[pct-l] plantar fasciitis

[plongton at pacbell.net (Paul Longton)]

Don Wilson wrote "I developed a mild case of plantar fasciitis.  Kinda
feels like a bruised heel.  It never really hurt much, so I added some
Spenco inserts to my NB 805s and kept on hiking.  I did a bunch of
hikes over the summer, and my problem gradually disappeared and was
gone by September.  Then, a couple of weeks ago, it came back. Still
only a mild case, but it really worries me prior to a thru hike.  I'll
go see my doctor, but I'd like to hear some ideas or experiences
regarding PF recovery."

4-months before my 2004 PCT thru-hike I had a most uncomfortable bout with pf. I didn't know what it was and prolonged going to see a foot doctor because I figured it would go away on its own. It didn't. I had been running in the trail shoes I intended to wear (Salomon XA Pros) and had not been stretching. I had heel pain, arch pain and toes that were on fire. The podiatrist I saw had plenty of experience with hikers including seeing Flying Brian Robinson during his Triple Crown year for plantar fasiitis. The doc advised that I wear my best running shoes with off the shelf orthotics with a hard plastic bottom (he thought Superfeet were good for the price). He advised against the soft inserts. He said if the off the shelf inserts didn't work then I could always get made to order orthotics. He advised to stretch the calf muscle. The stretch he recommended was to stand facing a wall with one foot against the wall with the toes up against the wall and higher than the heel and then to
 stand straight and stretching the calf muscle. I did all of the above and ended up wearing New Balance 2001 running shoes (which is what I ordinarily run in) with Superfeet inserts. The pf was subsiding at kickoff, gone entirely in a week or two after starting and was not a problem throughout the hike. Buzz