How to Treat Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis, a condition caused by tiny tears in the connective tissue under the foot, leaves sufferers with a sharp pain in the middle of the heel or along the arch of the foot. Depending on the severity of the condition, treatment can take weeks or months.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Wrap or tape your foot underneath your arch. This is especially helpful at night, when the foot naturally contracts.

2. Stretch your arch, calves and Achilles tendon. Stand on a step with your toes on the edge. Drop your heel down and hold the stretch for 20 seconds. Alternate legs. Repeat this stretch at least three times a day.

3. Massage your foot throughout the day by rolling your foot over a golf ball.

4. Ice your foot 2-3 times a day by rolling it over a frozen bottle of water.

5. Skip the flip-flops. Instead of flimsy shoes, choose comfortable ones with arch support. Shoes with a slight heel will help more than flats.

6. Run barefoot on grass. If you are already a runner, consider adding short barefoot sprints to your regimen. These sprints can stretch the fascia and strengthen your foot and lower leg.

7. Extreme cases of plantar fasciitis may require physical therapy, cortisone injections, or shock-wave technology. If the problem persists for six weeks, visit a podiatrist, orthopedist, or physical therapist.

Tips & Warnings

• The main causes of plantar fasciitis: overuse and improper shoes. When exercising, gradual is the key word when increasing your mileage or intensity. Visit a specialty shoe store to find an athletic shoe to suit your foot structure.
• This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment.

Resources

• Runner's World magazine
• Dr. Roth's FABS

Who Can Help Sponsored

• How to Lose 30+lbs Guaranteed. Try it Free.

[vallain]

on 3/14/2009 I've had this in the past and it's quite painful. I hope many find relief for plantar fascitis through your tips.

[stirling]

on 2/11/2009 I found a lot of relief wearing Birkenstocks, but we don't want to wear them everywhere, then I found online how to cut a piece of moleskin to fit from the pad of foot to an inch above my heel. I made a T cut in the back so the narrow part of the T was coming up the heel and the T wings fit into the narrower part of heel. So, if you put this on bottom of your foot flat there is a gap between the moleskin and the arch, I just pressed the moleskin up. The moleskin doesn't stretch and so it acts like a spring holding the arch. If I was going to do a lot of walking I would wrap a piece around the arch so the moleskin would be very well attached to my foot. I bought a huge roll of moleskin at medical supply, this is inexpensive, easy and can be worn with any shoe. I did it for 6 months and realized one day I didn't need it anymore.

[stirling]

on 2/11/2009 I found a lot of relief wearing Birkenstocks, but we don't want to wear them everywhere, then I found online how to cut a piece of moleskin to fit from the pad of foot to an inch above my heel. I made a T cut in the back so the narrow part of the T was coming up the heel and the T wings fit into the narrower part of heel. So, if you put this on bottom of your foot flat there is a gap between the moleskin and the arch, I just pressed the moleskin up. The moleskin doesn't stretch and so it acts like a spring holding the arch. If I was going to do a lot of walking I would wrap a piece around the arch so the moleskin would be very well attached to my foot. I bought a huge roll of moleskin at medical supply, this is inexpensive, easy and can be worn with any shoe. I did it for 6 months and realized one day I didn't need it anymore.

[damead]

on 10/21/2008 Having gone through a couple of bouts of PF under Kaiser Permanente supervision, I think the error of this advice is that stretching the arch when the fascia already is torn won't heal it; in fact, it could make it worse. The docs recommended rest, ice and stretching the calves 3 times a day. Also, they were adamant never to go barefoot, even in the house; always wear an orthotic arch support, including special shoes, inserts and slippers. Running was out till it healed (which took months), so I biked for aerobics.

This strategy worked through two bouts. HOWEVER....

Some Web barefoot-strategy advocates posited an intriguing theory: PF is caused by our spending virtually our entire lives on artificial, flat surfaces, such as floors and sidewalks. The foot, they argue, evolved walking constantly on bare ground, tree roots, rocks and other uneven natural surfaces, which would have n

[jcorn]

on 10/30/2007 Thanks, very useful tips! Just wanted to add that it could be helpful to double check with your doc, as I thought I had this condition when I had a moderate fracture instead and was harming myself by stretching and pulling on the tissue. My problem? Self-diagnosis :(
Excellent article!