Running and Plantar Fasciitis
I would say don’t do it but I am sure you don’t want to hear that. I did it I should instead have embarked on a simple program for healing plantar fasciitis and in a few weeks I could have returned to running and not spent years trying to heal the damage I did by pushing that said read on because unfortunately many disagree and I present here that case too.
Heel pain is a very common malady amongst runners. Most people have endured heel pain at some point in their lives. Four out of ten all visits to the foot doctor are because of heel pain.
There are many different causes of heel pain, but it is most commonly caused by thea condition known as plantar fasciitis, the band of tissue, known as the plantar fascia has become inflammed it goes from the heel to the toes. Plantar fasciitis is most often caused by poor foot structure, such as overly flat feet or high arches. Wearing non-supportive footwear on hard surfaces, spending long hours on your feet, and obesity are also causes of plantar faciitis. A shortened or tightened achilles tendon can also be the culprit.
Plantar fasciitis can cause a sharp, stabbing pain on the inside of the bottom of the heel that can feel like an ice pick jabbing into your heel. Pain from plantar fasciitis is usually most severe when you first stand on your feet at the start of your day after inactivity has allowed th plantar fascia to shorten. Therefore many people complain that the first step out of bed is the worst.
Many people will have pain as they get up and start to walk after sitting for a period of time while working at a desk or computer. This heel pain will usually subside as you walk, but can return with prolonged standing, walking or running.
For runners, the plantar fascia may become inflamed after a period of running hilly courses or running in excessively worn shoes or the wrong type of shoe for your foot type. Once this happens, a cycle of inflammation ensues.
The medial calcaneal nerve that runs along on the inside of the heel bone and actually curves down around the bottom of the rear of the foot between the bone and the plantar fascia. when you walk and place added stress on the plantar fascia, tugging the ligament at it’s attachement to the heel bone stimulates inflammation. The inflammation results in fluid being collected around the nerve between the bone and the plantar fascia. The nerve gets compressed by the collection of fluid when you get up and step on the heel. This causes the sharp pain. By stepping on the heel, some of the fluid is pushed out of the area and away from the nerve. The second step may also hurt less as even more fluid is pushed away from this space around the nerve. Once you get moving, the pain then usually subsides. Once you go to sleep the whole cycle begins again.
The condition is a combination of two distinct problems. If your Achilles tendon is too tight, that leads to added tension on the plantar fascia when you run or walk. Then there is the tissue damage as the inflamed plantar fascia is tugs away at its attachment to the heel bone. You must address both.
The main question doctors get from patients about treating the problem is concerning the necessity of surgery. The answer is most often a happy no. Heel pain sufferers can effectively self-treat their heel pain and get permanent relief .
A current treatment philosophy that simple, reliable, cost-effective treatments should always be attempted before expensive and evasive treatments like surgery.
An important question from runners is can I still run. This answer really needs a doctors exam and the answer is usually yes after it has been diagnosed as plantar fasciitis.
Since plantar fasciitis is by far the most common form of heel pain, however there are other causes. One must exercise caution because other problems share the symptoms of plantar fasciitis.Among those are stress fractures on the heel bone, bone tumors, and bone cysts. These conditions are different than just an inflamed fascia and when you run they are made worse. Serious problems such as a fracture of the heel bone. A fractured heel bone will definitely interrupt your running life.
Provided that it is plantar fasciitis, the most often effective treatments for plantar fasciitis include stretching, icing, and anti-inflammatory medications. A program of home exercises to stretch your achilles tendon and plantar fascia are the mainstay of treating the condition and lessening the chance of reinjury. Achilles tendon stretches are essential to eliminate heel pain. Perform the Achilles tendon stretches morning and evening. Doing this should only take one minute each morning and one minute each night.
Stand upright one large pace away from the wall with your feet parallel and about hip width apart. Place your hands against the wall, at shoulder height. Move your right leg half a pace forward. Try lunging forward on your right leg so that the knee is aligned over the ankle. Stretch your left leg back as far as is comfortable with the foot and heel remaining flat on the floor. Slowly lean forward to stretch the left leg calf muscles and tendon. Hold the stretch , relax, and repeat on the other leg. Please be patient and do each stretch four or five times per side. Remember to stretch gently.
Treating your heel with cold(icing) will decrease inflammation which increases while you go about your day, and to prevent more inflammation while you sleep. You may want to simply ice the bottom of the heel and arch for twenty minutes a couple of times a day. This is advisable in order to relieve your symptoms. Barefoot and support poor shoes like sandals are a bad idea. You should consider only shoes with a moderate heel that do not bend through the arch. Always wear shoes when walking and running, even in the home. If you have custom orthotics, or over-the-counter inserts, wear them in your shoes at all times. The majority of people with plantar fasciitis improve tremendously after just two months of initial treatment.
Remember I think it is a bad idea to run through the pain of plantar fasciitis until you have engaged in an effective and simple program to get ahead of the problem.
Most will keep on running, but be sure to seek help if your heel pain gets worse while you run or if the heel pain just won’t go away after trying the treatments described above. Once you get rid of the heel pain, keep stretching your tendon periodically and you can prevent your heel pain from returning.
Mail this post