Jul 28, 2009 4:07 PM
plantar fasciitis
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My sister-in-law has flat feet, over pronates, and suffers with platar fasciitis...
Can anyone share some ideas for shoes, stretches, exercises, relief for pain, etc.?
She would love to run a marathon some day but, the pain holds her back.
Her current shoes are New Balance: grey suede and $100+. I do not know the exact name but, they are very popular. She had got them for her flat feet but, what about her other difficulties?
Please any suggestions would be GREAT! Thanks for your time.
I used to have an issue with chin splints and occasional foot pain. I'vee been using a product called Superfeet and they're fantastic. They give great arch support which helps with pronation and keeps the foot from straining. I've had no problems since and recommend them to my clients. Most good sporting goods should carry them. Also, have her do towel grabs with bare feet to strengthen the Abductor Digiti. Just throw a towel on the floor and use your toes to grab and lift it.
I treated my plantar faciitis with the towel grab also. Another exercise was to do barefoot heel raises.
Work one foot at a time and then do both feet. Build up to 40 reps. at a time
If you do this twice a day, it helps with foot and shin problems.
Hope this helps.
Running with severe overpronation and flat feet is a sure way to get serious injury, im speaking from personal experience (3 stress fractures). She needs to see an orthopedist and get custom made orthodics, store bought ones might do the trick, but while training for a marathon it would be safer to see a professional, and custom ones though more expensive last a lot longer, about 5-10 years and work better. Towl grabs are a good way to stregnthen the lower leg muscles, she should also focus on stretching the lower leg. As runners we automatically stretch the hamstrings, but foot and lower leg pain means she should really start adding in a lot of stretches for the gastroc. step strechers are great for this, but the cheap way is to balance on the edge of a stair and lower the heel, at least 5x 30 second sets for each leg.
You raise a couple questions. How much does she overpronate? Who diagnosed the flat feet and overpronation? What exact model of shoes does she wear? The right shoes can do much to support the feet and compensate for overpronation. Custom orthotics are, in my opinion, a last resort. How long has she had PF? Who diagnosed it? What is she doing to treat it? PF will not go away on its own. There are many good articles online with help with self-treatment. Here are a few.
http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_5/191.shtml#plantar
http://www.drpribut.com/sports/heelhtm.htm
http://www.ubsportsmed.buffalo.edu/education/plantarfas.html
Len
Len
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