Injury/Rehab Plantar Fasciitis

Remove this Banner Ad

Bonz

Bonz

🤺🤺🤺
The Fred Medal Goosed Sydney Forum Service Medal Shiny Penny Meet-Up Master Ex-Moderator Podcaster
Sep 14, 2007
18,664
39,373
Melbourne
AFL Club
Sydney
Other Teams
Liverpool
Hey Everyone,

Today I got diagnosed with plantar fasciitis on my right heel.

I do quite a bit of Fencing and was hoping to go to State and National level competition for it this year, unfortunately Fencing (Especially Sabre) is very heavy on your footwork and your heel so this could potentially cause a problem for me.

I was wondering what experiences anyone has with it here and if they have any recommendations?

I have some basic calf and foot stretches that I have to do 3-4 times a day.

But I was wondering if anyone would be able to recommend any good footwear? I have quite flat feet if that helps in any way (I also have a gel pad)

Was also wondering if it would be worth Ultra Sounding my foot and calf to loosen it up? (I happen to own an ultra sound)

Planning on training with the injury (Not competition, just light footwork and lessons) so I don't lose my technique during my time off.
 
what's causing the flat feet? i'd train the feet to b stronger and take pressure of the fascia that probably the only thing providing stability there...and lose the orthotics
 
I had a solid dose of this last year. Mine is caused from my arches collapsing as I walk, although I over-pronate in a big way, which I now have custom orthotics for. I also need to wear pretty supportive shoes. I wear Brooks Adrenaline GTS for running and Kayano 19s for all other exercise.

I see an awesome sports podiatrist, and he tried strapping my feet, which didn't help. I did 4-6 goes at Shockwave thearpy (which hurts!) but seemed to do the trick, combined with regular stretches and a period of not being able to go barefoot. Haven't had any problems for around 6 months.

I would strongly recommend finding a sports podiatrist who knows his/her beans.
 

Log in to remove this ad.

cptkirk said:
what's causing the flat feet? i'd train the feet to b stronger and take pressure of the fascia that probably the only thing providing stability there...and lose the orthotics
Click to expand...


Have naturally had flat feet from the moment I was born.

Pretty confident whats causing pressure on the fascia is actually my Fencing/ footwork training.

My lunge at times can be quite over pronounced and fencing is hard enough on your heels/ feet as it is at times (Before I worked on fixing my technique late last year I would bruise my heel at least once per month).

How would you go about strengthening your foot? I have some basic stretching exercises I can do but nothing that strengthen the foot itself they are all about the band and the calf muscle.
 
Griffiness said:
I had a solid dose of this last year. Mine is caused from my arches collapsing as I walk, although I over-pronate in a big way, which I now have custom orthotics for. I also need to wear pretty supportive shoes. I wear Brooks Adrenaline GTS for running and Kayano 19s for all other exercise.

I see an awesome sports podiatrist, and he tried strapping my feet, which didn't help. I did 4-6 goes at Shockwave thearpy (which hurts!) but seemed to do the trick, combined with regular stretches and a period of not being able to go barefoot. Haven't had any problems for around 6 months.

I would strongly recommend finding a sports podiatrist who knows his/her beans.
Click to expand...


I will have a look at the Kayano 19's thanks :)

Yeah thinking of trying to see a sports podiatrist before I go to Europe in a few weeks time, getting an appointment at short notice is going to be quite hard though.

Currently strapping my feet at the moment and would using an Ultra Sound be similar to Shockwave therapy?
 
IAMDASH said:
Bonz,

When is it most painful?
Click to expand...


It's mostly painful when I first wake up in the morning or when I save been sitting at my desk for a while (An hour or two) without stretching and going for a walk.

If I sit down for a few hours then suddenly get up I actually get a bit of a limp (The limp is usually a lot worse a day after training).
 
I had a bad case of it last year. I could barely walk. I had the shockwave treatment several times. I had in-soles made and bought some Asics runners. My feet are fine if I have my in soles and runners on, which I do most of the time now. But if I don't I can still feel it, though not nearly as bad as it was.
 
