Megan's Plantar Fasciitis
Every Spring, Ottawa comes to life. The tulips begin to poke up from the soil, the river thaws, and athletes everywhere are tuning up their bicycles and dusting off their sneakers.
Most of my chiropractic patients are outside more, walking more, and generally more active this time of year. Like Grizzly bears waking up from hibernation, we’re experiencing a dramatic difference in activity levels with Spring’s arrival.
This blog will talk about one of the conditions that is guaranteed to slow down the warm weather fun if we’re not careful: plantar fasciitis. Follow along on the journey of Megan’s plantar fasciitis experience (based on real patient experience with name changed).
For the cliff’s notes version of Megan’s journey, click here.
Megan is taking back her health.
Megan is a mom of young children who’s been overrun with childcare duties for a few years and has slowly watched her health and fitness decline. She used to run in her twenties but she hasn’t laced up her sneakers in a few years since having kids. One day Megan noticed she couldn’t keep up with her kids at the park and decided it’s time to get healthy. She made a resolution to run a 10k race by the end of the year.
Megan started by jogging on her old treadmill in the basement twice a week for 20 minutes. Gradually her pace creeped up and within a month she was consistently getting 30 minutes of decent paced jogging 2 times a week. The weather was getting nicer in the Spring, so Megan tried some outside running on the streets near her house - it went well.
Fast forward to the start of the Summer and Megan had been doing a great job of running outdoors at least three times a week. She’s closer than ever to her 10k race and things were going well.
One day she woke up and her first step out of bed was sharp. That was unusual. She’s used to having the occasional ache after running, but this feels like someone hammering a nail through her right heel.
After a few weeks of sharp pain in the mornings that gradually improved as the day went on, she started to notice the issue while running. Her big toe and her calf also felt stiff. The issue was still only on the right foot, but it’s hard to run comfortably with this hindrance.
This is a point in Megan’s running career that could seriously derail the awesome progress she’s been making and potentially scuttle her goal of running a 10k. It’s also tough playing with the kids, and it’s taking longer to get moving in the morning due to the sharp pain.
Megan visits her chiropractor.
Megan had been referred to SpineOttawa during her pregnancy when she had some back and hip pain (click here or here to learn more about back pain!), and felt it improve after a few visits so she’s been back a handful of times for different aches since then. She called the office and was surprised to hear that her chiropractor could help with this heel pain.
At this point Megan had done some googling and was pretty sure that she was suffering from plantar fasciitis, but she didn't know what to do about it. After her assessment and a discussion with her chiropractor, Megan had a plan.
Prior to creating this plan, Megan was randomly taking days off and then returning to her normal running but finding it immediately increased the pain again.
The Recovery Plan
By keeping a training log she was able to track her efforts and find a threshold of activity at which she could train without making her pain worse.
Strengthening the foot and lower leg muscles built a capacity in them that allowed her to continue to increase her running without overwhelming her body. It also helps prevent recurrence of this injury in the future.
The chiropractic treatment and acupuncture provided pain relief so she could still play with her kids and perform her normal activities without suffering.
The appointments and communication with her chiropractor also provided accountability to ensure that Megan stuck to the plan because plantar fasciitis often takes a few months to fully heal and this can be a frustratingly slow process.
Megan never fully stopped exercising, which was very important for her. She had put so much effort into getting in the habit of running and was seeing real changes in her fitness and health and she was terrified of losing that.
She began cycling and swimming once a week while her foot was healing up. Megan built a library of fitness options she could turn to in order to improve her health, even when she had pain or discomfort somewhere.
Megan runs her 10k.
In the end, the plan worked. Megan put in the hard work and it paid off. After getting her foot pain under control, she slowly built up her running again until she exceeded the level she originally got hurt at. This time she was more structured in her plan and kept a better log to ensure she didn’t have any huge spikes in her activity that could cause injury.
By gradually and consistently increasing her running over time, Megan’s health improved dramatically and her body was feeling good. Megan ran her 10k that summer and now her kids struggle to keep up with her at the park!
Conclusion
Losing our health and fitness is scary. Megan experienced it first hand and decided to do something about it. She was consistent and didn’t give up when hurdles arose. With the right chiropractor for support and guidance, she was able to overcome plantar fasciitis and take control of her health while learning a few things along the way.
As a Kanata-based chiropractor with a movement focus, it is my job to guide people back to health. SpineOttawa offers online and in-person consultations and treatments to help all types of musculoskeletal conditions and injuries ranging from rolled ankles to tension headaches.
TL:DR
Megan was falling out of shape so decided to pick up running again.
She got plantar fasciitis while training for a 10k and this nearly derailed her entire fitness journey.
She reached out to SpineOttawa and her chiropractor helped her put together a plan to overcome her injury.
She kept a training log, modified her activities, had a few chiropractic treatments, and began building strength in her foot.
Megan ran her 10k race and now whoops her kids in races at the park.
