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Fri Mar 21, 2008 3:04 pm

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Junior Masters Athlete
Joined: Thu Jan 17, 2008 9:02 am
Posts: 3
Location: Norman, OK

Hi All ... first have to say, these mastertrack forums are great! However, I wish I was making my first post on some other topic. I'm M52 and have been focusing on the short sprints. I've been training for ~1.5 years now ... so still very much a beginner.

Last October I developed a pain in my left heel, it felt bruised, as if I had stepped on a rock. My orthopedic surgeon diagnosed my injury as plantar fasciitis. His guidance was to rest my foot (no running at all), wear orthotics, and do calf stretches. He said he didn't want to administer cortisone as that would increase the chance of rupture. He also told me he developed this problem once and it took him 6 months to recover. I'm currently at 5 months 1 week.

My injury has improved a great deal ... but it continues to linger. I haven't done any sprint activity since last October. A few weeks ago I felt I had recovered enough to start doing some short (~80m) easy "jogs/runs" on grass. The foot feels fine while I run, but later the "discomfort" level increases for a few days. I take several days rest between these easy runs out of fear of injuring it further.

It just seems my recover has plateaued. I saw on another post where a PT thought someone's heel pain was due to tightness of their soleus. I think the stretches I've been doing have mostly worked the gastroc ... so I will work the soleus more.

Anyway ... have any of you experienced this injury for this length of time before? Any hope, advice or guidance would be appreciated. Also, any advice you might have on avoiding this injury in the future ... as I'm not sure what caused it. Can practicing in spikes contribute?

It's been frustrating not being able to sprint ... and now it's springtime and beautiful out there. Many thanks in advance!!! ... Mike



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Fri Mar 21, 2008 9:22 pm

 
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Senior Masters Athlete
Joined: Fri Oct 05, 2007 3:33 pm
Posts: 13

Ohh man-Plantar fasciitis is a bear. I have had it for almost two years now and it has changed my life (not just for the worse though...)

As you are realizing, it must be managed. It is likely not curable. It will flare up from time to time. Its cause is really unknown but clearly improper footwear (flat shoes and sandals) walking or running on harde surfaces for a period of time, weight and age are involved. The best treatments for me have been: 1. REAL othortics-get them from a medical orthotic company-your physician can refer you. The will make molds/imprints of your feet and create your own special arch support. I wear these in EVERY shoe ALL the time. Even at home. I only take them off before I go to bed. Only wear good too. No more sandals etc. 2. Night foot splints. You will notice a big improvement if you wear these to stretch at night. You don't need much splinting-just keep the foot from "pointing" while you sleep. Get them from the Orthotic company 3. Early am active stretching even before you feet hit the floor. Stretching before any running. 4. ICE, ICE, ICE. After every activity or work out or daily when the fasciitis flares. Can't really emphasize size this enough. 5. If you can go to a good Physical therapist and get treatment. Orthopedic surgeons, Medical doctors, Podiatrists won't help you-they may know what to do but they don't DO any of it ( I know, I am a Physician!! We are no help to you here.)- the Physical Therapist will do it. If it is bad, ask them about steroid iontophoresis therapy. It is safe and very helpful. It is NOT cortisone injections -- iontophoresis is very safe and seems to be effective.

I would stay away from injections and definitely any kind of surgery like the plague.

As I said, the pain and limitations are rough but it has made me understand and really appreciate all the training that I am able to get done in spite of these injuries. It makes it all more valuable to me.

S. Wright
M45 discus



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Sat Mar 22, 2008 4:04 am

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Senior Masters Athlete
Joined: Tue Oct 10, 2006 4:57 pm
Posts: 16
Location: Asheville, NC

I went through a bout of plantar fascitis a couple of years ago, and it lasted about 8 months. While it was very painful first thing in the AM, it loosened up as the day went on and I was able to train during that time. I wore extra cushioning in my shoes, iced the foot once or twice a day, and did stretching exercises such as rolling a tennis ball under the foot.

It seemed to take forever to go away, so I asked members of my road running club about their experiences with this problem. Out of 50 or so people, almost everyone had suffered from it at one time or another. The shortest time to get back to normal was 6 months, and the longest was 15 months. Most people trained through the entire process, but those who gave it complete rest did not heal any more quickly!



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Sat Mar 22, 2008 7:14 am

 
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Master Masters Athlete
Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2006 8:03 pm
Posts: 54

I had a very similar experience to Kevin's. My PF came on and eventually forced me to quit training for a marathon.

