Plantar fasciitis
 

I think I have this. I made a doctors appointment, but it’s a two week wait. I googled it and got conflicting information. Most however seem to suggest that cycling doesn’t cause it or make it worse. Anyone with experience with this have any input? I did go for a short ride and I didn’t have any pain during or after.

JenGQ, both my wife and I have been dealing with PF. There is no medical cure for it in the form of a pill, and really no need to visit the doc. Lots of advice out on the web that is accurate and simple. My wife went to the doc, I did not. She was told to stretch the achilles and calves, roll a ball under the foot along the arch in a massaging motion. The internet also provided this instruction, and is what I do as well. Yes, I self diagnosed, heaven forbid!
One thing to note, if you do not do the stretching and massage it can let go and holy moly you will be in a world of hurt! Surgery is required at that point. This happened to my friend's wife a few years back. Took six weeks to recover, and it requires a lot of painful stretching and massage. She now stretches and massages daily, as both my wife and I do.
FWIW, my wife is on her feet all day, I am moving all day and average 4-6 miles walking per day. So far the "therapy" employed is working for both of us.

I was a fairly competitive cyclist and developed a serious case of plantar fasciitis and cycling absolutely worsened it. Everyone is different. it took me a couple of years to recover. It only got better after having custom orthotics fitted. I would say if you are not having pain while cycling and after you are probably good. Sockwell plantar fasciitis socks really help but are hard to find in the shorter versions.

I have had it twice in my life. Both times a brace thingy that i bought from the drug store did the trick. Something like this: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Plantar-F...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

Stretch, stretch and stretch some more. If you have morning pain, stretch before you get out of bed. My ortho suggested things like stretching while at my desk every time I got an email and/or the phone rang.

As noted above, there is no cure in the form of a pill. Post #2 above sums up things well.

Hi, Recently found an additionally useful therapy for muscle and connective tissue rehab and recovery - TENS muscle electrical device.
A friend is a well-known (certified) acupuncturist who now also uses TENS where applicable - with great success. She recently worked on me for both a left shoulder rotator cuff injury and just a few weeks ago, for a recurring right shoulder dislocation. It has helped immensely in the process of recovery and rehab.
It's not voodoo med - it's very well known and commonly used for many muscle and connective issues. It is NOT a 'cure' for any underlying causes, it's therapy.
google "TENS for muscle therapy" or something similar.
There really are no dangerous side effects or serious issues as long as it's used with some sense - NOT to be used near brain, heart, eyes, genitals - seems like one needn't say these cautions, but given the propensity of humans to be non-sensical , best to say it... LOL!
There are plenty of good TENS devices at the consumer level, and work well. It promotes blood circulation which makes recovery and rehab happen with more ease - and for connective tissue, blood circulation is one of the issues, because of lesser vascularity in that kind of tissue - hence the improvement thru TENS.
Check it out - it may help.
Ride On
Yuri

I had a bout of Plantar Fasciitis a good 20ish years ago. It took a couple years to cure it. You need to find a Podiatrist. If it gets so bad that you feel like you have a nail driven into your heel they can give you a cortisone shot that will give you blessed relief. Stretching regimen for the calf muscles is a must along with heel down cycling posture and arch supports. You're Podiatrist can make you some custom orthotics if you don't get any relief from the dime store stuff. If you wear high heels throw them away:eek: or at least put them away until you are cured. Your Podiatrist will verify that. I even had to ditch work boots with heels.
If you have any excess weight you can lose, that will help. Don't forget to keep those calf muscles stretched forever. Getting a relapse really sucks.

