Has anyone ever had plantar fasciitis? And how did you treat it, because ow. Also because all I can find for advice is 'stop doing what's causing it', which would be nice if I didn't have to get to work.

Scrappy, I got four thousand press releases for that site(and you know they never lie,) but I've never seen it myself.I've marked your post just in case... The War On Christmas is just Orally's way of proving he's got big...ornaments.

Jars, here's what Runners World says:

Plantar fasciitis can be a nagging problem, which gets worse and more difficult to treat the longer it's present. At the first sign of soreness, massage (roll a golf ball under your foot) and apply ice (roll a frozen bottle of water under your foot). What you wear on your feet when you're not running makes a difference. Arch support is key, and walking around barefoot or in flimsy shoes can delay recovery.

If pain is present for more than three weeks, see a sports podiatrist. Treatments such as orthotics, foot taping, cortisone injections, night splints, and anti-inflammatories decrease symptoms significantly in about 95 percent of sufferers within six weeks. For more stubborn cases, physical therapy may be prescribed; six months of chronic pain may benefit from shock-wave therapy, a recently FDA-approved plantar-fasciitis treatment.

While it's typical to experience pain in just one foot, massage and stretch both feet. Do it first thing in the morning, and three times during the day. Your feet will thank you. --Shelley Drozd

[1] Achilles Tendon Stretch: Stand with your affected foot behind your healthy one. Point the toes of the back foot toward the heel of the front foot, and lean into a wall. Bend the front knee and keep the back knee straight, heel firmly planted on the floor. Hold for a count of 10.

[2] Plantar Fascia Stretch: Sit down, and place the affected foot across your knee. Using the hand on your affected side, pull your toes back toward your shin until you feel a stretch in your arch. Run your thumb along your foot--you should feel tension. Hold for a count of 10.

(And my sympathies on the pain - PF is a bitch.)

Jars I had it. And my solution was to stop running.

Other things you can do: a night splint will work on loosening it while you sleep. Often in sleep the achilles pulls on the plantar fascia and that is what causes the first few steps in the AM to be agony.

Also, you can self massage. Put a golf ball or something similar, beneath the arch of your foot and massage out any tightness in the PF.

Continually stretch the achilles tendon on a slant board.

Gadget Girl - I'm practically a Tally native. Not quite born here, but definitely bred (Go Noles!) and I have family here, but I just started back to school -- at community college.

xpost with Juliana!

What worked best for me was to stop running. But not always a possibility.

Listen to the Buffistas. I was stricken with PF and followed general advice here, and have had nothing but mild tweaks since. I think someone also recommended varying up the heights of shoes I was wearing from day to day.

Thanks guys! All very helpful advice. I think I probably made it worse by wearing Converse for my 10k round trip walk to work every day. Stretches, massage and ibuprofen for me from now on.

Oh, man. This self-assessment questionnaire needs proofreading. It's kind of demoralizing.

varying up the heights of shoes I was wearing from day to day.

Oh yeah - that's a big one.

For me, the height variance and golf-ball-massage helped tremendously. I could theoretically stop running (noooooo!), but I can't not walk a fair piece most days, unless I rode the bike in all the time (hell, no).