WEEEKLY CHAT - WEEK 49!
WEEKLY CHAT #49
OK, let's try the weekly chat idea, V2. Been hearing some positive comments! Seems like we have a winner! Give it a chance! Here goes! <3
Plantar Fasciitis is brutal and take an enormous amount of time to heal from.
Rule #1: You cannot walk anywhere without proper insole suppport. Even a midnight walk to the bathroom to urinate should not be done without slippers or some shoe that provides insole support. I have found that Birkenstocks offer good support and would leave a pair next to my bed, so that when I got up, I put them on. They also offer a 1/2 insole that you can put in a normal pair of shoes. I have several of these and swap them from shoe to shoe. Even though I am over my Plantar Fasciitis (PF), I still keep these insoles in my shoes. You can find them here: https://theinsolestore.com/products/birkenstock-sport-blue-footbed-arch-support-insoles
Rule #2: Stretch often and regularly. You need to stretch the calf muscles out as those are connected to the muscles/tendons in question. I built a plywood box that you can change the angle on to stretch your calves further. It looks like this, but again, I built my own.
It looks similar to this (sorry for the amazon link): https://www.amazon.com/Professional-Adjustable-Incline-Stretcher-Stretch/dp/B07K9N28TK/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?hvadid=580671312152&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9029600&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=13041303130279285552&hvtargid=kwd-301196929653&hydadcr=8212_13497996&keywords=slant%2Bboard%2Bcalf%2Bstretch&qid=1702404737&s=sporting-goods&sr=1-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1
#3: There are little hard balls that have rubber spikes on them, that are really good for rollinig on the insole of your foot. Get one. the frozen water bottle works well too. You inevitably need to get those muscles and tendons stretched out better.
#4: In evitably you will want to do exercises to help build up strength in those muscle/Tendons, but I will warn you to be careful doing these while you are trying to work your job. sometimes these stretches are inflame the PF and you don't want to do that the night before you have to go in for a 12 hour shift. An exercise that a Physical Therapist taught me seems unusual, but works really well (and you can feel it!). Again, best to do this down the road when the PF is getting better and not before a 12 hour shift). the exercise is to put a washclothe on the floor and place your foot on top. Then you want to just try and scrunch the washclothe up under your foot into a pile with your toes. Literally scrunch your toes to wad up the washcloth. Do this for about 5 minutes or so with each foot. I can assure you the first time you do it, you will think it is trivial,.... until you reach the 5 minute mark. Then you will realize you are using muscles you haven't used in a very long time.
The sleeves, foot stretcher and other things that you can wear at night are supposed to be helpful, although I never used those. some items work different areas depending on where the inflamation is happening. My PF was located in the bottom of my insole, where other people get it in their heel or even lower calf.
Good luck and take it slow, it takes a long time to get over PF unfortunately.