I started with track a couple years ago and the same foot pain returned and lingered for months, mostly bothering me at night and in the morning. It was a bit like shin splints; it hurt a lot but I could train through it and eventually it faded away. It lasted at least 6 months. The distance running seemed much harder on my feet than the sprints.

I definitely "feel" my feet more when I train in spikes. They will still get a little sore. You should probably do that as little as possible.


Good luck.



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Sun Mar 23, 2008 3:45 am

 
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Master Masters Athlete
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Joined: Sat Sep 09, 2006 3:25 am
Posts: 67
Location: Columbia, MD

I had incredible pain (the podiatrist termed it "exquisite pain" in my chart) in my right heel from PF about 10 years ago. The podiatrist tried everything he knew -- same things discussed already in this string. It helped but the pain was still pretty bad and severely restricted what I could do in training.

My wife is a devotee of alternative therapies and suggested I try acupuncture with a practitioner who'd been written up in Boston Magazine (we were living in the Boston area at the time). I did and it worked wonders. The pain was gone within a few months (I don't remember how many at this point) and has never returned.

Some days I thought the treatment might have been worse than the condition (the acupressure point for the spot on my right heel that was so painful was in the middle of the bottom of the right foot, and the insertion of the needle was about the worst pain I've ever experienced; don't let anyone tell you acupuncture is painless!). I learned to find the acupressure point myself by putting pressure on the painful spot on the heel and then moving around the bottom of my foot til I found the spot that (when I put strong pressure on it) alleviated the heel pain. Massaging that spot helped the process along.

I thought this was a condition I was going to live with for the rest of my life (at least on and off), but I have had no recurrence in nearly 10 years.

So my suggestion is to find a really good acupuncturist, endure the excruciating pain of having needles in the bottom of your foot, and get long term relief.

Jerry

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Sun Mar 23, 2008 6:39 am

 
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Journeyman Masters Athlete
Joined: Mon Jul 02, 2007 8:15 am
Posts: 30
Location: Harvard University

So far, I've managed to avoid this one. This is all good stuff to know, however.

It sounds a lot like the management of achilles tendinitis.

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Sun Mar 23, 2008 9:50 am

 
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Master Masters Athlete
Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2007 9:53 pm
Posts: 143
Location: Gulf Breeze, FL

I too have had to deal with PF. Active stretching first thing in the AM, loose sheets on the bed and proper fitting footwear helped me after several months.

However, I am now dealing with morton's neuroma. Cortisone shots and orthotics in my shoes but it is still bothering me. Can be very painful and even feels like electric shock shooting through me or severe burning sensation at times.

Any other suggestions?

Tony



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Sun Mar 23, 2008 10:08 am

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Senior Masters Athlete
Joined: Tue Oct 10, 2006 4:57 pm
Posts: 16
Location: Asheville, NC

Tony, I've been dealing with a continuing Morton's neuroma problem for about two years now. The best I can say is that it has gone from acute to manageable in that time. The two things I got the most relief from were 1) trying out LOTS of different shoes until I found some that gave me a decent fit yet had a roomy enough toebox that my toes could spread out more (in my case, Nike Free 5.0 for around-the-house and casual wear, and Brooks Trance for running), and 2) icing the foot immediately after working out, then massaging it for a few minutes.

Hope that helps!



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Sun Mar 23, 2008 8:42 pm

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Master Masters Athlete
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Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2006 2:01 pm
Posts: 250
Location: Chico, CA

I suffered from plantar fasciitis for two years when I was in my early 40s. Sometimes it got so bad that I could barely walk. One orthopedic surgeon suggested surgery (I think he needed to make his Mercedes payment). The trainer at Chico State suggested I try a plantar fasciitis splint (looks like an open ski boot). It holds your foot in a 90 degree angle and puts the plantar fascia on a slight stretch. I wore the splint for three nights. The pain went away and never returned. The splint also help Achilles tendonitis. You can buy these splints online or at many sports shops.

I also used the prolonged light night stretch technique for groin strains. When I get one, I sleep on my back and put pillows between my legs, which puts my thigh adductors on a slight stretch. A couple of nights sleeping like will take care of mild strains.

These techniques worked for me. Try them and see what happens.

Tom Fahey M60



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Thu Mar 27, 2008 12:21 pm

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Junior Masters Athlete
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Joined: Sun Sep 10, 2006 5:57 am
Posts: 5
Location: Springfield, OH

I also had plantar fasciitis--came on last summer after my wife talked me into wearing flip-flops on a vacation with lots of walking--lasted 6 months. I agree completely with everything s e wright said--especially about getting professional orthotics--well worth the price. Also, an easy was to apply ice is to feeze a water bottle and roll it over the bottom of your foot for 30-60 minutes a day--while reading, watching tv, etc. I also wear the orthotics 100 % of the time---makes a huge difference.



