Ever step out of bed in the morning and scream from the pain shooting through your heel when it hits the floor? I’ve been there and it sucks! At first, I thought I must have somehow bruised the bottom of my foot, but by the time I finished my first cup of coffee, the pain was mostly gone. A freakish moment, I figured—until the next morning, when I relived the mini-drama.
After consulting a doctor, I was told I had a condition common to runners called plantar fasciitis—inflammation of the fascia, or connective tissue, along the heel bone and arch. I went home that afternoon and filled two dozen Dixie cups with water, tucking them into my freezer like a squirrel packing nuts for the winter. After every run, I would grab a frozen cup and peel off the paper like a Popsicle, then gently rub it along my heel, arch, and Achilles tendon until they became numb. “Ice massage is the most efficient method to relive planter fasciitis,” says Jason Klein, MA, MS, PT, the owner of Athalon Physical Therapy in New York City, who keeps a stash of frozen Dixie cups in his office freezer.
I was able to continue running five days a week, as I’ve always done, but I backed off distance and intensity, while becoming diligent about stretching my calves, hamstrings, quads, and hip-flexors after every trot. I also got better-fitting shoes. “It’s extremely important for runners to find sneakers that provide proper support and cushioning for their individual types of feet and running styles,” notes Klein. “Pronation is normal, but people who overpronate can benefit from a stability, or motion-control, sneaker.” For more support, those who don’t pronate enough (or supinate), may find a highly cushioned shoe appropriate. He recommends buying shoes from a credible running expert or shop and replacing shoes every 300–400 miles. High-mileage runners may want to buy two sets of shoes at a time and swap them between runs. Like your muscles, your shoes need time to recover.
Plantar fasciitis (fashee-EYE-tiss) can develop from:
- Too much activity, too soon
- Ill-fitting shoes
- Unusually low or high arches of the feet
- Tightness in foot or calf muscles
- Being overweight
A great calf stretch:
- Place hands on the wall, then reach right leg back, keeping knee straight and foot flat on ground
- Step left leg halfway between wall and right foot, bending left knee
- Push against hands while keeping feet in place, until feeling a subtle stretch in back calf. Hold for thirty seconds (don’t bounce or rock)
- Switch legs and repeat three times on each side
