Notes
Re: Plantar Faciitis - appt. w/ortho foot specialist's PA
(I developed PF last summer). P.A. saw me & said I have one of the tightest left achilles tendons she's ever seen, and she treats 5-10 cases a week. Also, that walking on hard surfaces at my job the last 6 years was the likliest PF culprit. Xray shows 2 opposing heel spurs on my left foot.
I realized if I had come in months ago, I could probably be running on a regular schedule by now. But it's been 10 months, so I will be starting over practically. Thankfully I X-trained a lot - mostly cycling, some elliptical.
I need to stretch my achilles several different ways 5-10x/day, and I can start running again immediately. Each individual stretch is 1-2 minutes long by the clock - not by approximation. Have to wear a night splint. Following this regimen strictly results in success in 95% of patients. Made appt. for 6 weeks from now, but can cancel if I'm doing well by then. I think I'll keep the appt. to get a confirmation of my progress and to ask some more questions I thought of. (A walking cast that continually dorsiflexes the foot is a second option for tougher cases).
No hill work allowed for awhile! Also, do the stretches BEFORE and AFTER running to help loosen that achilles tendon.
MTA: One week later (and six 1-mile runs later) I'm doing fine. It's still very early tho. I'm averaging 6-7 sets of stretching/day so far.