The Girl and Plantar Fasciitis

Denial.

It started with a soreness in my feet in January of 2023. I didn't think enough about it to realize it was mainly in the back of my arch just at my heel. I just thought with all the walking I was doing in my new lifestyle that my feet were sore. They needed to toughen up! Like feet, you have one job! I kept walking. After every walk, every hike, my feet would hurt for a day or so but get better until the next hike.

Anger.

By April, I was really disappointed in my feet. I returned home from a shopping trip, my backpack full of food. The pain was there but it was much more severe. It hadn't really hurt while I was walking (which I later found to be a prime symptom of Plantar Fasciitis as it is clearly an ambush predator) but instead when I took my shoes off there was severe pain. I hobbled around and soaked my feet in Epsom salt but to no improvement. I felt angry that I was "old" and "falling apart" and I didn't understand why my feet were hurting so much when I had been doing so much walking my whole life.

Bargaining.

For the first month of full PF, I tried to ignore it for about a week before I started searching for what could be wrong with me. As I read about "common foot issues" I quickly discovered that my symptoms fully aligned with PF. Reading the blogs and medical advice, I began self treatment thinking it would go away in a week or two. I made the decision to just walk once a week until it was better. I should of just not walked at all, but you know. Hindsight 20/20 and all that.

Depression.

As April dragged on, the pain did not go away and in fact got worse. I broke down and used ice. Being neurodivergent, I have sensory issues and though I like the cold weather, I have always hated the feel of ice on me. It doesn't feel cold it sort of burns and feels like I am being stabbed. But I used it with my special two sock trick. I did the stretches. I stayed off my feet for almost a month, literally just only walking when I had to.

Some improvement but still pain in the mornings and if I walked too much just around my house. I bought a massage gun (why call it a gun??) after reading that the main culprit is often tight calves, which I definitely have. This brought some more minor relief, but still, the pain was there. I started to think about how I would never hike again. I had just bought a £250 pair of hiking boots to replace my 5 year old ones that had started leaking water. I had never worn them! I was definitely depressed.

Acceptance.

By May, I caved in and tried to find some shoes with "arch support". I went through ordering, trying and returning several brands before I finally found Sketchers Arch Fit. I am not going to list those brands because it really is not their fault I have severe issues with shoes. I don't like them. There are stories of tiny me taking shoes off and throwing them out the car window. These are to be believed.

But the Sketchers were instant relief. As soon as I put them on, there was a huge difference in all the other shoes. Playing with the laces I was able to get them to fit without feeling like I might have a total meltdown. As I walked around my house (which is all hardwood floors, another bad deal for PF) I felt freedom!

I began to wear them constantly inside and out. I was now able to move around the house during the day without immense pain at night. I bought a second pair and have my eye on their winter/hiking boot. But I needed to figure out what to do long term. I still couldn't walk to the store, just around it once I got there by taking a bus or something. This was just not going to work.

The Cincher.

If I needed any sort of finalized notion that I will not be walking like I used to anytime soon, in August I went to see Banksy Cut and Run in Glasgow. I walked around all day, 8 miles according to the watch. Banksy was so worth it but the walking was such a mistake. It took a month++ for my right foot to not be in pain all the time with/without shoes, sitting or standing. I could barely sleep it hurt so bad. This was my full acceptance that I am basically dealing with a long term if not life long situation.

Enter The Bike

At this point, I also committed to cycling. It was evident being that I was three months in with little improvement I was dealing with a severe case of PF. The pain can last for years apparently and once you have had it, even if it gets better you're susceptible to having it again.

It was all a bit emotional as I didn't realize I had gone on the last long distance hike of my life. It was a 20 mile hike along the Union Canal to Edinburgh. It was just turning to spring so there were little green buds on the trees hinting at the life to come. Had I known it was the last hike, I would of done things differently. But I didn't know so I had just marched along it for the most part. I couldn't resist these bright pink ladies though.

A picture from along my last 20 mile hike in April.

After looking at a lot of bikes and my not great budget, I decided I needed an eBike with the hills around Scotland. I didn't want to overstress my feet straining up hills after all. I settled on the BTWIN 500E from Decathlon. It was over my budget but anything less seemed like the reviews were unfavorable. I will give more details about the bike in another post.

First ride on the BTWIN 500E. We went to McDonald's. Of course.

Living with Plantar Fasciitis

So this is my story of how I came to get PF, and what I have done to live with it. Let me break it down for anyone else out there suffering. Maybe the things I have learned and done will help you.

Early Symptoms:

If you start to exhibit any of these symptoms, immediately stop your activity and rest your feet for like 4 weeks. This will avoid you doing the damage I have done which will not go away.

• Pain that is not there when doing the activity but comes after.

• This pain will be mainly located in the heel of your foot.

• It will ease after you have taken a few steps but come back after rest or sleep.

• Check these guys out for various self treatments.

If they get better, meaning you no longer have any pain in your feet when you get up and take your first few steps, be very careful about restarting the activity.

• Start off slow. For example, walk a mile. If you have pain in your feet again after activity, stop the activity and return to rest. If you're good, try two miles next time and repeat until your are at your level of desired activity without pain.

• Stretch your feet before activity.

• Stretch your calves before activity.

• Make sure your shoes have arch support. You can also consider taping.

• Ice your feet after activity.

• Massage your calves after activity. I actually invested in a low cost but highly rated massage gun because the massage was helping a lot but my hands and wrists started to hurt.

Once You've got it:

If you have gone ahead and gotten it good, then you can only treat it and hope it goes away. I ignored all my symptoms and kept walking on it. This is easy to do because the pain basically goes away while you're walking and just comes back hard after you stop.

• See your GP/Doctor. They may be able to help or at least confirm that the problem really is Plantar Fasciitis.

• Ice. I avoided this because I do not like the feeling of ice at all but in the end it was a big help. I got these and would put 2 pairs of socks on, placing these in my arch and my heel between the socks so they got held in place and were not right on my skin. I did this morning and eve and sometimes during the day if I had to walk around a lot.

• Stretch. Everyone tells you to pull your toes back toward your ankle, but I found doing the opposite was actually much better. For the stretch I did, it was pointing my toes, then taking my big toe and pressing it so that it was like I was trying to fold my foot in half where my toes would touch my heel. Only push till you feel a stretching feeling. Hold for 10 seconds. Release, do again. I did this 10 times three to four times a day. Here is an article with the more common stretches.

• Stay off of them. Really. Do not use them unless you have to. Especially during a flare up (when you have pain in the morning or after getting up from resting). Don't walk long distances.

• Arch support shoes. I keep saying this but I can't stress it enough. It took me time to commit and do this and it was time I wasted probably injuring my feet more. I didn't think I needed these because I have normal arches and I didn't want to spend anymore money. Think of these like a cast for your feet. I cannot recommend Sketchers Arch Fit shoes enough. If you're like me and not wanting to buy new shoes or expensive insoles, you may consider using tape.

Its a Journey

Some people are lucky and heal quickly. Others, like me, are stuck with it for who knows how long. Either way, Plantar Fasciitis will change the way you live but it you can still live. I hope you find relief and maybe some of what I talked about here helps you. If you need a place to vent or talk about your experience with this problem, the comment section below is there for you!