If there's one thing that any runner doesn't want to experience, it's an injury. Or really, I guess nobody wants to experience an injury. But, when it happens while you're training for a big race, or a big event, it can really throw a wrench in your training. And your life. Sometimes, with a small injury, you can just suck it up and power through and it will eventually start to feel better. This method is probably not really recommended. Most times, rest, ice, and other treatments are necessary.
But, what are you supposed to do if your injury is something that there's no real treatment for? Where the most common recommendation is "try not to run or walk on hard surfaces too much for a while, and try not to be on your feet a lot"?
Welcome to the world of plantar fasciitis. In case you don't know what plantar fasciitis is (and why would you?), it's an incredibly painful inflammation of the plantar fascia, which is the ligament on the sole of your foot that goes from your heel toward your toes and supports your arch. Plantar fasciitis is most commonly caused by overuse (like if you run or are on your feet a lot), and can also be a problem for those that are overweight. Your foot generally doesn't get a ton of blood flow, so the inflammation takes an unusually long time to heal itself.
Plantar fasciitis is most common in middle-aged people.
Apparently, my foot didn't get that memo.
It all started several years ago, when I was fresh out of college. I had just started working, was regularly wearing heels and walking a lot (two things I hadn't previously done), and I started to have a lot of problems in my left foot. I went and saw a few doctors, got a few cortisone shots (those things are a god-send), and was feeling better.
Until a few years later, when the same foot started acting up again. This time, it was very localized to the area where the heel meets the arch. And it was very painful, especially when I first got up in the morning, or the first few steps after I'd been sitting for a while. I went to the doctor, and was told it was plantar fasciitis. I really had no idea what that was, expect that it really hurt! We tried medications and shots, I was given stretches and strengthening activities to do. They helped a little bit, but I was still in pain. Finally, my doctor suggested I try a shockwave therapy. I honestly have no idea how it works, but I do remember that they put you under anesthesia for it. And I remember that it started to wear off in the middle of the procedure. And that whatever they were doing hurt! (And that the billing and insurance process was a huge pain in the ass.) But I didn't care. Because once the pain from the procedure went away, I felt great again. I was cured!
Or so I thought.
Until I started running again. Actually, it didn't happen when I first started running. It happened about a year or so later, when I started training for my first half marathon. In preparation, I went to a local running store that analyzes your gait and suggests the proper shoe for you. Well, they suggested a minimalist shoe. I bought a pretty pair of Brooks and proceeded to train in them. In addition, I was walking to and from work on an almost daily basis - about two miles each way. So I was on my feet a lot.
That's when my plantar fasciitis started flaring up again, big time. I thought that it was just an inevitable thing that I'd have to deal with whenever I ran, so I sucked it up and finished the training and the race.
After the half, I gave myself and my foot a rest from running. Not complete abstinence, but I was only running for pleasure at that point. No more than five miles or so at a time, twice a week, at most. But I was still walking a lot. So, while my foot felt marginally better, it never really got back to having no pain.
Then, I signed up for another half marathon. In preparation, I decided to get custom fit insoles for my sneakers, figuring they might give me some more padding and help support my foot. So, I headed off to Road Runner Sports where the Shoe Dog (how cute is he!) and his human coworker analyzed my feet.
Apparently, the minimalist shoes that I'd been wearing were all wrong for my feet and my stride. I have very high arches, so they need support. I also tend to strike with my heels first, which explains why the heels of all of my shoes wear much faster than the rest of them. (And apparently I run very straight, which explains why the back of my ankles are always filthy after a run. I kick myself a lot.)
The new shoes and the custom insoles helped a bit (and my right foot felt nice and comfy with them), but they weren't the cure that I was expecting. Although I don't really know why I was expecting them to cure my plantar fasciitis.
I trained for and ran the half marathon with heel pain in my left foot almost every step of the way.
To be fair, most of the time, whether I'm walking or running, the pain subsides quite substantially once I get going and I can power through the dull ache. By that time, the rest of my body is usually aching anyway. But man, those first few steps out of the gate, whether it be getting out of bed, starting a run, or getting up from my desk, can be torturous. And slow. Little old ladies with their walkers could move faster than I do.
But it's not even the pain and the slowness that bother me so much. It's that I change how I walk or run to mitigate it. So, eventually, my knee starts to hurt, my hips ache, my muscles get tight.
I've tried the stretching. It feels good, but I'm not sure it's doing anything.
I've tried a night brace. It annoys me too much most of the time to keep it on. It's big and cumbersome and with two people and a dog in the bed, can get really hot. The nights that I can keep it on, it helps a little, but not a ton.
Ice helps, at least for a bit.
A foot massage ball is great, but can be really painful.
When it really hurts, I'll take some ibuprofen. But that's not a great long-term solution.
Since I finished my most recent half, I've cut way back on the running,
in hopes that it will help me stop limping around every time I get up from a chair. So far, no dice.
So I now have a decision to make. The way I see it, I can either completely alter my lifestyle and cut out running and cut way down on walking until the pain has subsided, and then ease back into activity and hope it doesn't come back, or I can continue to suck it up and power through. I guess a third option would be to see a doctor, but I'm afraid that they'll force me into choosing a path that I might not want to take.
I don't really know what the best thing is. I like to have the freedom to do whatever workout I'm feeling like doing, and I really like to walk. So for now, I'll probably just listen to my foot and do whatever it tells me it's up for. And I'll be sure to keep plenty of ice packs and Advil on hand.
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