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Fri Mar 28, 2008 5:16 am

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Master Masters Athlete
Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2006 4:56 pm
Posts: 105
Location: Houston, Tx

Mine developed from poor fitting throwing shoes. I went to a doc and got some kind of heat treatment from a fancy machine, but nothing really seemed to help until I got better shoes, and started wearing a splint at night. After a couple of weeks the pain was gone I quit using the splint. I've been pain free for about 3 years now.

One thing that seemed to temporarily ease the pain was to keep a small (0.5 liter) water bottle in the freezer, and then put my foot on it and roll it back and forth over the arch area while I watched TV.



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Fri Mar 28, 2008 7:39 am

 
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Senior Masters Athlete
Joined: Mon Sep 18, 2006 9:01 am
Posts: 22
Location: South Jersey

I have had luck with these things called "yoga toes." I ordered them online. They stretch out the mucles in your feet while you sit around the house. At first I couldn't even keep them on for five minutes they hurt so bad. They seemed to have helped with metarsalgia that killed me during Nat'ls and was so painful it kept me from running in Riccione. The info packet said it also helps plantar faciitis. I don't know if they help p.f. but they are pretty cheap and can't hurt.

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Fri Mar 28, 2008 4:00 pm

 
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Senior Masters Athlete
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 11:00 am
Posts: 21
Location: Louisiana

Hi Soonerskies,

I can't speak for anyone else, but this is what worked for me. I got plantar fasciitis fron clearing 600lb logs from my property, pushed a little too hard one day and separated the PF from the heel bone. I went to the orthopedic doc, slept with the splint, iced, taped, stretched....the whole routine, without recovery for about 6 months. Finally, one day, I decided to say ,"to hell with the doctors" and did something totally counterintuitive. I took my shoes off and ran strideouts on the football field. I did this for about 2 weeks and my PF began to fade away. It's been 3 years and I've been PF free the whole time. It seems that running barefooted actually strengthened all of the assorted muscles, tendons, and ligaments and helped heal my foot.
Just my 2 cents.

CT



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Wed Apr 30, 2008 12:48 pm

 
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Master Masters Athlete
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2008 3:12 pm
Posts: 49
Location: Scottsdale

During full turn discus drills yesterday when my right foot landed in the center of the ring I heard a pop and felt immediate pain in my heel and instep near the heel. It was a bit swollen and very tender. Iced it alot afterward and today am on crutches in order to get around work. Plan to see the doctor tomorrow. I probably tore the plantar fascia in my foot as it has been inflamed recently. This is despite maximal efforts to keep the fasciitis under control. Needless to say I am bummed.

Any one out there tear or rupture the plantar fascia before and how long was it before you were able to compete again??
:(

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M46, S Wright



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Fri Apr 24, 2009 7:31 am

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Junior Masters Athlete
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 7:29 am
Posts: 1

soonerskies wrote:
Hi All ... first have to say, these mastertrack forums are great! However, I wish I was making my first post on some other topic. I'm M52 and have been focusing on the short sprints. I've been training for ~1.5 years now ... so still very much a beginner.

Last October I developed a pain in my left heel, it felt bruised, as if I had stepped on a rock. My orthopedic surgeon diagnosed my injury as plantar fasciitis. His guidance was to rest my foot (no running at all), wear orthotics, and do calf stretches. He said he didn't want to administer cortisone as that would increase the chance of rupture. He also told me he developed this problem once and it took him 6 months to recover. I'm currently at 5 months 1 week.

My injury has improved a great deal ... but it continues to linger. I haven't done any sprint activity since last October. A few weeks ago I felt I had recovered enough to start doing some short (~80m) easy "jogs/runs" on grass. The foot feels fine while I run, but later the "discomfort" level increases for a few days. I take several days rest between these easy runs out of fear of injuring it further.

It just seems my recover has plateaued. I saw on another post where a PT thought someone's heel pain was due to tightness of their soleus. I think the stretches I've been doing have mostly worked the gastroc ... so I will work the soleus more.

Anyway ... have any of you experienced this injury for this length of time before? Any hope, advice or guidance would be appreciated. Also, any advice you might have on avoiding this injury in the future ... as I'm not sure what caused it. Can practicing in spikes contribute?

It's been frustrating not being able to sprint ... and now it's springtime and beautiful out there. Many thanks in advance!!! ... Mike


job well , good work, now you finally good



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