Soles that are too stiff can cause it. People are different, so there could be different causes and remedies. Getting rid of it can be as painful as the band aids that help with the pain but not a cure. My story:
Run and jump athlete all of my life. Baseball, basketball court sports, etc. Got it really bad in my late 30s. I would slide down the stairs in the morning on my behind after a night of hooping it up. Gave up all court sports including my beloved basketball in my early 40s. I turned to cycling. Wife was/is a runner and wanted me to become one. Did lots of reading. Came to the conclusion that my feet had gotten weak and stiff from all those years wearing heavily structured/support court shoes. I threw away of all my shoes and got ones with cushioning, but no support of any kind. Bought some transition running shoes for people that were moving to barefoot running. The first run, all I could manage was about a mile before my feet were hurting so bad I could barely walk back. Woke up the next morning with no plantar pain. Went out the next day and managed to run a little farther before limping back to the house. Next morning, no plantar pain. Went through a month of that before the pain on the runs disappeared all together. That was around 15 years ago. Since then, the plantar is gone. I have some scar tissue I can feel, but no pain. Still roll it with a golf ball and stretch. I've ran around 10K miles since then including 14 marathons and various tris/obstacle races in addition to the cycling.

If you have access to a pool, swim or practice your leg kicking on the side or with a paddle board. That will stretch that area and the connecting tissue better than most of the other exercises combined. Good luck.

Ten years ago I spent lots of money at the podiatrist who came up with $700 pads that fit in my shoe. Cured it.

Now I go to the local Walmart, Walgreen, CVS, whatever and buy the Dr Scholl's clone store brand.

It says right on it. For Plantar Fasciitis.

And when I hear of a friend/family with heal pain. I cure their skepticism with a gift of a pair of pads.

Under $20, take a chance.

Good luck..Keep riding.

Actually - shoes that are too flexible / without proper support can lead to plantar fasciitis and aggravate it - especially in cases of a 'high arch'.

They allow the tendons (plantar fascia) to flex excessively - which can lead to plantar fasciitis and / or heel / 'bone spurs'.

This is one reason orthotics are often prescribed for plantar fascia problems - they provide additional / proper support for the arch / tendons and will reduce the amount of flex in this area (often from pronation).

A more stiff / neutral or stable support type shoe is then often recommended (or prescribed).

Distance runners that pronate will often run into plantar fascia problems - and then seek out a more stable / less flexible shoe - or in more severe cases will use orthotics.

'Shin splints' (and similar) can also be involved / related to plantar fascia problems - often from muscle imbalance (calf vs shin) / excessive increases in intensity / duration etc. This is one reason calf / achilles stretching is recommended and prescribed.

( severe cases of 'shin splints' can lead to 'compartment syndrome' / ischemia - you don't want to go there)

I could go on ... initially ran into these issues as a cyclist and runner years ago - and then more recently as a baseball coach from years / repetitive landing on forefoot when pitching batting practice and outfield reps (hitting fungo / fly balls to outfield).

Good article. Then another, which is conflicting with the other at times. Lots of info on the net.

https://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com...gies-can-help/

https://www.researchgate.net/publica...efoot_Pressure

https://www.thebikethebody.com/post/plantar-fasciitis

I had my first round of Plantars Fascitis about 6 years ago. I tried a generic store bought shoe inserts and it worked. So now all shoes get them, and I have elastic strap-on arch supports for wearing sandals or walking barefoot around the house.

Biking does not seem to aggravate it (I wear arch supports in those shoes, too). Now that I work from home, I spend more time in bare feet and flip flops, and if I spend a day without the arch supports that seems to bring on the PF issues.

Our Podiatrist preaches shoes at all times, even indoors. I have to somewhat agree after stepping on lego "cat toys" on a hardwood floor in the dark. But I compromise with Crocs.

I will be the outlier here. I usually wore minimalist shoes, shoes by Softstar Shoes, that have no arch support, and only a thin, 5mm sole. I worked up to wearing them a little at a time. Once I was adapted to them, I had no issues. I started wearing them after barefoot running to help retrain my stride. I used to get shin splints when running. After barefoot running a short time, I corrected my stride, and never got shin splint again. I also never got plantar fasciitis while wearing them. I used barefoot running as a training method to develop a more natural stride. It worked. I then started wearing the minimalist shoes.