This may be a mechanically related problem but in the short term you need to reduce symptoms to get back training.

Here's a rough plan of what I would be doing:

1) Golf Ball Massage: Before you get out out bed in the morning, roll your affected foot (assume it's unilateral) on a golf ball. Personally I prefer very deep massage. Really get stuck into the insertion of the plantar fascia and the mid band

2) Ice Massage: Post training & before bed I would ice the affected region for 20 minutes. The best way to do this is with a polystrene cup of ice

3) Plantar fascial stretching: It sounds like you already doing this.

4) NSAIDs: a lot of people will laugh at this but I have also had good success with NSAI gel and massaging into the affected region. You could also takes some Voltaren orally pre competition/training

5) Plantar Fascial strapping when training

6) If it continues you could look at a night splint long term.

Hope this helps. If you do see a podiatrist who doesnt recommend these measures before discussing orthotics, run the other way!
 
Training Mad said:
Jump of your kitchen table until ou snap it. Robert Harvey done it and played that week with no jab.
Click to expand...


Didn't he jump of a children's playground?

IAMDASH said:
Bonz,

Have you been wearing a lot of thongs over summer?
Click to expand...

Never been able to wear thongs actually, too uncomfortable.

Usually just wear Vans when walking around (Obviously can't wear them any more though)
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Bonz said:
Have naturally had flat feet from the moment I was born.

Pretty confident whats causing pressure on the fascia is actually my Fencing/ footwork training.

My lunge at times can be quite over pronounced and fencing is hard enough on your heels/ feet as it is at times (Before I worked on fixing my technique late last year I would bruise my heel at least once per month).

How would you go about strengthening your foot? I have some basic stretching exercises I can do but nothing that strengthen the foot itself they are all about the band and the calf muscle.
Click to expand...

How confident are you that its your foot, and not actually your calf ?

I have had bouts of this, and I know how painful it is.... the only thing that stops it from reoccurring (for me) is yoga...

http://www.dailybandha.com/2013/09/plantar-fasciitis-myofascial.html
 
Bonz said:
I actually have pretty tight calf muscles, that being said I am very confident that it is my foot that is causing the issue.
Click to expand...

hmm, not sure if you have had a chance to check out the images in that link. I have tight hamstrings and found every time I ran etc my plantar would kill. I use to wake up and hobble out of bed not be able to put weight on the foot etc..... since regular stretching it was improved out of sight. Might be worth you checking out :)
 
cartwright said:
hmm, not sure if you have had a chance to check out the images in that link. I have tight hamstrings and found every time I ran etc my plantar would kill. I use to wake up and hobble out of bed not be able to put weight on the foot etc..... since regular stretching it was improved out of sight. Might be worth you checking out :)
Click to expand...


Will do :)

Thank you for the advice and your experiences everyone, It hopefully going to really help me achieve a quicker recovery.
 
The calf has direct fascial attachments to the plantar fascia so tight or weak calves is often the cause. You might need some orthotics to control your pronation, but only if low dye taping reduces or diminishes symptoms first.
As others have said - calf and plantar fascia stretching, golf ball and frozen water bottle massage and tibialis posterior strength work.
 
Thought I would provide you all with an bit of an update.

The regular stretching and application of proper shoes (No more Vans) has helped a heap.

So much so that I am returning to competition this weekend and will be fencing at the first National level competition in Melbourne this month.

The regular stretching of my calf muscles and hamstring seems to have really helped so I want to thank each and every one of you for your help, its really appreciated.

If anyone else has any issues I would recommend ditching out any shoes like Van's or Converses for regular activities (Such as walking or even just getting around) and to start wearing runners with a bit of heel support, whilst it may not be the most fashionable.... It will certainly help out with the pain in your foot and be worth it in the long run.
 
Bonz said:
Thought I would provide you all with an bit of an update.

The regular stretching and application of proper shoes (No more Vans) has helped a heap.

So much so that I am returning to competition this weekend and will be fencing at the first National level competition in Melbourne this month.
Click to expand...

Put your money on the fridge!

Good news and good luck with your fencing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top