Every multi-sport athlete will likely, at one time in their life, have to deal with some type of injury that interrupts their training plans or even temporarily prevents them from doing the sports they love. For runners and triathletes alike, one of the most common injuries is that of Plantar Fasciitis.
The key to overcoming an injury is not only in prevention, but in the method of healing the injury. The longer the injury persists, the longer we are forced to cross-train or not work out at all. So, the question becomes, "How do I heal my injury without losing fitness"?
Check out the article below from Stacey Smith that details some options for healing of plantar fasciitis. Stacey is an up and coming running coach pending her USATF Coaching Certification. For more information on her training packages, feel free to email Stacey or Jamie Church.
"My marathon is eight weeks away, but I can't walk like a normal human being from my bed to the bathroom this morning! (Sound familiar???) When I wake up- my right heel, arch and achilles are seemingly 'stuck' in that shortened position they adopted six hours ago when I laid down to go to sleep. Only my right foot suffers the problem. Six hours ago I could walk like a normal person, yet I am now hobbling like a cowboy who just got off his horse after riding for a week straight! I roll out of bed. En-route to the bathroom I bow my legs out at the knees, balance myself completely on the outside edges of both feet with my ankle bones nearly touching the carpet when I walk. I'm only 35 years old for crying out loud! What's wrong with me? I've got 'marathon-on-the-brain' and I'm at my limit with this painful morning ritual!
Anyone who is blessed with this little nagging problem called 'plantar fasciitis' likely has a morning ritual similar to mine. I've talked to several other runners, walkers, podiatrists and non-athletes about this problem. I've tried every recommendation each of those people offered not to mention every suggested treatment I could find listed in books and online in order to avoid the dreaded final options of cortisone injections or surgery. With a combination of little things taken from all those sources I found a way to keep the plantar fascia demon at bay.
The routine: Do not be lax with this! Even when your feet feel good in the morning do not skip the routine! Before you step one foot out of bed, stretch your legs. Gently massage and work your toes, arch, achilles and especially your calves out of the short, tight position they've been stuck in since you fell asleep. Pull your toes up towards you and rub/massage the bottoms of your feet. The idea is to saturate your feet with blood so they're warm and 'pliable' BEFORE you get out of bed instead of expecting them to be happy holding up your entire being while they're cold, stiff and still asleep. This only takes a minute or two to do! Wake your feet up BEFORE you try to use them! I do this every morning. If I don't do it, my feet are still tight and inflexible when I try to stand on them. This only aggravates them and they start the day inflamed and irritated because I tried to stomp them to life with my weight when they were still sleeping! I end up spending the rest of the morning hobbling around trying to calm them down from an evil wake-up call.
You must do the wake-up stretching and massage religiously! At the recommendation of a friend I even spell the entire alphabet out with my feet after I'm done massaging them. I lay on my back, one leg raised, spelling out each letter of the alphabet with each foot individually. It isn't as easy as you think! I only got to letter 'k' on my first attempt. Your feet will gain so much flexibility if you include the alphabet session in your morning routine. Flexibility is key to eliminating plantar fascia problems. Simple, eh?
I take this all a step further (no pun intended!). While I'm having breakfast I rest my feet on a very warm bean-bag-buddy (Wal-Mart, $10) which pools the blood into my arches and heels and keeps the fascias warm, loose and flexible. I was always told to ICE my feet for plantar fascia (and I do ice after my workouts) but at the moment I'd rather my fascia and achilles be saturated with blood so they move freely in every direction. This way they won't become irritated when I really start walking around on them.
I find that stretching my calves throughout the day keeps my fascia from getting short and tight again as they tend to do when I sit down for any extended amount of time. Think about it. The calve stretch is key. The calve is the lifeline to the achilles which leads right down to that beloved fascia! It's a snowball effect. You must keep all the parts happy in order for them to make YOU happy.
The basic idea behind my routine is to stop the irritation of the fascia before it starts. Get those feet warmed up and ready before you use them in the morning. Keep them happy in little stretching spurts during the day. Ice them to reduce any inflammation after your workouts and walks. Heat them after you ice them so they become pliable again. Roll your arch over a golf ball to really get the circulation going deep into the base of the heel.
So, eight weeks later I ran my marathon. It was outstanding! I suffered no problems at all during or even after the event and I've noticed a huge decrease in pain and tightness of my fascia (even in the mornings!) ever since I started this routine. I STILL do all of these things every single day because I fear the monster will return if I stop the ritual. I can run more now than ever before and I can do speed workouts without being crippled for a week at a time. The routine is cake! Massage, stretch, heat, ice, maintain. Cake!"
