to correct it. Also, avoid uneven surfaces when you have PF, it will only aggravate it.