Six Steps To Fix Plantar Fasciitis

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Running injuries suck. There’s no other way to put it nicely! Plantar Fasciitis is one of those running injuries that can linger and even get worse if not treated. I suffered from this beast in the past and swear by these six steps to fix plantar fasciitis. Affiliate Links Included in this post.

 

Plantar Fasciitis sucks. Here’s how I cured mine a few years ago: and I’m happy to say it hasn’t come back!

 

Six Steps To Fix Plantar Fasciitis

First published in 2014. This works, y’all! I’ve been pain-free ever since!

I’ve mentioned a few times on here (and here) that my feet have not been happy campers.

A little background:  my woes began in February right before the Princess Half Marathon weekend.  I bought new shoes and they didn’t seem to agree with my feet.  Almost immediately I started having aching in my heels and arches that I had never experienced before.

See a doctor?  pssshhhaaa… I have WiFi!

 

cyberchondriacs

 

I diagnosed myself through Dr. Google with plantar fasciitis.  Crap.  I knew this was not an easy fix and would take some time to heal.

By April I knew it was time to get some help.  My feet hurt in the mornings, but running was still tolerable.  (Thank you, endorphins!)

A real-life MD confirmed my diagnosis.  He told me I was a textbook case and I concurred.

Yep, go ahead and hand me my white coat.

 

Holliday Inn

 

Disclaimer:  I am NOT a doctor (though I clearly wanna be!) and this is just my experience.  I suggest that you visit your MD to discuss any potential running injuries.

My doctor’s suggestion was rest, ice, and ibuprofen.

Well, you know what happened, right?  I’m the worst kind of patient:  a mom AND a runner.  Do we really rest when we are supposed to?  Nah.

So I kept running.  Shut up- you know you would too.

I did continue looking for options to lessen the pain and hopefully fix the issue.  The combination of the following six steps has cured my tootsies and gotten me back on track with training.

 

Six Steps

 

How I Cured My Plantar Fasciitis

 

Plantar Fasciitis: PF is caused by straining the ligament that supports your arch.  It results in heel pain and arch pain when you stand up or walk.

My treatment plan included the following:

 

1.  Ibuprofen on the Reg

I started taking Motrin pretty regularly.

This helps the inflammation in the ligament. It does what it’s supposed to do.

I can’t say it took away the pain, just brought it down a few notches.

 

2.  No Bare Feet

Ever.

Okay, in the shower, but that was it.

Since I live(d) in Arizona there was a lot of flip-flop action.

The key being flip flops with somewhat of an arch.

I have an older pair of Under Armour flip flops that were my go-to.

I also rotated in my PR Soles and a pair of Crocks Athens flip flops.

I also discovered Oofos and never go anywhere without them!

All had enough cushion and arch to make my feet happy.


3.  Inserts


I didn’t need to go fancy here.

Dr. Scholls inserts worked like a charm. I put them in all my running shoes.

While these techniques helped, I didn’t see any real improvements. I needed to move on.

 

4.  Kinesio Tape For Plantar Fasciitis


This tip actually came from April’s blog, Running the Great Wide Somewhere.

I chose Rock Tape as my tape of choice, but I suppose any brand would do.

I used a simple application that I found on YouTube and taped both arches up before any runs. I also successfully used the tape during my trip to Walt Disney World where we walked a ton every day.

This stuff is magic on a roll, y’all.

I was relatively pain-free as long as I kept taping. But tape adds up $$$.

I figured there was another way to get the supportive benefit I sought without going through rolls of tape.

 

5.  Feetures! Plantar Fasciitis Sleeves


My favorite socks and the only ones I run in are the Feetures! brand.

I’d been eying the Feetures Plantar Fasciitis sleeves for a while and wanted to know if they would work for me. I figured the cost would be worth it since they could be washed and re-worn as needed, unlike the tape.

Feetures! was kind enough to send me a pair of the sleeves to review.

While Rock Tape is magic on a roll, these are magic made of Cotton/Nylon blend.

I cannot say enough good things about this product.

 

feetures pf

 

I wore them every night to bed and woke up almost pain-free- every night. They give just enough compression to provide support but were not too tight to cause any circulation issues to my feet.

Some basic info about the sleeves:

  • Eases heel pain
  • Reduces swelling
  • Alleviates pain of first few steps when you get up
  • Day or night use
  • Can even be worn while running

I did not run in them as I did with the tape mainly because I thought the inserts plus sleeves plus socks would be too much inside my shoes.

The sleeves work.  I can recommend these if you need a little extra arch support.  Getting out of my bed every morning no longer causes me to grimace and hobble.  Thank you, Feetures!

 

6.  Moji 360 Foot Massager

Moji was awesome enough to send me this product to review for the blog.

Thank you is not enough.

You guys. Just… buy this.

