Save Your Feet From Fasciitis

If you're a runner, you've probably at least heard of plantar fasciitis, the foot issue that's just as weird to spell as it is to pronounce. Hopefully you haven't experienced it: a stabbing feeling in the bottom of your foot travelling from your heel to your toes. If you have, sorry! But at least we can help you understand why it happened and help you avoid it—toes crossed—from happening again.

Kate VanDamme
Physiotherapist

First and foremost: The moment you notice the telltale stabbing pain, address the inflammation. "This is the alarm phase", says Klein. Ignore your barking dogs and you could end up sidelining yourself for weeks or months. Here's what to do:

1. Take two days off to assess the issue, using that time to rest and ice your feet, says Klein. By then, if you're able to stand, walk and do daily activities on your feet without more inflammation or pain, then it may be OK to resume some easy runs.
   
2. If your pain worsens during those 48 hours or persists afterwards, try your best to keep all weight off your achy foot. "Do this until the inflammation and pain are at a minimum or gone completely", says Klein. To ease into putting pressure back on your feet (and get your fitness fix), try non-weight-bearing cross-training, like swimming or riding a stationary bike.
   
3. Once you're out of the alarm phase (congrats!), start doing exercises that strengthen your foot and ankle, as well as ones that increase mobility and flexibility. Think toe raises, foot flexes and towel stretches (Google is your friend here—just look for videos from a licensed physio). "We also recommend stretching the two calf muscles, the gastrocnemius and soleus", says VanDamme. You can stretch the gastrocnemius by placing your palms against a wall, then stepping one foot back and bending your front knee so you're in a lungelike position, keeping the back leg straight. To stretch the soleus, keep your front knee bent and slightly bend your back knee.
   
4. If you want to take things a step further, a physiotherapist can perform manual therapy on your ankle and midfoot to mobilise the joint and improve flexibility, says VanDamme. You can also DIY this type of soft-tissue release by rolling a lacrosse ball or frozen bottle of water under your foot, she adds.
   
5. For extreme cases—your physio/sports doc should let you know if that's you—a night splint (don't laugh) can be effective. "When you're sleeping, your foot is kind of curled, so the tissues will naturally shorten", says Klein. This is why plantar fasciitis tends to be most painful when you step out of bed in the morning. "A splint keeps the foot in a stretched position, so when you wake up, it hasn't shortened, and it's easier to put pressure on it", he explains.
   

Treating plantar fasciitis is different for everybody, but, no surprise, the earlier you take action, the better, says Klein. "I've seen people get better in as little as one month if they catch it the day it starts hurting", he says. On the flip side, "keep running on it without doing anything to address the issue, and it can take three to four months of rest to get it back to full health". That said, studies show it often takes about six months to resolve the issue.

But wait! That doesn't mean you have to throw your running shoes in a dusty corner throughout your recovery. You can still run if you pull back on your training and do the strength-building and calf-stretching exercises mentioned above, says VanDamme. If your pain continues, you may want to check in with an orthopaedic specialist. "If you're doing the right kind of treatments and it's not going away, you want to make sure it's not something else, like a stress fracture or pain radiating from another area", she says.

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