Fast forward to the pandemic. I was home during the pandemic, and was walking during the Winter. I was usually on ships in warm climates a lot of the Winter for work, so I was able to wear the minimalist shoes. I was off due to the pandemic, so I wore heavy shoes with "proper" support all Winter. I went back out in the spring, now unaccustomed to not having support, and got plantar fasciitis. My fault for not allowing myself to build up to wearing shoes with no support. The muscles supporting my foot had atrophied from wearing the supportive shoes and boots. In the 14 years leading up to this event though, wearing minimalist shoes, I never had plantar fasciitis. I did have it before wearing minimalist shoes though.

Wearing shoes with support weakens the muscles that support the arch, and stabilizes the foot. If that is all you wear, you have to continue to wear them, or give yourself time to slowly rebuild the muscles that support your foot by transitioning slowly to less support. I am doing that now, but still wear good running shoes with support for running right now. I have found that stiffer shoes aggravate plantar fasciitis, while more flexible soles did not. That is not to say flexible shoes with no support, just flexible soles. Overly stiff soles though made the ailment worse.

I believe the reason many elderly people have issues with walking and balance, is that their feet and supporting muscles are so weak from being in shoes that have too much support, that prevent the foot from working the way it is made to work. The associated muscles are atrophied from lack of use.

I am not telling you that you have to wear minimalist shoes, or to stop wearing shoes with support, that is your decision. I do a mix of both right now. I am wearing Xero shoes, and my "proper" running shoes. I also no longer have plantar fasciitis. Just food for thought, but when I hear podiatrists say to never go barefoot, I have to laugh. Their idea for shoes does a lot to create a foot that can never go barefoot, rather than actually making the foot stronger and more resilient to injury. The support they advocate makes the foot weaker. They instead should advocate exercise for the foot, and slow adaptation to being barefoot on occasion, rather than never at all. Do they realize that when man first walked on the earth, they most likely didn't have shoes. However did they manage?

There's some contradictory suggestions here on what to do to cure/avoid/alleviate PF. The take away is different approaches seem to work for different people.

I've had PF a couple times over the last 15 years. It can be bad and take 1-2 years to get rid of.

The first time I had it, despite stretching, rolling balls, custom orthotics over 18 months.......... it wouldn't heal up. I finally returned to the doc and had a couple cortisone shots in my heel (there's some real fun if you like pain) and that made it disappear. I've had a couple minor bouts of PF since.

What I've learned:

1) Podiatrist said to never walk barefoot again. I follow this inside and outside the house. If you look into how PF happens, it makes sense that walking barefoot is a bad idea. (I also have appreciably high arches) For probably 10+ years after my "main event" I wore arch-supportive water-sandals in the shower.

2) Following #1 above, wearing shoes with poor arch and/or without proper foot support is just asking for additional PF issues..that's how I/you got there to begin with. As you look for shoes, you'll find that 90+% of shoes sold have garbage support for an actual human foot. If you don't need support..then no issues, but look at a average human foot and then look at your basic shoe with a flat insole. Makes no sense.

3) Custom insoles do help, but they are grossly overpriced. BTDT. There are over the counter insoles that work just as well. Spenco Total Support MAX(must be the MAX versions) or Walkcomfy insoles or Superfeet insoles or others..REI has some good ones...the key is that the insole has a hard, non-flexible arch support. The idea here is that your foot is supported and held in proper position when you walk. The insoles with soft foam & flexible arch support just squish down when your arch pushes on it..which is opposite of what you're seeking (that is..support).

4) Shoe or insole brands selling "soft and cushy" footbeds are iffy. Soft and cushy doesn't solve your problem..support, proper foot alignment, and stretching does. Soft and cushy shoes are like soft and cushy bike saddles..not good in the long run.

5) Stretching certainly helps, although the lack of daily stretching isn't a direct, hard, quick line to a surgical procedure. While there's always an outlier where this is the case, if your foot has proper support (good shoes, insoles..etc) then the lack of regular stretching will only increase your chances of having an issue, not insure you will have an issue. I think regular stretching is the surest way not to have an issue. Regular stretching and poor shoes/arch support, or walking barefoot a lot, is rolling dice.

6) Take a look at the soles of your favorite shoes or sandals. If they are more worn on the outside edges than in the middle, then you need more arch support. You're walking on the outside of your feet as your foot is looking for support.

