I have more than one friend who has developed Plantar Fasciitis while training for a marathon. Plantar Fasciitis is a common, painful injury that can go on for months. Plantar Fasciitis happens when the long, flat ligament on the bottom of your foot (Plantar Fascia) stretches too much, small tears develop and the ligament inflames (ouch!!)! Folks, this is serious pain!
Plantar Fasciitis usually develops over time. Many times, people continue to exercise when the condition first occurs. So, the condition worsens causing you to see you local doctor. As with all injuries, prevention is the best solution. WHENEVER YOU FEEL PAIN, IT IS A SIGN THAT SOMETHING IS WRONG! DON’T IGNORE IT!
Repetitive stress injuries like Plantar Fasciitis, runner’s knee, shin splints and Achilles tendinitis can be prevented with proper training.
Take these 5 steps to avoid Plantar Fasciitis:
1) Keep your foot and ankle area flexible (including the Achilles tendon). Also, don’t wear cheap or worn out shoes when you workout.
2) Vary your running workouts to avoid repetitive type injuries.
3) A sudden increase in the intensity or length of your workouts can cause injury.
4) Bad running mechanics (foot strike on the ground) can cause injury.
5) Repetitive running or walking on steep inclines or hills can bring on injury.
If you develop Plantar Fasciitis, try these steps and try to avoid the doctor’s office:
1) Stop exercising or cut down your activity. Stretch and massage the calf area.
2) A better pair of shoes (with heel and arch support) could be the answer. A heel cup might also help.
3) Ice the inflamed area.
No pain, no gain is a myth! Pain during exercise is a signal that something is wrong!
Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
Great post! The quality of the shoes we wear during physical activity have a MAJOR impact, especially when combined with poor mechanics.
Icing and stretching in the morning worked great for me. Also I strongly recommend a good pair of insoles as a cheaper option if you cannot afford to purchase a pair of decent shoes.
Good tips Elena….thx for visiting Her Fitness Hut!
Some great info here thank you. I recently started my own blog on this subject since I was recently diagnosed with Plantar Fasciitis. My mistake was trying to run a few weeks after th pain first started and I ended up severely compounding the issue. Now I am trying to raise awareness so others do not make the same mistake.
Thanks for sharing your website Dave…..I think the hardest thing to do when you love exercise is to REST and RECOVER. I will check out your site
Thanks for reading and sharing Balrog!
These are some really great tips, Mark. To add to your third tip, it is really important that new and even veteran runners that they should properly plan any increase to intensity/mileage of their runs. Whether it’s following the sacred 10% rule for runners or just personal experience, I think this should be in every runner’s mind to help avoid plantar fasciitis.
Great read, thank you for sharing!
Thanks for your reading and your tip!
Don’t skimp out on investing on a good pair of shoes! Saving a buck or two is no compensation for your health because that may result in future issues that may become even more costly.
Some good common sense tips here. Also, with plantar fasciitis, since the majority of people are heel-strikers when they run, it’s vital to avoid barefoot/minimal running.
For sure, a great pair of running shoes goes a long way and proper running mechanics….the minimalist running shoes are not the answer for many people even though they are all the hype
These are some great tips! The quality of your shoes when running simply cannot be stressed enough. Without the proper attire, you will be leaving yourself incredibly vulnerable to this painful affliction.
Thanks for the read….marathoners are susceptible to Plantar Fasciitis because of over-training, poor running mechanics and ill-fitted shoes. And, pretty much the same for regular exercisers and athletes…