plantar fasciitis

[Chumly]

I've been working with a certified Egoscue trainer for a few months now and it has made a huge difference in the way I feel. I have been struggling with hip and foot pain for years and started having knee problems this year. It got to the point where just going for a 2-mile walk would leave me exhausted and in pain. Even yoga would often make me feel worse! The exercises given to me have helped my posture and body alignment, which also nearly eliminated pain and made my life so much better! I think I was really struggling with depression over the fact that I couldn't do much of anything without feeling a whole lot worse. I don't think I would have gotten as much benefit from just reading the book. It's been helpful to have someone show me what exercises I need to practice daily in a particular order to get my body back into proper alignment and stay there.

I don't know if it would help with plantar fasciitis, but I imagine it would.

Michael

[forgood]

Lots of interesting replies. I'll check out those links and things to help. Does anyone know if water fasting would help with PF?

[PJK]

Why would you suspect that water fasting would cure PF?

I don't see the connection, since PF is not caused by a nutritional deficiency. With one exception - being overweight. But fixing that does not require water fasting - see the rest of this site!

[Vegankit]

Lots of interesting replies. I'll check out those links and things to help. Does anyone know if water fasting would help with PF?

Water fasting will help reduce some of the inflammation....... but you do need to work on resolving the the PF.

[forgood]

i am working on this diet and trying to lose weight, but have 100 to lose, so it may take a while, unless I do some fasting here and there. problem is I work on my feet, and can't not work.

[PJK]

If you need quick, short-term relief from PF so you can do your job, consider seeing a podiatrist. They can give you a cortisone shot and tape up your foot. Neither is a long-term cure. But both offer short-term relief. That's not nothing.

[pundit999]

I have been fighting PF for some time.

Before I started eating this diet, I had a lot of PF pain. After 3 months of following Dr McDougall's advice, I lost all the weight I had to lose, stopped wearing formal hard shoes and the pain went away.

I recently started having the pain again. It is was much worse this time. I changed the shoes (only wear new soft athletic shoes) and bought "Copper Compression Recovery Foot Sleeves / Plantar Fasciitis Support Socks" from amazon. After wearing these socks for a few weeks, my pain went away.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013M5GHIS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

[Mom+Me]

forgood, with my experience, l say, "For sure!". I was suffering from such intense PF that was getting worse + worse. Last year when l finally adhered 100% to the McDougall Plan, within probably a month, it was getting better + better. Within probably 3 months it was, + still is, completely gone...a miracle, really! Yes, in those 3 months l probably had lost a good 40 pounds, so l'm certain that helped. But those 40+ pounds lost only were a token amount compared to the entire amount l needed to lose. In otherwords, l also still had over 100 pounds to lose + yet the intense PF l had was already gone!

I remember hearing Heather Goodwin from The Butterfly Effect Plant-Based Weight Loss Youtube Channel say that her PF is all gone, too. She's lost over 300 pounds!

Hoping you, too, will experience our wonderful results.

[PJK]

That's good, but to be clear, I know of no scientific evidence showing that PF is directly related to diet.

So we should probably not say that the McDougall diet can cure PF. It most likely cannot.

That said, PF can be exacerbated by being overweight. My understanding is that the extra weight puts extra pressure on the foot, irritating and inflaming the plantar fascia, a bundle of muscles along the sole.

Assuming that's correct, then losing weight should relieve some of the pressure on the foot. Relieving some of the pressure could, in turn, relieve some of the inflammation.

[Mom+Me]

Agreed, PJK. I would never blaketedly (is that a word?!) say that the McDougall Diet cures PF or anything else. When forgood asked if the MD could "help with + get rid of" PF, l resoundingly stated "yes" from my own + other people's experiences. In our cases, it most likely was the weight loss that "cured" us, but l can't help thinking that all the good nutrition in + all the junk out helped in some way.

At that point in my life last year, l really wasn't trying to lose weight by any other means/diet because l knew that l was going to finally adhere to the MD for life, so l wasn't taking off pounds any other way just because l wasn't "on" yet. So in my own experience, l had the rather significant weight loss + wonderful PF results by following the MD.

[Chumly]

I wonder if there may also be a benefit of improved blood circulation in the foot from adopting the McDougall diet?

Michael

[Idgie]

I may be wrong, but I assume the "itis" in plantar fasciitis means "inflammation," and the McD way of eating definitely has proven to fight inflammation in the body.

[PJK]

Maybe, maybe not. But if you search PF on this site, you will get 0 on-site results.

And as far as I know, the McDougall program does not claim its diet can help PF.

That's why I say, for those suffering from PF, see a good podiatrist.

[forgood]

my plantar fasciitis isn't as bad as before, if I use my feet a lot for hiking it hurts a little after, but it's not as bad as before.

[Michele613]

Well FG I am happy to read that you are a bit better. I can't speak to diet as an aid but I can say that 3 orthos recommended inserts (which I bought reluctantly) and the physical therapist said 'no'. I was told (as was mentioned by others here) to go barefoot as often as possible and to do certain stretches. E.g., stand straight, lean backwards with hands on hips (thumbs forward) and go as far back as is possible and safe. My symptoms were relieved within a short time and I continue to follow this advice today to keep PF away. Hope this may be of some help.