Active Community: Message List - Orthotics, stretching & night splint out the window...

Re: Orthotics, stretching & night splint out the window...

guest — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:16:24 GMT

Thank you for weighing in! The article is very interesting and offers a couple of really good exercises.

As a matter of fact, the band exercise reminds me of an exercise I used to do when rehabing my left ankle following a severe sprain... Gives pause to if a weak posterior tibial isn't a big part of my problem. Clearly the treatments I'm doing for my PF aren't sufficient (suggesting that something else is amiss).

Anyway, I'm going to pick-up an exercise band and do these exercises on a regular basis. I'll keep you updated on my progress.

Thanks again!!

Re: Orthotics, stretching & night splint out the window...

guest — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 23:42:05 GMT

In case you did not see it in the other PF thread you recenty contributed to, this entire 4-page discussion is very informative and helpful for AT and PF sufferers...

http://www.easyvigour.net.nz/casestudy/h_posttibialtendonitis.htm

Re: Orthotics, stretching & night splint out the window...

guest — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 18:48:32 GMT

Uhhggg, I'm back to omnipresent pain in my left foot... I spent several months running pain-free and within the last two months have developed PF in my left foot again

From my posts above, I've all but stopped stretching completely (standing stretch of hami, and bending my toes on left foot back) and up until recently, have had no issues. My running shoes (Asics 2140) only have 100 miles on them (at most) but my work shoes are about a year old. Having said that, I guess I need to go out and buy something to replace my Clarks. I just dropped $95 on a pair of Mizunos so another $100 isn't a welcomed purchase

I continue to run 4 miles 3 times a week but have backed off my long runs of 7 miles as I don't want to push too hard until I get my PF back under control.

Just a quick update - hope to report back in a week or two that all has been resolved with the purchase of a new pair of work shoes...

Re: Orthotics, stretching & night splint out the window...

guest — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 13:18:15 GMT

Thanks for the update - ASTYM looks like an interesting approach to breaking up what's underneath the skin. I wonder if the gel used is something akin to biofreeze.

I've heard (read) of the term plantar fasciosis in my search for pain relief but am just now reading about ASTYM... Certainly looks much less evasive, and potentially more effective, than hundreds of tiny needles. Although I guess someone else could weigh-in and argue the other way. Yeah, I'd guess that after running for more than a year with untreated PF and then everything after that, I probably have a good amount of scar tissue. It appears as though what I'm doing is working so I'm almost holding my breath waiting for something to happen.

I'm starting my 5 mile runs this week (MWF) and am excited - well, not excited but looking forward to my time outside; humid weather and 90+ degrees makes it difficult to be excited about any sport outside...

Still relatively pain-free; some soreness/tightness in my foot but a couple of very short toe stretches and I'm good to go.

Thanks for the update on your ASTYM treatments and it's certainly an approach to consider should my foot decide to rebel again

Dave

Re: Orthotics, stretching & night splint out the window...

guest — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 00:13:58 GMT

That's outstanding news. It's fantastic you're able to build up like that. Congratulations!

My quick update: I started ASTYM treatments about 3 weeks ago and they've made a HUGE impact. I've been discussing with my PT the phenomena that Plantar Fasciitis, after a while, becomes Plantar Fasciosis. If I understand things correctly, when it reaches this point, the inflammation is gone, but the pain emanates from the tissue having degenerated and being weak. In this mode the tissue *needs* exercise to strengthen and rebuild itself. That seems to support your experiences, DS, with being able to ramp back up.

Keep it up!

Jim

Re: Orthotics, stretching & night splint out the window...

guest — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 19:45:18 GMT

As an update to this thread - I've been steadily increasing my mileage and I'm up to 4.5 miles 3x a week. I have very minor foot pain and only on an occasional basis. When I do experience foot pain (tightness in my plantar) I found that if I bend my toes back and hold for a couple of seconds, a couple of times, my foot loosens up almost immediately.

I feel strong again in my first couple of miles and find that I'm having to control my breathing as my legs are outrunning my lungs instead of the other way around

Planning to increase to 5mi runs (@ 3x/week) next week and will start incorporating long runs on the weekends. Hopeful that my lack of pain will continue - trying hard not to push it and risk injury...

Re: Orthotics, stretching & night splint out the window...

guest — Tue, 25 May 2010 13:58:07 GMT

Prolotherapy does not do its work by mechanically (running) re-injuring the ligament. It injects an irritant that the body reads as damage and thus the billion year old evolutionary collagen fix is laid down..................our hope lies in when this begins to really integrate and dry out, shrinking and tightening the ligament. So if you have read this, you'd instinctively know that some movement like walking would help things move along but putting the ligament to the test while all this is happening is like adding chaos to an organization effort. Your choice.

Re: Orthotics, stretching & night splint out the window...

guest — Tue, 25 May 2010 13:41:09 GMT

Thanks for the post - so by your own admission, and by the info posted above, I should continue to run (ostensibly reinjuring/inflaming the ligament) until my pain goes away?

I've read about prolotherapy and it sounds intreging but I'm not to the point of paying for something unless it's covered by my insurance.

The pain in my left foot has returned, albeit not nearly as bad as what it was. I continue to run, stretching only my hams and quads; my left calf is REALLY tight, but I hesitate in stretching it for fear that everything below my calf will also stretch (e.g., plantar ligament). Once I warm up (5 min walk) and get running everything feels good. I guess all the muscles have loosened up - including my foot...

Curious turn of events.

Mileage: 3.25 - 3.5 Monday/Wednesday and hopefully Friday this week.

Re: Orthotics, stretching & night splint out the window...

guest — Sun, 16 May 2010 20:32:15 GMT

You had me until I read .......Kickball.......

Re: Orthotics, stretching & night splint out the window...

guest — Sun, 16 May 2010 20:21:51 GMT

ligaments have probably stretched, isn't the PF a large tendon or ligament like structure? You want inflammation so don't ice and no anti-inflammatories, and no stretching, tightening things is what you want....these are the doctrines of prolotherapy, revolutionary, game changing. Sorry to be controversial.