Hi everyone. I'm sure this has come up a lot, but does anyone have boot recommendations for someone newly diagnosed with plantar fasciitis? I had to cut short my fall season and I haven't played for about a month. Wanted to give it a shot again with some appropriate footwear. I've seen some other threads on this topic, but most of them were pretty old. Thanks!
I can't recommend a specific boot, but going up a 1/2 size really helped me when I was recovering from plantar fasciitis.
I will keep this thread open for now, but in future could you please put questions like this in the general boot thread please? You don't need to start new threads as it just clutters up the board. I suffered from plantar fasciitis for quite some time. I found it all down to having a boot with a decent insole. My worst point was 3 or 4 years ago. I was wearing F50s which had a really thin insole. I switched from those to LZs. I wore LZs right up to last season and have now switched back to F50s. My feet have been fine. The problem with what you have asked us is the answer is an impossible one to give you. Just because my feet felt better in LZs it doesn't mean yours will. Or any of the boots that people on here might suggest for you. They are your Rather than which boots you get - I think you should invest in a decent pair of insoles. Remember plantar fasciitis comes from over use of the tendon too so sometimes you just need to rest up and let it get better. appleCORR
Thanks for the info...this seems specific enough to merit its own thread, but I will defer to your judgment. Appreciate the thoughts apple.
That's why I have kept it open. Have you seen a podiatrist about you problem? I went to see one and they gave me special insoles which were fine normally but I wasn't allowed to put them in my football boots. They suggested that I got myself this roller which would help. Not sure where you are based but I'm sure you'd find something like this as its specifically for plantar fasciitis : http://www.boots.com/en/Carnation-Footcare-Soothing-Foot-Gel-and-Pediroller_1505654/ As it helps to try and make the tendons in your foot less tight and can relieve the pain a little bit. I actually found rolling my foot on a tennis ball helped me more than the specific roller. I've also seen golf balls used too. I really hope you do find some decent football boots - I know how my feet would throb when I'd finished training on AG. I don't pay for my boots though so i had the luxury of just trying out another model and thankfully that worked. appleCORR
Usually "overuse" is really code for stressed muscles and connective tissue that has become weak because of too much support and unnatural gait from lifted heels in most shoes aka the "drop". My suggestion is make your feet stronger, barefoot. You can look up info on this and the protocol for doing so. You can use an insole but that just masks the issues over the short term, you want to get fixed, not learn to live with said issue. Think about it like that...when you get splinted or casted, you are muscles weaken due to them not functioning or having limited motion. That is what overly supportive shoes and insoles do, limit proper motion. You anatomy is well designed and your genes want to express themselves. Let them. Ditch the insoles and start working on your feet, within reason, then once you're fixed you can wear anything you want.
That could explain why my feet always feel fine when I wear my Vibram Five Fingers even when running. appleCORR
I have the same problems, and I think it's a combination of a few things that worked for me: - you need to regulate the amount of football you play (which in turn lessens the tiredness of the tissues around your plantar region) - good insoles are handy, but I've realized that taping up the plantar region to by pulling the pressure upwards helps much more in terms of lessening the impact every time your sole hits the ground - first thing every morning, do a quick, firm rub around your sole region (vertically and horizontally) to "wake up" the tissues Hope it helped a little and works for you too @jvtodd
lots of good advice all around, generally speaking as an athlete you need to get to know your body and experiment a bit to see what will work best in your situation.
Thanks for all the great info, folks. I will research the protocol you mentioned, Dr. Boots. If you have any specific suggestions on feet strengthening protocols, I'd certainly appreciate them. I did end up seeing a podiatrist. Basically they recommended: 1) Limiting training for a while (I can still play games, but I should stop practicing for about three months). 2) Freezing a soda bottle and rolling it over my foot after playing (much like your tennis ball suggestion, appleCORR). 3) Superfeet insoles for my boots. 4) A daily stretching routine. 5) Wearing a contraption to bed that essentially stretches out the Achilles and plantar fascia. Keeps my heel upright. I'm going to give all of the above a shot. I may give the Superfeet folks a call...I'm sure they've had this specific question a lot. Perhaps they can give some advice on which boots fit well with the insoles. I'll report back. Thanks again.
I'd avoid "supportive" insoles in general. They work against your genes expressing themselves. They correct nothing and allow you for live in dysfunction with less pain than before. Even SuperFeet fall into this and frankly they aren't great for a boot anyway, I tried them for review purpose and found them to sit oddly in the heel cup and lift a lot when I ran. Correct the problem and then work to prevent the imbalance from reoccurring.
I was supposed to have night splits (the contraption you wear in bed) but instead i went to the physio and he pushed certain parts of my achilles tendon going into my calf muscle and got the tightened muscles/tendons to relax. It was absolute AGONY while he was doing it but once he'd done it my legs felt amazing. I still get shoes I know I can't wear like converse if I'm doing a lot of walking but touch wood. My boot plantar fasciitis has gone away for now .... fingers crossed it won't be coming back soon because its so painful. I can strongly recommend these though - they expensive for what they are but they allow you to walk with the feeling of being barefoot : I've got a few pairs they come in various models but those are the most current design. You can feel everything under your foot. Considering there isn't much to them they are really comfy. But like we've all said - if something in the body is inflamed maybe its just time to give it a few days off and set out on the road to recovery. appleCORR