Collagen is super crucial if you want to fix your tendon pain ( be it Plantar fasciitis, achilles Tendinopathy, tennis or golfers elbow or patello-femoral pain) . Here is where to get collagen from both by making it at home or selecting the right foods, plus a few supplement suppliers
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Cupping for plantar fasciitis.
It’s such a shame. After that olympian guy strutted out with cupping bruises over his body, many people wondered and hoped that cupping could be the new secret cure for injury and pain.
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The workout: 13 minutes of 20 kettlebell swings, 10 burpees , shuttle run, check out the video!
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I wonder now, why I didn’t wonder then why I ever thought I could simply lock my feet up in shoes all day, ignore them and assume they would continue to take whatever abuse I threw at them:
The day I got plantar fasciitis was awful, I stood by my bed, foot held in the air like a begging cat and tried to work out how to get to the loo. Hopping, for me certainly, had always been easy, but today the mere thought of accidentally putting that foot down on the floor made me almost throw up in my mouth.
Obviously I had to cancel my morning. I said sorry to my 3 morning clients (bye bye money)and put a warning out that I probably wasn’t going to get to teach my classes in the evening.
Thankfully by the end of the morning I was more mobile, but still putting pressure on that foot felt like a super unwise thing to do. But as it always does, Plantar fasciitis gets easier as the day goes on
I think I made it to those classes and got so carried away that I demonstrated some double unders ( that’s where you skip and the rope passes under you twice). When I landed I didn’t collapse with agony ( you can thank 15 years of martial arts, boxing and security work for the ability not to cry like a child in public) but someone watching me said, I literally turned green with the agony.
Of Course, things went from bad to worse, but I did discover that “simply hoping isn’t a method” I discovered, however, that, having a disability, albeit a temporary one, really sucks. If like me you are active, plantar fasciitis makes most days awful. One day I recall, had to pick up a box from one venue and walk it around the corner. A 5-minute job: 45 minutes later. I just about made it.
My efficiency and vitality started draining away. I certainly wasn’t running or training
Then came the cascade of doctors, therapists, Dr google, and well-meaning people all with great advice. Stretch it. Do this exercise. The only thing they did seem to agree on and this was backed up by the BMJ. Was that I was in for 6 weeks to 2 years of pain.
I got lucky: just 14 months
Thankfully I didn’t fall for surgery or injections or shock treatment or blood transfusion
But I randomly tried things for a day: a bit of stretching. Maybe 2 days in a row I’d bother to stretch my calf. I did the required 10 to 15 seconds. I was a fitness instructor so I knew what to do(or so I thought).
Strengthening my foot was important so I’d dead lift some more.
So I really started researching. I noticed that everyone had their pet dogma or their one-hit solution. It was always “ all you have to do is stretch it” “all you have to do is ice it”, “all you have to do is a therapy drill”.
It became obvious, as it will to you, that most solutions are combinations. Often you need to do a multiplicity of things. Today the word “multidisciplinary” is commonplace in a successful business. Often you don’t hear it in physical therapy.
If you get to see a state funded physio, chances are you end up with a scrap of photocopied paper with a few random exercises in it.
So on my course I’m going to show you how to combine the proven protocols to produce accelerated healing results.
Im going to blow away a lot of silly myths and rumours about stretching, and I’m going to show you how to do it properly to solve plantar fasciitis. I’m then going to help you break up the specific knots and trigger points in your muscles that are causing and keeping you in pain. Then you’ll be doing some M.E.Ts, the ones that will help you re-educate your muscles, finally you’ll be learning and doing an effective specific strength regime.
This unique combination works.
I unoriginally call it the SSES system ( stretch it, smash it, educate it, strengthen it) as you need to do all 4 as part of your regime. If you simply stretch it, the trigger points get you, and a lack of strength drags you back into pain. Strength on its own, without educating your muscles and restoring an effective range of motion, is also a low return strategy.
I’ll teach you these skills with a mixture of video, photos, and written teaching resources to help you learn. For the first 100 people you’ll get my email address so any issues I’ll be there to help you. However, I’ll soon set up a free but private Facebook group to support you that way.
Try and do the foot exercises below. Your feet will love you, and you will also learn to love your feet. This type of activities are also helpful in your battle against plantar fasciitis.
Towel curls
Scrunch your toes, with or without a towel. Just think about the position you leave them in normally. Straight and locked in your shoes like prisoners. To paraphrase Marie Antoinette “Let them scrunch air” or treat them to a scrunch festival on a towel! Give them some manoeuvering room.
Toe splays
Splay your toes: see if you can splay them.
It was a bit of a battle for me to learn how to do this ( as, like you I’ve locked my feet into shoes for the last years, so I alternate the splay with using my fingers to pull them apart ( you can do it en-mass as shown here or individually )
Big Toe stretch
Slowly stretch and pull the toe backward toward your shin. Go as far as is comfortable.
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Whilst I talk about the various therapies and stretches for Plantar Fasciitis here, its worth tuning into the “length of stretch” debate.
