Believe to Achieve

This sounds like a great plan, and you better believe we will check up on you! I am so sorry that it is not getting better for you, but I have kind of been here on this one! I was marathon training so I just kept going and it got BAD (although yours does sound WAY worse). I ended up having to take a lot of time off, but it was WORTH IT!!! You will heal and you may find some other kind of exercise you like! Does SPIN hurt your foot? With SPIN shoes on, for me at least, it felt great on the foot.

Kelli, thanks, I need checking up on for sure. And I would love to train you on my bike :D. When did you have this injury?? the problem is that my Plantar has enlarged and has a lot of scar tissue....I don't know how it will break down. There is a large band under my foot that is noticeably larger than my right...Boston was probably stupid for me to run as the band showed up right after running it. Anyway...onto treatment regimen. Just got done with epsom salt bath. Day one over and out. No running. No exercise for that matter.

You can do it Julie. I am here for you. Seriously I will be your life line and if you want to run call me. Cross train as much as you can and try to stay sane.

Also hiding behind signs and throwing water balloons at runners really helps the off time go by faster. :)

I had PF really bad a few years back. Although, it doesn't sound as bad as yours has been. It got to the point running was VERY difficult and walking too. This is an EVIL curse.

Since you work and you are on your feet ALL day it is hard to try and stay off the injury. I never taught dance without big tennis shoes after I got it. I always had danced bare foot.

Couple things I did: 1. I never wore flip flops 2. Made sure that all of my running shoes had good supported insoles 3. I took several weeks off after a marathon and took up cross training. (Stress fractures help your PF I have found out) 4. I soaked my foot in the HOTTEST water it could tolerate every night before bed. 5. I wore that funny sock to bed that is made for PF. Forgot the name of it. 6. Didn't tuck my foot into the covers at night. (That reduces letting your foot stretch out. 7. I had a massage therapist dig extremely deeply into my calf and it really released what was going on in that calf muscle (soleus). 8. I wanted to go to a PT that used Grasston technique, that actually might help you. There aren't too many therapists that are certified in this technique. It's basically a death massage where they use tools to break the fascia. Josse on the blog knows how to do this technique (she is a massage therapist).

OK, I am sorry this is sooooo long. I just want you to get better!!! First we are people, then we are runners. Running will wait for you.

Thanks so much Rebecca!! seriously going to going out the hot soaks. Did my first one last night-- I was afraid it was too hot. I put epsom in it. That technique scares me!! seriously won't it do more damage than good??? I can't imagine breaking down the scar tissue being a good thing. Won't it just make it angrier?? I tried taking the handle of a butter knife to it and almost went through the roof!! that lasted about 30 seconds and I called it quits. It is funny how you wear flip flops all your life-- and nothing then PF hits and EVERYTHING aggravates it!!

I did not do Grasston but I did Astym on my achilles and I think it worked for the most part. I also wore good shoes all day AND did not put my foot under the covers as well (such a small thing!) I could not do the sock, I could not sleep with it on.

I had it BAD in 2009. I have had two minor flare ups since then, but now I do not mess with it at all!!

I had PF about 7 years ago and I must agree with everything Bec said. It might hurt too much right now to dig into the plantar, so start with your calf and get that really loose. Tightness in your hamstrings or even your back could be contributing to the problem too. Something is pulling on the plantar and you need to relieve that. As your plantar starts to heal and is less inflamed you'll be able to dig into that too.

Breaking up the scar tissue might seem like your irritating it more, and you should definitely wait until the inflammation goes down, but it's like taking one small step back so you can take two big steps forward. If you don't break it up and really get it healthy and working well then you'll just reinjure it because the scar tissue will be constantly pulling in there.

Thanks for sharing your injury woes, and good luck Julie. This won't last forever, but it will take a while to get better.