My plantar fasciitis is rearing its ugly head again since I started walking and hiking again. What did you do to help the pain so that you could continue to exercise?

I swear by my Birkenstock shoes!!! I am a nurse, and I love them for my 12 hour shift!!!! They have fantastic arch support. I also wear newbalance tennis shoes, but when my feet act up I go back to only wearing my Birkenstocks!!

I had plantar fascitiis (sp?) in 1998. I wore a split for several months and that helped. I had a really good podiatrist who worked with me. Good shoes, good arch support are very important. I still have to watch what kind of shoes I wear when I do exercise but I can exercise nonetheless. Good luck.

I worked 7 years in an orthopedic office. I had terrible plantar fascitis and was told to do this: every morning before you get out of bed, a take towel and loop it under your foot and pulled it toward you and stretch as much as possible. It really works. Also a good pair of supportive shoes. Good Luck!!!!

Thanks everybody!

I used to work for a podiatrist and all of the above recommendations are right on. Also you might try this: Put a tennis ball on the floor, rest your arch on top and roll it around your arch. Not hard to enough to make it sore, just enough to work it a little bit. This helps with stretching and massages at the same time. He would also say to do heel lifts by hanging your heel off a step and gently stretching your arches. Good luck.

Thank you all for the suggestions. My feet are killing me and the tennis balls are a great idea.... and I have a 20 pound bag of them... As you can see I have two labs... need I say more :rolleyes2:

Curves

one of the best things that helped me was wearing a sturdy pair of slippers around the house, instead of walking around barefoot or with a thin pair of socks. The extra support just around the house really helped my feet feel better!