Almost a year ago, the day after I walked the Houston Half Marathon, my foot was killing me, in particular my right heal. Now generally this is to be expected given the 13 miles and the extra 60 pounds I am carting around, but the pain lingered for days, and then weeks, and then months. At times it was one of the most painful things I ever experienced, with shooting pain that went deep into the bone of my foot. Turns out it is called Plantar Fasciitis, and it is often a common ailment among the over-weight and the obese.
Basically it is an injury to a thick band of fibrous tissue located on the heal of the foot, and extends up to the toes.
It probably never would have happened to me had I not actually RAN that last mile. I couldn't help it, the crowd was cheering and I did not want to be just a fat guy walking. So I ran And as it turns out I was just a fat guy who thought he was running but in fact was doing a very poor imitation and was injuring my foot in the process.
Getting up in the morning was a bitch, sometimes my foot was so stiff and sore that I had to drag it along like Egor before I could walk on it. I pretty much tried everything, ice, heat, rest. As I am often standing throughout the day on hard surfaces, it was not getting better. About the best thing I did was get a decent pair of shoes with good support, and wore them even in the house.
I have read that it takes about 9 months for it to go away on average. In some cases as much as 2 years. I would say that I am about 80% healed up, no pun intended, there are times that it flares up. Since I have entered myself in the race again for another 13 miles, and it is just over 10 weeks away, AND I haven't really done any extensive training or walking yet, this injury is worrisome to me. I'm going to need a really, really, really... good pair of running or walking shoes....or lose a lot of weight very quickly.
Ouch--I have arthritis in my big toe joint on my right foot. It hurts too, especially when I don't wear my orthotics regularly!
Posted by: Margaret | November 04, 2009 at 18:17
Great article, and I am sorry to hear about your Plantar Fasciitis but I am glad to hear you are well on your way to recovery. I work for Kuru Footwear (www.kurufootwear.com) a start-up footwear brand, but we didn't intend to create a shoe that helps with Plantar Fasciitis, but our customers have repeatedly told us this is the case so I invite you to check us out.
Nathan
Posted by: Nathan Mathews | November 05, 2009 at 11:17
I've had that. It's Hell. Worse than any back pain I've had except maybe sciatica. Mine did abate after a long while (9 months at least). You can get a cortisone shot at the podiatrist that is effective in some people; worth a try if it comes back. Custom orthotics have made a big difference for me, too.
Posted by: Andrea | November 15, 2009 at 20:00