Regular training that shapes the body and mind is beautiful and useful. However, in addition to all the advantages of training, we must also be aware that, as human beings, we are “expendable.”
Three years and many days of training and mistakes have passed for me to understand what suits me in training. In the training process itself, I injured myself, which taught me patience and gave me experience.
All the decisions and harder training until last year, 2023, resulted in me injuring my plantar fascia. The plantar fascia is a broad ligament located on the bottom of the foot. It stretches from the heel bone all the way to the toes.
What Is a Plantar Fascia Injury?
The plantar fascia is a broad ligament located on the bottom of the foot. It stretches from the heel bone all the way to the toes.
How My Plantar Fascia Injury Started
The plantar fascia injury started with a strange feeling in one part of the heel on the day I finished the Rajac Trail. I remember that night I felt the lower part of the heel was pulsating. I thought that it was from muscle fatigue and that everything would pass with three days of rest. However, that strange feeling turned into pain the next day. Because of this, I had to walk on my toes on my right leg. For the next three months, I walked every morning with pain and stiffness in the foot when I got up.
Symptoms I Experienced
It was a bad feeling when I had to take a break from running. I could not run 1 km without pain in the lower part of my heel. Until then, I had not had a sports injury, which is why it felt mentally difficult for me.
Training With a Plantar Fascia Injury (Handling the Pain)
Despite the clear signs that something was wrong, I still trained and went to the orienteering race. By the way, I applied mint-based cream to reduce the feeling of pain. In the evening after the race, I took medicine Brufen (ibuprofen). After the race, my foot was in pain even while I was lying down.
I mentally beat myself up when I participated in the orienteering race in Strazilovo, where the terrain is quite steep. Because of the pain, I could hardly stand the whole path. I wore a tension bandage, but it didn’t help in this situation. After that I knew that I would have to take a break with the hills.
At the last race I ran, Deliblatska Pescara, we applied cream and a tension bandage to my foot, which brought immediate relief. Winning a medal there gave me a boost of motivation and happiness, making it easier to manage any discomfort in my foot right after. Even though I later noticed some lingering effects from stretching my plantar fascia, the support and achievement at the race inspired me to focus on recovery and growth.
After Deliblatska Pescara, apart from the relay race—where I failed the women’s relay attempt because other women didn’t show up and ended up crossing it with my partner—the racing season was over for me.
Recovery Treatments for Plantar Fascia
I thought about going to the doctor, but I knew that this would not go away quickly. The plantar fascia injury requires patience and exercise. With research about the plantar fascia, I started therapy. Four times a day, I kept the frozen gel insert in my sock. Between cooling, it is necessary to warm the painful area by wrapping it in a blanket. It comes as a natural need after your heel is extremely cold.
Three times a day, I did exercises for the plantar fascia. Also, I massaged the painful area with some device for massage I had at the time. The entire course of therapy was as follows: exercises, massage with a device, gel therapy with cooling, heating a cooled area, and using mint-based cream.
In the meantime, I stopped active running and only tried to run 5 km on weekends. With therapy, I felt relief, but after training, the pain would appear. I was comforted by the fact that at least it wasn’t unbearable. After a month from the injury of plantar fascia, it took me at least 3–4 days to recover a little and not walk on the toes of my right foot.
Medical Consultation and Shockwave Therapy Recommendation
After two months of the injury, I seriously considered visiting a physiatrist. The pain did not decrease significantly, which put me in an awkward situation. When I went to the physiatrist, I received a recommendation to undergo Shockwave therapy to stimulate the plantar fascia. After my research, I saw that this does not mean that it will help all the way.
Hot Pepper Patches for Heel Pain
In the meantime, I also discovered patches based on hot pepper (capsaicin). They are primarily used for neck pain, but they helped me with my heel when I had to walk for a long time or run. This patch hangs like a gel strip that you put on the heel and then put on socks. The patch does not interfere with moving. It works by warming the area. I was surprised by the effect after I got up an hour after sitting and expected pain in the heel.
Xiaomi Massage Gun
Since the massage device stopped working effectively, I decided to research what kind of massager could help in this case. I came across the Xiaomi Massage Gun. This device is promoted as good for sports recovery. Through various forums, I found out that they help with plantar fascia injury. It is better to invest in a quality massager that will last than in several therapies that may not work. In principle it is similar to Shockwave therapy. It is necessary to stimulate the nerves of the plantar fascia several times a day to enable regeneration.
The Xiaomi Massage Gun has three operating speeds. Using the massager for the first time helped me recover. Speed three is for a deep massage. Using this massager has made my recovery easier after every run training session. In that period it was still running once a week. Of course, I continued with the therapy. I only stopped using the cream because I realized that it no longer had such an effect on my recovery. In my experience, Xiaomi Massage Gun was doing the main relief after training.
Salomon Running Shoes
However, there was still one problem to be solved. I knew that sneakers play a big role in relieving pressure on the foot. As my old Salomon Sonic 4 were heavily worn, I decided to research and purchase new ones. Salomon DRX Bliss proved to be a good choice, as they have a soft sole and good support in the middle of the foot. Of all the brands I tried, Salomon seems to be moving in the right direction when it comes to running shoes for concrete surfaces. As with my previous sneakers, it was important that wearing them felt like walking on clouds. The price is a bit higher, but shoe choice is always individual and depends on the runner’s foot and needs.
Another solution is to get a shoe insole. You can go to the Rudo store, where they will measure you and make insoles according to your feet. The third solution that I read on the Internet is to create support for the part of the foot that is under stress. Whichever solution you choose, it is very important to address the plantar fascia injury problem so that it does not turn into a more serious problem. You can go to the doctor for therapy. Eventually, you will only need patience and dedication to carry out independent treatment.
Conclusion After the Self-Treatment of the Plantar Fascia
Even after six months of recovery, I still feel a slight pain in the lower part of the heel after hilly terrain. The difference now is that I need a few hours of rest for recovery, even without therapy. This means that the plantar fascia is in the process of regeneration.
In recovery, it is extremely important to have patience. It’s mentally hard when you can’t run as you want, and the consequences of not training appear. After six months, I return to the training phase at my own pace and without any strictly planned progress. The most important thing for me is to listen to my body and enjoy running.
*This article is based on personal experience and does not replace professional medical advice.
