Plantar fasciitis woes

#1

I have plantar fasciitis in my left foot. Custom orthotics are not working. Any suggestions? Can’t let this stop me from hiking!

#2

Hi - There are lots of different treatments and what works for one person might not for another… with that caveat, here is how I manage my plantar fasciiitis - the ProStretch device (I have to be consistent and use it every day) https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0051BNU9Q/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and wearing a flexible enough shoe while hiking so there was some bend in the midfoot (boots and stiff soles make the p. fasciitis worse). I was in agony one year ago but slowly my foot is healing. Good luck.

#3

I’m sorry to hear this. I’ve been side-lined in the past by plantar fasicitis for weeks and it’s quite miserable. I have 2 suggestions to both treat and prevent future episodes.

  1. the exercises recommended by 2 very experienced (and funny) physical therapists on youtube at their channel “physicaltherapyvideo.” They have about 7 relevant videos posted there.
  2. very very cushioned shoes. I’ve worn medical-type crocs with added croc-like insoles (previously named silverfeet) for many years when not hiking at home. More recently at home I wear slip-on Oofos sandals which are amazingly well cushioned and super comfortable. For work, I wear MBT sandals that force a rolling mid-foot strike that is highly cushioned. For hiking, I wear men’s hurricane raptor Teva sandals (great tread) with an inserted homemade flip-flop insole. I remove the plastic thong from a $2 mens size 13 flipflop, cut it to size and shape with a scissors to match the Teva footbed, and make shallow notches at the sides of the flipflops to accommodate the Teva velcro straps which keeps the flipflop insert from sliding forward or back. For long distance hikes, I mail a replacement pre-cut flipflop in my resupply box every 150 miles. A lot of people are leary of hiking in sandals, if course. I’ve had great sandal success yearround with dry feet, NO blisters ever, and NO foot injuries by wearing Injinji nuwool toesocks inside Rocky Goretex oversocks.