The key to overcoming an injury is not only in prevention, but in the method of healing the injury. The longer the injury persists, the longer we are forced to cross-train or not work out at all. So, the question becomes, "How do I heal my injury without losing fitness"?
Check out the article below from Stacey Smith that details some options for healing of plantar fasciitis. Stacey is an up and coming running coach pending her USATF Coaching Certification. For more information on her training packages, feel free to email Stacey or Jamie Church.
"My marathon is eight weeks away, but I can't walk like a normal human being from my bed to the bathroom this morning! (Sound familiar???) When I wake up- my right heel, arch and achilles are seemingly 'stuck' in that shortened position they adopted six hours ago when I laid down to go to sleep. Only my right foot suffers the problem. Six hours ago I could walk like a normal person, yet I am now hobbling like a cowboy who just got off his horse after riding for a week straight! I roll out of bed. En-route to the bathroom I bow my legs out at the knees, balance myself completely on the outside edges of both feet with my ankle bones nearly touching the carpet when I walk. I'm only 35 years old for crying out loud! What's wrong with me? I've got 'marathon-on-the-brain' and I'm at my limit with this painful morning ritual!
Anyone who is blessed with this little nagging problem called 'plantar fasciitis' likely has a morning ritual similar to mine. I've talked to several other runners, walkers, podiatrists and non-athletes about this problem. I've tried every recommendation each of those people offered not to mention every suggested treatment I could find listed in books and online in order to avoid the dreaded final options of cortisone injections or surgery. With a combination of little things taken from all those sources I found a way to keep the plantar fascia demon at bay.
The routine: Do not be lax with this! Even when your feet feel good in the morning do not skip the routine! Before you step one foot out of bed, stretch your legs. Gently massage and work your toes, arch, achilles and especially your calves out of the short, tight position they've been stuck in since you fell asleep. Pull your toes up towards you and rub/massage the bottoms of your feet. The idea is to saturate your feet with blood so they're warm and 'pliable' BEFORE you get out of bed instead of expecting them to be happy holding up your entire being while they're cold, stiff and still asleep. This only takes a minute or two to do! Wake your feet up BEFORE you try to use them! I do this every morning. If I don't do it, my feet are still tight and inflexible when I try to stand on them. This only aggravates them and they start the day inflamed and irritated because I tried to stomp them to life with my weight when they were still sleeping! I end up spending the rest of the morning hobbling around trying to calm them down from an evil wake-up call.
You must do the wake-up stretching and massage religiously! At the recommendation of a friend I even spell the entire alphabet out with my feet after I'm done massaging them. I lay on my back, one leg raised, spelling out each letter of the alphabet with each foot individually. It isn't as easy as you think! I only got to letter 'k' on my first attempt. Your feet will gain so much flexibility if you include the alphabet session in your morning routine. Flexibility is key to eliminating plantar fascia problems. Simple, eh?
I take this all a step further (no pun intended!). While I'm having breakfast I rest my feet on a very warm bean-bag-buddy (Wal-Mart, $10) which pools the blood into my arches and heels and keeps the fascias warm, loose and flexible. I was always told to ICE my feet for plantar fascia (and I do ice after my workouts) but at the moment I'd rather my fascia and achilles be saturated with blood so they move freely in every direction. This way they won't become irritated when I really start walking around on them.
I find that stretching my calves throughout the day keeps my fascia from getting short and tight again as they tend to do when I sit down for any extended amount of time. Think about it. The calve stretch is key. The calve is the lifeline to the achilles which leads right down to that beloved fascia! It's a snowball effect. You must keep all the parts happy in order for them to make YOU happy.
The basic idea behind my routine is to stop the irritation of the fascia before it starts. Get those feet warmed up and ready before you use them in the morning. Keep them happy in little stretching spurts during the day. Ice them to reduce any inflammation after your workouts and walks. Heat them after you ice them so they become pliable again. Roll your arch over a golf ball to really get the circulation going deep into the base of the heel.
So, eight weeks later I ran my marathon. It was outstanding! I suffered no problems at all during or even after the event and I've noticed a huge decrease in pain and tightness of my fascia (even in the mornings!) ever since I started this routine. I STILL do all of these things every single day because I fear the monster will return if I stop the ritual. I can run more now than ever before and I can do speed workouts without being crippled for a week at a time. The routine is cake! Massage, stretch, heat, ice, maintain. Cake!"
