I have Plantar Fascitius/heel spurs and the podiatrist has said no weight bearing exercises. I refuse to put this body into a bathingsuit and go to a public pool but have been thinking about doing Curves. Is Curves considered weight bearing exercise? I belonged to a Curves serveral years ago but didn't have the problem then and can't remember. Any other thoughts on exercise would be appreciated.

Thanks!

I would think the running in place you aggrivate the heel spurs. Maybe you can skip that part. I have a bone spur in one of my knees too, and as long as I don't over do it, I do okay. My doc told me no walking or running, but I do what I can on the elliptical and bike, and sometimes I try to walk too and haven't had too much problem.

I don't think that Curves is weight baring. I started a month ago at Curves and have had good success with it. It has made me so much more energetic. There aren't many machines in Curves that require weight to be put on your feet.

Most Curves will give you a week free to try it out. I would definitely recommend it! Good Luck!

I have heel spur in my foot also, I used to work standing up all the time at my work. As the pain got too much i had a quater zone shot put in my hill before going on a holiday to Bali, as i needed to walk around alot with out any pain.

That only lasted a few months.

I now only ever wear shoes that have a bit of a solid heel on them, and I have never looked back, I do not have anymore pain in my heel.

If I walk around the house with no shoes on or in thongs for long periods of time, then my foot starts aching again.

My foot has been pain free now for 2 1/2 years now, and have taken a position where I dont stand up anymore.

I do recommend trying it, I used to wear inserts in my shoes before and that only caused me more pain.

My shoes only have a solid heel though, I think the foot has to be raised a little to take the pressure of the heel and put it back on the front part of the foot.

I've been a Curves member for almost 3 years now. I had plantar fasciitis a couple of years ago and was told to get Dr. Scholl's arch supports. They WORK! :crying: (And I still wear them even though the problem is gone.)

I don't know that resistance training is the same thing as weight bearing exercise. You don't need to be worried about "running" on the recovery boards -- you're not supposed to be able to run, you should be fatigued from working the machines hard enough that you just want to walk in between. Otherwise, you end up working anaerobically, which is not good.

Also, it may not have come to your Curves yet (mine is one of the early clubs doing this), but Curves has a new CurvesSmart program that records how hard you're working each machine. It's making everyone work out harder even if they're not using the new technology! :thumbup: I don't use it, but my gym pal does, and even she has noticed that I sweat more now. Try it!

Thanks for the input. I think I'll see if I can get a free trial.

I just had my second cortisone shot on Thursday and have to wear a night splint which seems to give me some relief. I also wear only Merrell shoes which have really given me a lot of relief. They are pricey but have made a lot of difference. I'm hoping that I will get better as I get some weight off.

I manage my heel problems with orthotics. There's only a bit of running in place at Curves, and you might be able to tolerate it, otherwise, you could do fast squats and lots of arm movement to keep your heart rate up during those sections of the circuit.

I've belonged to Curves for five years now and the "stations" in between the machines were originally called "resting stations", which meant just walking in place or maybe a little dancing. Now they seem to promote aerobic activity on them, so many people jog or do jumping jacks even!

However, this is your choice totally!! Everyone does what they want to do--even if you want to just stand in place and swing your arms around, it would be fine!

Now on to the machines: the squat machine will have to be off limits, I'm sure, because there is great pressure put on the legs/feet (you get under and actually lift the bars up with your shoulders and then squat down and up). The leg press may hurt your feet also (you are seated with your feet up, pressing on two metal plates), so you may have to forego it too. I have bad knees and I never have a problem with just skipping a machine and going on to the next station.

You should be the one to decide which ones hurt your feet--you should be able to do 85% of the machines there, though.

And right now they are having a food drive (they do it every March)--bring in a bag of food (or just a few items) and they waive the initial fee for joining. As everyone said, they will allow you to try it out, so do that and make your decision from there! :wub:

You may want to call around a few gyms, find one that has a kinesiologist on staff, and get them to design a workout that is not going to aggravate your condition.

I have plantar fascitis. I am not sure about the curves routine, but as long as it's not weight bearing for too long it should be ok. I would think that you could ride stationary bike/elliptical.