I'm not much for clickbait videos on youtube, but this one is pretty good:

in addition to #6 above - excessive wear on the inside part of the soles can also indicate a need for additional arch support

often - but not always - excessive wear on outside part of the soles can indicate under-pronation / supination that can be the result of high arch with not enough support ... this can lead to plantar fasciitis

and excessive wear on the inside part of the sole can be the result of (excessive) pronation - which can lead to plantar fasciitis

in both cases the tendons / plantar fascia can lack the proper support and be subjected to excessive stress

because the tendons / plantar fascia do not have the amount of blood flow of a muscle and therefore recovery can be longer (and frustrating)

I have had health problems because of cycling, but this doesn't seem to be because of cycling.

I suffered from PF almost 30 years ago. The number one thing that seemed to fix it was purchasing and using store bought foot beds, aka insoles. And not the flat piece of foam rubber but one with a heel cup and rigid arch support, like the kind from Superfeet. I just looked and they are now 60 bucks which seems like a lot. But they changed my life. 30 years now and no foot pain. Whenever I purchase a pair of shoes I remove (or tear out) the stock insole and slip the Superfeet insole in. Works like a charm. Highly recommend them, two thumbs up. :thumb:

I had a couple of cases of PF, separate cases on each foot. The last one was caused by overly-flexible tennis shoes. Cycling did not cause or aggravate it. What I did was fill a pop bottle with water and stick it in the freezer. Then, roll the arch of my foot on it for a half-hour at a time, paying extra attention to where it was the most sore. I used a fair amount of pressure, like wedging my knee under a desk to increase the force. The ice keeps it from swelling, Heat feels good at first, but ends up making things worse the next day. (Don't apply heat!) I tried the Strassburg sock route, but it didn't help at all.

A good therapy for PF is to lay a dish towel or something similar on the floor and then use your toes to scrunch it up under your foot. This is a great exercise for the foot and is very low impact. Start at the very end of the towel and see how much you can pull under your foot. A smallish towel (shop rag or microfiber polishing cloth, dish towel etc) works great and you can get quite a bit under your foot.

I did this when I used to jog a fair amount.

All,

I had to stop wearing flip-flops because of the pain.

Took a chance on Reef Ortho Spring sandals, bought from Zappos(?). Working from home, I wear them all the time.

This was pre-pandemic, so was like $29. More expensive now.

Just throwing that out there.

I have had some amount of PF for the last 20+ years with the worst of it being when I gained a lot of weight. I suppose toe pointing would lead to an even tighter achilles tendon (which in turns leads to PF), so maybe a heel-down pedal stroke (with a slightly lower saddle) would help, but I really don't know about that... and that risks messing with a good bike fit. As for me personally, I don't feel like cycling has helped or hurt, other than the resulting weight loss from getting back in shape put less stress on my feet overall.

It doesn't mess with a good bike fit, it corrects a bad bike fit. If you are pedaling toe down, and experiencing issues with the Achilles Tendon, it is a bad bike fit. Ask me how I know.

Also, most people who pedal toe down because of seat height, actually do not spin fluidly throughout the stroke. Lowering the seat height in that case will allow the person to spin fluidly, and be more efficient, and prevent injury in the process.

A local Dr came up with this. People say good things about it. I've never needed it so I have no experience with it. I think it stretches the muscle as you walk.

www.thehealingsole.com

That orthopedic sandal might be good for prevention. Of course, how do you know you need to prevent it? You never know until it's too late. Plantar Faciitis is basically tendonitis (tight tendon) in the bottom of your foot. The cure is to stretch and loosen it back the way it's supposed to be. In theory, the Strassburg sock gently stretches the tendon while you sleep. Any stretching will help, as long as you don't make things even worse through inflammation. What the rolling-your-foot-on-a-frozen-bottle accomplishes is to stretch the tendons without causing a lot of swelling due to inflammation.

The pain of Plantar Faciitis tends to go away as you use your foot and the tendons warm up. So I suppose gently stretching your arch after warming up might help - the keyword being "gentle."