Hola! I returned a few days ago from walking a section of the del Norte (Irun to Santander). I arranged to do this with my adult son as he was going to be close to that area and I really wanted to spend some time with him. I had suddenly developed plantar fasciitis in one foot a few weeks before (seemingly no particular cause, or many complex causes) - severe heel pain, unable to walk even short distances - but convinced myself I would overcome it! I had 4 weeks to fix it!! Arrgghh... As the weeks went on I became increasing anxious that I would be in too much pain to walk and that I'd been stupidly optimistic, since everything I read said it takes months for this to settle. I thought I'd let others know about my experience in case it helps them. I took as much advice as I could, from physio and online and tried different things. Of course, this was my experience and everyone is different...
I did basic physio exercises (from NHS physio) - sitting feet flat on floor, lifting heels then lifting toes, many, many times a day, for days, and toe scrunching, which seemed to help a lot, in taking the pain from excruciating to...less excruciating!
I started off doing a lot of calf stretches and other stretches but stopped doing this so much as it didn't seem to help, and maybe exacerbated things.
I read that it was a good idea to walk on uneven ground and varying surfaces, so I managed to find somewhere in flat Norfolk to do this (yes, it's hard to train for hills where I live!) and after only an hour or so of walking on this type of ground I already felt a big improvement. Also smaller steps (I tend to stride).
I ditched the orthotics I was using (for surgery on my other foot a year ago) and got ones (3/4) with much lower arch support. This made a massive difference straight away.
I walked about a mile or two every day - very painful to start with, then eased off after about 10 mins, then painful again, but just kept walking through it.
Then I went to Spain! I walked and walked. (The physio had reassured me that using the foot was not going to cause any severe or long term damage). I had pain but the pain became much less (sometimes intense but less often) the longer I walked. Sometimes the blister pain was worse than the PF pain! Definitely the uneven surfaces were better - after long road walks or flat walks (not many on the Norte anyway!) it was worse. In 15 days of walking I had to take 2 rest days but otherwise I managed pretty well. Had a brilliant time and so pleased I didn't cancel. I don't know how long it will take to completely go away but it's a LOT better now than when I began the camino.
Buen camino one and all!
Terri
I did basic physio exercises (from NHS physio) - sitting feet flat on floor, lifting heels then lifting toes, many, many times a day, for days, and toe scrunching, which seemed to help a lot, in taking the pain from excruciating to...less excruciating!
I started off doing a lot of calf stretches and other stretches but stopped doing this so much as it didn't seem to help, and maybe exacerbated things.
I read that it was a good idea to walk on uneven ground and varying surfaces, so I managed to find somewhere in flat Norfolk to do this (yes, it's hard to train for hills where I live!) and after only an hour or so of walking on this type of ground I already felt a big improvement. Also smaller steps (I tend to stride).
I ditched the orthotics I was using (for surgery on my other foot a year ago) and got ones (3/4) with much lower arch support. This made a massive difference straight away.
I walked about a mile or two every day - very painful to start with, then eased off after about 10 mins, then painful again, but just kept walking through it.
Then I went to Spain! I walked and walked. (The physio had reassured me that using the foot was not going to cause any severe or long term damage). I had pain but the pain became much less (sometimes intense but less often) the longer I walked. Sometimes the blister pain was worse than the PF pain! Definitely the uneven surfaces were better - after long road walks or flat walks (not many on the Norte anyway!) it was worse. In 15 days of walking I had to take 2 rest days but otherwise I managed pretty well. Had a brilliant time and so pleased I didn't cancel. I don't know how long it will take to completely go away but it's a LOT better now than when I began the camino.
Buen camino one and all!
Terri
