My Plantar Fasciitis Journey

Getting old is no joke! In March of 2024 my foot suddenly started hurting after a workout. I was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis. The plantar fascia is the band of fibers that connect the heel to the toes. Plantar fasciitis occurs when the plantar fascia gets inflamed. It causes a stabbing pain. It hurt so badly at times that I was certain that my foot was broken and even had x-rays done to rule out any other issues. My plantar fasciitis lasted for over a year- which is about the typical time can take to properly heal.  

I tried a mixture of physical therapy and home remedies.  Here are the things that I tried and what worked best for me.

Stretching.  A ridiculous amount of stretching.  Jonathan made me a board that I can stand on which stretches my Achillies tendon. You can get several versions of the boards on Amazon. The key is to get one with an angle between 10-40 degrees. I continually stretch using anything that is around- a curb, rocks on the trails, stairs, etc.  When using the board, it is important to stretch for a full 30-60 seconds. I found that I had to use a timer because I otherwise I would cheat myself out of the full stretch.

I still take the board with me in the truck when we are driving for a long distance to keep my feet pointed in the right direction. I also take the board to game nights where I know I will be sitting for a while.

Icing is highly recommended. The best icing pack that I found is this one that is specifically designed for the foot.

I went to the podiatrist and he had several remedies for me. I brought with me a bag of shoes that I thought would be helpful- including several arch fit types of shoes. The podiatrist bent those shoes in half and told me that they were not ideal. He did, however approve of my Brooks Ghost shoes and showed me that he too was wearing Brooks. He showed me that the Brooks were much sturdier and couldn’t be bent the same way he had bent my other shoes. I now wear the Brooks Cascadia for hiking (love them so much!) and I have bought both the Brooks Ghost and the Brooks Adrenaline and they are both comfortable and sturdy.

He also recommended a night splint (ugh). He gave me the exact link to purchase it on Amazon. The idea is that at night our feet sometime tend to point like a ballerina. For Plantar Fasciitis, it is important to keep the toes pulled back toward the shin so that the Plantar Fascia stays stretched and can heal. I wore the night splint at least three hours while sleeping although some people wear it just in the evening while watching tv.

Medication- ok so I am not a doctor and highly recommend you review any potential side effects before starting any medications. I used only over the counter meds- a combination of ibuprofen to reduce the swelling and Voltaren Cream (I swear it is like magic!) Voltaren is an over the counter, non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory that relieves pain and reduces swelling. I can’t tell you how great it was for me when I was in the worst of the pain.

I also used compression socks. These were super helpful, especially when I was experiencing pain. Compression socks help with swelling, they stabilize the foot and they provide arch support. I had the version with the open toes but would wear a regular sock on top of it as well. This gave extra cushioning when I was hiking or walking.

After hiking or at the end of the day I would also roll a ball or a frozen water bottle under my foot. If I was using the frozen water bottle I would put a towel down to keep any of the sweat from the bottle contained and not on my floor. You might prefer to use one of these rollers instead.

During physical therapy my doctor also focused on strength building exercises. Here are some of my exercises:

1.        Seated heel to toe raises and then hold it for 3 seconds- doing this 20 times in a row.

2.        Seated toe spreads- literally just spread your toes and hold it for 5 seconds- doing this 20 times in a row.

3.        The board stretching that I described earlier- I did it 4 times a day, holding for 60 seconds, doing it twice each session.

4.        Standing calf raises-  start by standing and then lift your heel up off the ground by standing on your toes. I was assigned 3 sets of 10 at a time.

5.        Standing calf raises to the side. I stood and then pointed my feet in a sumo type position and then did my calf raises with my feet turned outward. I was assigned 3 sets of 10 of these.

As a woman in my 50’s I feel the positive effects of stretching and strength training. Once I started feeling better I slowly restarted my Beachbody workouts (I love using this workout program both on and off the road! Use my code KELLYM11BODI to try it out!) I've also increased the mileage on my hikes. I’m still super nervous that one wrong step could cause a relapse but am hopeful that with extra care I can stay on the track to healthy aging.