 

Moji 1

 

It’s a simple product with 2 areas for massage depending on your need.

The larger section with smaller rollers is for full foot massages and the smaller section with the larger rollers is for deep penetration.

Simply open the package and put it on the floor.

Sit in a chair and roll your feet across it.

I’d been pestering the kids for foot massages for weeks.  It felt amazing when there was extra pressure applied to the arches and heels, but the kids were way over touching their momma’s feet.

I get it.  I mean, ewwwww.

When the Moji arrived, all that changed.

 

Moji 2

 

This was exactly what I needed.

Within 2 days of using the massager, my feet were not screaming at me.

I rolled in the morning at my desk, and again after any runs or exercise.  It made an immediate and lasting impact.

Even if you don’t have foot pain, I’d recommend this baby.

Put the Moji 360 Foot Massager on your Holiday or Birthday want list because it’s pretty awesome.  It’s small enough to travel with you too if you would like to take it on vacation.

My feet have never felt so good.

It’s been a couple weeks since I proclaimed I was pain-free.  I didn’t want to get cocky and announce I was totally healed until I knew for sure that was the case.

When I am on my feet a lot or wearing unfamiliar shoes (like at my conference in Disneyland) my feet still take a beating and they let me know.   I apparently have high needs feet and have to be careful what shoes I walk and run in.

But now I know the steps to taking care of any PF issues that might flare up.

 

Have you ever suffered Plantar Fasciitis? What did you do to recover?

 

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20 Comments

  1. I have P.F. too and on the back end of about a year of pain. (I’m scared to say gone) but changing my tennis shoes out, wearing insoles, frozen water bottle method, compression socks & stockings (I wear the stockings all day due to another issue) have all helped me. Physical Therapy and the boot still worked too but didn’t completely heal it 100%. That foot massager thingy really looks awesome!

    1. I know it’s REALLY hard to heal 100%. IT’s why I was hesitant to claim I was totally healed- it’s much much much better though. No pain is a clear sign something worked, right? Hang in there!

  2. My feet have been killing me for a long time now and getting out of bed in the morning is pure torture but I just figured I was getting old. My heels hurt all the time. For some reason, in my mind, I associated PF pain more with the arch of the foot so I never looked into it. So doing a little self-diagnosis 🙂 I have ordered the feetures sleeves and the moji. I figured I might as well try it, it might help but it definitely won’t hurt. If it doesn’t then maybe I will go see a real MD.

    1. I tell ya, Dr. Google knows all. LOL I hope they work for you. I also thought arch not heel, but it can be both. If it doesn’t help there are other medical options (like shots- yikes!) but hopefully you wont get to that point. Just be persistent with the massager and the feetures and ALWAYS wear shoes!

  3. My brother is a tall, muscular dude and was running in his regular gym shoes. Now his heel is killing him.
    I’m going to get him some Feetures. I don’t think he’ll use the massager. He hasn’t tried the golf ball I recommended. But maybe he’ll try the socks! Thanks, Patty!!

    1. I hope he will! Sleeping in them was easy. The massager is great under my desk. I roll while I work- not everyone can do that though.

    1. Much better! Thanks for asking. I ran 10 miles on Friday and NO PAIN. I was waiting for it to kick in, but nope!

  4. It’s definitely hard to rest up when all you want to do is keep moving, even if that would help with pain. I’m glad that, even if you kept running, you found other ways to reduce the heel and arch pain that Plantar Fasciitis brought. Just like you kept running, I think I’ll keep walking around with bare feet unless my foot pain gets unbearable; I just love being barefoot too much! Thanks for all the tips.

  5. As a nurse, I am on my feet most of the day. I am also a morning runner for the past I don’t even remember how many years. These two factors, combined with wrong footwear, provided the perfect set of circumstances for my Plantar Fasciitis to appear three years ago. It was the most painful journey for me, but eventually, Dr. Google helped me too for it. I was a nurse, so rest was not my cup of tea, ICE, and Right shoes with good arch support has helped me a lot to overcome from this painful condition

  6. Your worst kind of patient comments are pretty funny. A mom and a runner who keeps on running despite injury does sound like a troublesome person when it comes to following doctor’s orders.

  7. I never knew there was a device like Moji! I definitely need one of these after being on my feet all day. Thanks for sharing!

  8. Thank you for this awesome post, i had to share it with a few of my friends. I will buy one of these for sure.

  9. I’m currently recovering from PF and I’ve come a long way but still need to work to keep my feet happy. I’ll definitely have to look into that Moji roller – I will say that taping and inserts help a lot, but you also have to stretch those tight calves!

    1. YES! Rolling the calves totally helps. It’s all crazy connected, isn’t it? And glad you are on the recovery path. PF stinks!

  10. Hooray for being injury free! I have found that rolling my foot out with a golf ball after runs really helps with my flare ups of PF.

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