Plantar Fasciitis/Athletic Shoe update
THE STORE:
I left work early yesterday to pick up my New Balance shoes at Foot Solutions. I've waited a long time and worked hard for these shoes. They are white with silver and blue trim. It's actually good that I had to pre-order them, at least color-wise. Otherwise I'd be stuck with silver and red trim, a color combination I try my darndest to avoid*.
While I was at the store, I also got fitted for custom fit orthotics. The fitting machine has a grid of plastic pegs, like one of those pin things that you can make an impression of your hand or face on (I have no idea what they are called). You put your foot on a platform, and the pins pop up around your foot, making an impression of your foot. A computer screen shows both a contour map of the underside of your foot, as well as a three-D representation of what the orthotic support will look like. It's pretty impressive.
They will be available in a week. And yes, it's expensive: $260 for a pair. But they should be able to fit into any shoe. And if they work out, they could reduce or eliminate my plantar fasciitis pain, take stress off my knees, and help with my posture and spine alignment. That would be worth the expense, I think.
THE DISAPPOINTMENT:
Wearing the shoes today, I have discovered that they don't have as much arch support that the old ones did. My old shoes had a RollBar to control pronation. It's not included in the new shoe (and hasn't been for several years, it seems). Just walking in to work from my car this morning (about a quarter mile), I got pain in my arches and medial heel. Argh!!! For ever-lovin'!
Otherwise the shoe seems okay. I think I'll stop by a drug store on the way home tonight and pick up some cheap Dr. Scholl's arch supports. And the custom fit orthotics should theoretically provide the pronation correction the Rollbar would have. At least the pain is in a specific place, not all over the foot like with the last shoe. But jimminy! I'm ready for the right shoe already.
THE GOOD:
Yesterday I searched online for suggested yoga poses for helping plantar fasciitis. I found this page and this one, which provide lists of suggested yoga poses. Working from those lists, I put together a yoga session for myself targeting plantar fasciitis. I did it last night. It took about 50 minutes. It worked like a charm. This morning my feet were pain free for the first time in at least 6 weeks. Very happy am I!
Also, while I was searching Amazon.com for yoga DVDs that might target plantar fasciitis (there weren't any), I came across an entry for a plantar fasciitis night splint, which keeps the foot in a flexed position at night, and will stretch the achillis tendon, calf muscles, and plantar fascia. I'm going to look into getting one of those. I think it would be really great for flare-ups, and for times when I'm sick and bed-ridden.
*OSU colors. I did not go to OSU, did not grow up in Ohio, and am not into team sports. Everyone here assumes you are a Buckeye fan simply because you live in Columbus, and I try not to encourage this. Because I am ornery.
I left work early yesterday to pick up my New Balance shoes at Foot Solutions. I've waited a long time and worked hard for these shoes. They are white with silver and blue trim. It's actually good that I had to pre-order them, at least color-wise. Otherwise I'd be stuck with silver and red trim, a color combination I try my darndest to avoid*.
While I was at the store, I also got fitted for custom fit orthotics. The fitting machine has a grid of plastic pegs, like one of those pin things that you can make an impression of your hand or face on (I have no idea what they are called). You put your foot on a platform, and the pins pop up around your foot, making an impression of your foot. A computer screen shows both a contour map of the underside of your foot, as well as a three-D representation of what the orthotic support will look like. It's pretty impressive.
They will be available in a week. And yes, it's expensive: $260 for a pair. But they should be able to fit into any shoe. And if they work out, they could reduce or eliminate my plantar fasciitis pain, take stress off my knees, and help with my posture and spine alignment. That would be worth the expense, I think.
THE DISAPPOINTMENT:
Wearing the shoes today, I have discovered that they don't have as much arch support that the old ones did. My old shoes had a RollBar to control pronation. It's not included in the new shoe (and hasn't been for several years, it seems). Just walking in to work from my car this morning (about a quarter mile), I got pain in my arches and medial heel. Argh!!! For ever-lovin'!
Otherwise the shoe seems okay. I think I'll stop by a drug store on the way home tonight and pick up some cheap Dr. Scholl's arch supports. And the custom fit orthotics should theoretically provide the pronation correction the Rollbar would have. At least the pain is in a specific place, not all over the foot like with the last shoe. But jimminy! I'm ready for the right shoe already.
THE GOOD:
Yesterday I searched online for suggested yoga poses for helping plantar fasciitis. I found this page and this one, which provide lists of suggested yoga poses. Working from those lists, I put together a yoga session for myself targeting plantar fasciitis. I did it last night. It took about 50 minutes. It worked like a charm. This morning my feet were pain free for the first time in at least 6 weeks. Very happy am I!
Also, while I was searching Amazon.com for yoga DVDs that might target plantar fasciitis (there weren't any), I came across an entry for a plantar fasciitis night splint, which keeps the foot in a flexed position at night, and will stretch the achillis tendon, calf muscles, and plantar fascia. I'm going to look into getting one of those. I think it would be really great for flare-ups, and for times when I'm sick and bed-ridden.
*OSU colors. I did not go to OSU, did not grow up in Ohio, and am not into team sports. Everyone here assumes you are a Buckeye fan simply because you live in Columbus, and I try not to encourage this. Because I am ornery.