Frankly, I have all day pain when I stretch. When I don't -- I have some relatively good moments. Not many -- but even some beat all day pain. Alicia, do you feel better when you stretch regularly or when you don't?
I am wondering how much of the PF problem depends on the type of arch one has. When the podiatrist examined my foot, he said that I have a high arch (that is falling a little with age) and a very flexible foot. He said that everytime I walk and extend the foot, because it's so flexible the plantar fascia just over-stretches right along with the forward movement of my foot and gets inflamed and over-stretched. (I used to walk 4-5 miles a day, so you can imagine the forward movement.) He said to try OTC arch supports (and if those didn't work, he would be happy to make me $350 orthotics. Yeah, sure.)
Right now I'm using glucosamine sulfate, Birk style shoes with a low footbed and good arch support that keep my feet at a 90 degree angle, along with no stretching and minimal icing. The shoes help the most. I understand the logic of stretching my calf muscles, but I don't understand the logic of stretching the actual plantar fascia when it is already inflamed or damaged. Would like to hear other people's experiences with stretching, positive or negative.
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