Run with Tim Emmett

If you’ve been running long enough, you’ve probably felt that sharp, stabbing pain in your heel. And even more likely to have felt it if you are getting up there in age like myself. Heck, you’ve probably heard most of your running friends talk about it… It’s your plantar fascia. But what is that exactly?!?!

Your plantar fascia is a thick band of tissue that connects your heel bone to your toes, supporting the arch of your foot. When it is under too much tension, small tears can begin to occur and repeatedly stretching it or causing more tension will cause it to become irritated and inflamed.

So you’ve already been running 30+ miles a week for two months and the damage is done, your heel is killing you… What do you do? Well, if you are like most runners, we know REST is not the first thing that came to your mind. So what can you do before going to see a doctor?

Method	Why it Works
The Frozen Water Bottle	Roll your foot over a frozen bottle for 15 minutes. It reduces inflammation and massages the tissue. This can also be done with a golf ball, lacrosse ball, or other hard ball. The ball just won’t help inflammation the way a frozen water bottle will.
The Morning Stretch	Before getting out of bed, flex your toes toward your shin to “wake up” the fascia.
Supportive Shoes	Ditch the worn-out sneakers and flip-flops. Look for shoes with solid arch support and cushioning.
Night Splints	These keep your foot in a flexed position while you sleep so the fascia doesn’t tighten up overnight.

You’ve tried all of this, prayed, wished, and hoped the pain away but still in immense pain a few weeks later… It might be time to call in the reinforcements (see a podiatrist or physical therapist). They can offer more advanced options like:

• Custom Orthotics: Tailor-made inserts to distribute pressure more evenly.
• Physical Therapy: Specific exercises to strengthen your lower leg muscles.
• Corticosteroid Injections: For temporary, high-level pain relief.

And finally, don’t ignore the pain. When you do that and keep running, you may unconsciously alter your running gait to lessen the pain but doing that could create other injuries. So fix the problem first!

Have any specific topics you’d like me to write about? Let me know in the comment!