Started again

[Maisiemoo73]

I completed couch to 5k last year, I did couple of park runs and cancer research 5k race4life, then my foot started to hurt, doc diagnosed plantar fasciitis. It hurt so much I stopped running in October.

But now I'm back in about to do week 4 run 1. I've enjoyed it so far but this morning my foot has started hurting again, any advice would be great, I don't want to stop again. I've signed up to do race4life again and it means so much to me that I must do it !

Help !

[Millsie-J Graduate]

Hi MaisieM . I am a PF sufferer.....I had a really bad bout some years ago. I saw a physio who gave me exercises to do. They really worked! When you had your diagnosis were you given exercises?

These are what helped me :

Stand on bottom stair, heels hanging over the hedge.

Slowly raise up on balls of feet, then slowly dip down past the stair with your heels. Do three sets of five, three times a day, every day.

Do these regularly, not just when you have PF.....use it to prevent PF. Before and after a run Is good too. I do them on the curb after my run......on a quiet road obviously 😃

Also: never wear flat shoes, just a small heel is fine, flip flops are a no no.

Importantly- Check the heel to toe drop of your running shoes. 12mm drop shoes are recommended for PF sufferers, although I use 10mm and have no problems.

You can freeze a small bottle of water and roll this under your feet. You can also use a small tennis ball to roll under your feet. This helps but the exercises are the best help I found.

Good luck runner!

[Maisiemoo73 Graduate in reply to Millsie-J]

Thank you for this, I will definitely try these, anything to stop the pain. My gp wasn't the most helpful, told me to rest and stay off my feet, which is impossible as I'm on my feet all day at work.

I won't let it beat me 😊