Discussion: plantar faciitis

I am currently training for my first marathon on Dec 3rd. I believe I have plantar faciitis and am wondering about how to continue my training program. any advice?

You could try asking inuksuk, who has been having this problem for a while. Even though he is in China, he seems to be checking out attackpoint regularly.

Check out this CBC site: http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/exercise_fitness...

I've also heard that Superfeet insoles (which will be much cheaper than prescribed orthotics) are supposed to help with plantar fasciitis. Good luck!

I'm no expert myself, but my wife the pedorthist advises getting custom-made orthotics as soon as possible if you want to continue running. Just make sure they are a softer material (ie 35-55 durometer). Icing the heel, stretching the calf muscles and wearing a night splint may all help as well. Above all, make sure you are wearing supportive footwear all the time, even around the house. Superfeet might work for some people.

Hey Timo, you're Becky's husband! Say Hi for me!
I'll second Timo (well, his wife!) on all of the above. Superfeet are a prefab arch support, which if you are lucky will match your arch shape, but if you are getting the plantar fasciitis because you have a high arch and you don't get much support from shoes, they won't help.
THere was also a whole discussion on that a while ago: here!
And if you want to read more I can send you an article on the subject...

timo, don't believe everything you read on AP! Check your marriage cert...

Going into a first marathon with an overuse injury may be setting yourself up for a rather unpleasant experience. Only you can judge, but there's always another race - you might want to let this heal up before subjecting it to a marathon.

xctime as for insole I had plantar faciitis for a long time. I used super feet and they would help some, but what rely made my feet better was getting some custom insoles. I found that the diffrence between some insoles made for every and insoles made just for me was enourmous. I also found like you said that wearing supportive footwear everywhere helped. I now wear birkenstocks all the time in the house.

How much does rest matter in terms of trying to heal it?

Reading this thread and the older one it seems that most people keep training through it while treating it with a combination of orthotics, taping, icing, night splints, and ibu. I've just taken a little over 2 weeks off to try to get my plantar fascitis (started last June but I didn't realize what it was until August) a bit more under control and it's feeling better now but I can tell that it isn't totally gone either. I've tried a couple different types of generic insoles and just started using Sole Ultra that you can heat to mold to your feet. I'm planning to get an appointment to have professional orthotics made soon.

I want to start running again but I also don't want to 'lose' any progress that I've made so far by resting it.

Also, if orienteering shoes aren't great, what other types of shoes would you recommend for running in the Swedish woods?

I heard icebugs are great. There was thread about it not long ago:

icebugs

Edit: I can`t get the link thing to ever work :
http://www.attackpoint.org/discussionthread.jsp/me...

IF you have a serious one, 2 weeks of rest will not be enough. The problem with the plantar fascia is that first of all it lies under the foot, meaning that the minute you put your foot down it gets stretched by the arch dropping down a bit under the body's weight. For that reason it takes forever to heal, a bit like a cut on a finger - everytime you bend your finger you reopen the cut. My patients that have a stubborn one are not allowed to put the foot down on the ground without their orthotic. They must park their shoes by the bed side and as soon as they get up be in shoes. They are not even allowed to stand in the shower barefeet, they must shower a la Japonaise, sitting on a little stool. That regime for at least 6-8 weeks, because that brings me to the other problem wtih the plantar fascia: it's white tissue, like tendon, not red. That means that there isn't must blood supply going there and therefore instead of taking 3-4 weeks for the fibers to heal (like a muscle belly), it takes 6-8. THat's why 2 weeks of rest will not do much.
A plantar fasciitis can be very debilitating and very difficult to get rid of. I do not recommend training through because I've seen too many runners in tears in my office. Take the time to heal it now instead of dragging it for 2 years.

A little more on the subject.
U Rochester article

I had p.f. several years ago and it took most of a year before I didn't notice the pain anymore... It was a bad pair of O-shoes that set mine off.

My first thought on reading elista's question was "Don't run the marathon this year."