Thank you for encouraging me to take time to heal. The "no walking for exercise" order is driving me nuts. I am cheating just a bit as I go out with hubby to walk the dog once or twice a week. I mean...that's not exercise...that's a necessary chore right? Anyway, I'll walk 1/2 mile to a mile once or twice a week. That is definitely less than 1 to 2 miles 5 times a week. Yes, please let me know about the exercises. Are the bands the ones you can purchase at Wal-Mart? Do I need to get them at a sporting goods store?
I wonder if I would have the plantars fascitis if I had worn good shoes. I wore better shoes growing up, but hubby was a payless kind of guy. Well, let's just say that newlyweds don't have a lot of money. Fast forward 20 years, I got back to wearing decent but not great shoes. Last year, I needed a pair of white shoes to wear with one specific dress. I couldn't justify spending a fortune on such an occassional shoe, and headed to payless.
Gee whiz! That's the most expensive $15 I ever spent.
Believe me, my doctor had a hard time stopping me from exercising. At the time I was training hard for my black belt, and I teach karate so I am on my feet constantly. That's probably why it took a full 6 months to heal. I eventually got there though. I actually healed AFTER therapy by doing my exercises at home. I would assume you could get the bands anywhere, and
Walmart has a pretty good exercise equipment section. They are the big rubber band type that are pretty flat and are usually different colors. The different colors represent the strength of the band. I would start with the thinnest. I am going to do my best to describe my exercises, but if you have a hard time understanding, I will try and post pics later.
1. The first and most helpful in my opinion is to lay in my bed before I officially get up. (I say officially b/c I always have to pee first.
) I lay flat on my back, and put the band flat under the arch of one of my feet with the ends in my hands. Do not let it roll up under your arch or it will snap back into your chest. That is a bad day let me tell you. I lift my foot straight into the air at least ten times and lower it after each lift. Sometimes I will pause at the top to glory in the sweet stretch to my achilles tendon that I can feel all the way into my calves. Sometimes I will dip my right leg straight over to the right and back up just for a different stretch and once I move to my left leg I will dip to the left. Remember to take your time with the stretches b/c the whole point is to stretch the muscles and tendons out so they won't rub making the pain worse.
2. Next I will move the band up to the ball of my foot and pulling the band taught will point my toes towards my head and then diagonally to the right, straight up to the ceiling, and then to the left to stretch the tendons and the top of the foot. You should be able to feel the stretch particularly in the top of the foot.
3. I then roll my foot in circles stretching all the muscles as much as I can in all directions.
4. Another one I don't use super often but I learned in therapy is: with the band position of #1 stretch in your arch, lift your leg straight up to the ceiling like you are doing stretch #1. Then pull on the band while flattening your foot (it should be pointing at the wall right behind your head). I prefer to do this with something that doesn't stretch like a dog leash. You put your foot in the end where your hand would go, and while your foot is straight up in the air, pull on the leash part making your achilles stretch hardcore.
5. As for during the day if you tighten up, particularly after sitting, stand on a step or a curb with your heels hanging over the edge. Dip your heels as far down as you can go to stretch the achilles. Downward facing dog will do this pretty well for you too. I can explain that if you aren't familiar with yoga.
6. The last stretch and one I don't use often b/c it isn't a super stretch, involves a wobble board. I paid $40 for mine, so you may just want to avoid it altogether unless you are desperate. The wobble board is a round piece of wood with a hard knob on the bottom side. You just tilt in all directions to stretch the muscles. I figure #1, 2, and 3 accomplish that fairly well.
7. This isn't a stretch, but is still important. Ice if you are in pain. You can freeze a water bottle and roll your foot on it at the end of the day. The rolling helps release scar tissue. I have a little device I got at Second Sole to accomplish this. It's a tube thingy with ridges that I can roll my foot on, and it releases the scar tissue. The frozen water bottle is killing two birds with one stone in my opinion.
8. Inserts and footwear are crucial. You need to spend money on your feet in regards to your footwear. I am an extreme couponer, and I hate spending money when I get so many things so cheap. I spend top dollar on my shoes. I used to wear payless, and if I still could, I would. I ruined my feet by running on concrete. We also live on a slab, so I think that was what caused my first flare up. I have to be very careful. I used to go barefoot all the time. I am rarely barefoot now. Crocs are next to my bed b/c I don't stand up without them. My kids know that. Do not move mommy's Crocs!!! I wear Crocs on the karate mat, and now my fellow instructors do too! When I had my most recent flare caused by the Sketchers Shape ups, they put me steroids to try and force healing. It made me into a nutbar, and I ended up ordering about 15 pairs of shoes. At least not all of them were for me (though most were.) The good news is that I was mostly pain free two months later while we spent 11 days at WDW! If hubby protests to a lot of money spent on your shoes, I would suggest trying on several styles of Crocs and tennies, and then going on ebay. I buy Crocs brand new on ebay for a fraction of the price. I also got my New Balance through ebay.
I hope that helps!
that take forever to dry.
My feet at comfy in flip flops...mind you i do have flip flop socks as well...they could keep my toes warm in the morning if the need be!
