Plantar Fasciitis: The Beast that strikes out of nowhere – sort of
So plantar fasciitis snuck into your life, all of a sudden. It sunk in its talons, and yanked you off your feet as you writhed in a fit of pain. And it’s not yet ready to release you from its grasp. And the funny thing is (if it can ever be called funny), the plantar fasciitis condition came out of the blue. It struck out of nowhere!
Or so it seems. The truth is, plantar fasciitis is a condition that results from cumulative stress. As in, years of accumulating damage in some cases. When it rears its ugly head, it rears it big time, no question. But it had been creeping up for quite a while, if your situation is like most.
Here are some possible examples:
Years of … working on your feet, with little reprieve; wearing bad (but maybe cool-looking!) shoes; never, ever stretching; bearing a little too much weight on your frame; exercising too little, resulting in weakened supporting muscles; exercising too much, and not allowing your body to recuperate. The list goes on, but you get the picture. These factors and others will be covered more in-depth in future posts, but for now realize that this situation is not like a broken arm or a sprained ankle. It’s not from one sudden action that wrenched your feet into an injured state. In most cases, the injury built up over a long time.
What does this mean? Well, it may mean that it will take a while to undo it. You will need to nurture your injured feet; you will need to take action and create conditions that put your body in the best possible state to heal. And you’ll need to practice patience accordingly. That’s what I’ll help you with in these pages, and what I cover in greater detail in the book Injury Afoot: 30 Things You Can Do To Relieve Heel Pain And Speed Healing of Plantar Fasciitis.
But take heart. Most of a plantar fasciitis recovery journey involves establishing a healthy routine which involves some easy stretching and strengthening motions, wearing ideal footwear, and avoiding the actions that hurt you in the first place. It may take a few weeks or a few months…or not. Your recovery may be almost instantaneous, nobody knows. And you won’t know until you embrace a sensible recovery routine. So have confidence, believe in your body’s power to heal, and start your comeback today.