If you look at Porter D, Barrill E, Oneacre K, May BD. The effects of duration and frequency of Achilles tendon stretching on dorsiflexion and outcome in painful heel syndrome: a randomized, blinded, control study. Foot Ankle Int 2002;23(7):619-624.
You’ll find two protocols coming neck and neck:
3 minutes of stretching 3 x a day (ie hold the stretch for 3 minutes) , or five sets, 20 seconds each, two times daily.
Either way, the take-home message that a quick reluctant 10-second stretch when you can be bothered, isn’t enough. The study also determined that both sustained and intermittent Achilles tendon stretching exercises increase Achilles tendon flexibility. This increase in flexibility correlated with a decrease in pain!
This is an idea that features heavily in my fix your plantar fasciitis course. It’s only £27 and has the most effective science-backed drills. Never waste money on physical therapy again!!
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A big welcome to your Plantar Fascia. An unknown part of your foot, that, so it seems, you don’t have to worry about.
It will do whatever the hell it does for years, then one morning, in some unlucky people, it creates almost crippling heel pain.
First thing in the morning, upon getting out of bed, you’ll be in so much pain that even hopping across your bedroom floor is something you’ll dread. Even contemplating allowing your heel to touch the floor makes many want to throw up in their own mouths.
It’s not all bad. Just give it 5 or 10 minutes of hobbling around and you can begin to limp with a bit of dignity. Welcome to the party you now have plantar fasciitis. It often self cures, in anything from 6 weeks to TWO YEARS.
There are two positive sides to the condition:
1) You’ll meet lots of people online searching for a cure. So it’s like an agony based Tinder.
2) you’ll meet lots of dodgy therapists trying to part you from your money for quack cures. If you spot them, it’s fun to watch. If you cannot see a quack coming, its a bit expensive.
So some back ground, according to the BMJ plantar Fasciitis copy has the reputation of being “a trivial condition”. Clinically “benign and self limiting”. So, if you are limping around your bedroom, screaming with pain, wondering how you can get to the loo, don’t worry, its “benign and self limiting”.
Pull yourself together. Its not cancer
So who gets it?
In my research, these were the activities being undertaken prior to Plantar fasciitis developing
According to the BMJ, the treatment options are
From my research, pictured in the above graph, I found a wide variety of cures being attempted.
“sit with one leg crossed over the other, and stretch the arch of the foot by taking one hand and pulling the toes back toward the shin for a count of 10. The exercise must be repeated 10 times, and performed at least three times a day, including before taking the first step in the morning and before standing after a prolonged period of sitting”. Thanks to Benedict DiGiovanni and Nawoczenski,
Most foot issues (not only plantar fasciitis, but the nasty achilles tendonitis) benefit from a better range of ankle flexion and pliable calf muscles. This daily stretch is also a must!
.
You’ll notice Im using a yoga block. It’s not ideal but gets you a start ( you could just use a step or a book, or a brick). If you have wealth beyond avarice, or £40, check out the
Navaris Wooden Slant Board – Calf Stretch Adjustable Incline Board Portable Anti-Slip for Pain Relief from Plantar Fasciitis Tendinitis and More
Most modern stretch commentators suggests you need to do this daily for 2 minutes.
Ice helps reduces pain, so freeze a bottle of water and roll your foot on the iced bottle. One of my clients uses a cold bottle of beer!
Massage balls. If you can stand the discomfort, start rolling the base of your foot on one of those massage balls! Start gently.
Get a night splint, and wear it at night IF YOU CAN. This drove me mad so I clawed it off within a minute
Lots of people can sleep with it , so as its about £11-£20 its well worth experimenting with.
Night Splint Dorsal Soft Light for treatment of Plantar Fasciitis – (Black inner, 9 – up), Large
However, Crawford F, Thomson C. Interventions for treating plantar heel pain. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2003; (3) found limited evidence to support the use of night splints to treat plantar fasciitis sufferers who had experienced pain for greater than 6 months. They found that patients treated with custom made splints improved but those with premade or ‘off the shelf’ splints did not.
INSOLES: In my humble opinion, buying and wearing flatter shoes often causes Plantar fasciitis . This is often combined with the whole “go barefoot” rebellion. It’s based on the “well, its more natural, innit” concept and totally, totally fails to take into account the fact that you have worn heeled, and supported shoes for the last 20-30 years!
Buy these Superfeet insoles.
Superfeet are worth every penny!! These really helped me. Ive put a link that will make me £££££’s in commission if you use it. Superfeet Green Insoles, E (UK 8-9.5/ Mens 9.5-11/ Womens 10.5-12)
To actually fix your plantar fasciitis you need my SSES system ( stretch it, smash it, educate it, strengthen it). If you simply stretch it, the trigger points get you, and a lack of strength drags you back into pain. Strength on its own, without educating your muscles and restoring an effective range of motion, is also a low return strategy.
Check out my fabulous fixing courses here
In this course, I’ll teach you these skills with a mixture of video, photos, and written teaching resources to help you learn. You’ll get my email address so any issues I’ll be there to help you. However, I’ll soon set up a free but private Facebook group to support you that way.
If you need help or training, do drop me an email Andrew@andrewstemler.com
