Parents Plantar Fasciitis

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My L5 daughter has developed plantar fasciitis (sat out the last 2 meets and is missing State this weekend). My question is whether anyone else's child has had this and if they use gymnastics shoes and whether or not they help? Which shoes are the best? I want to get these for her before she goes back to doing gymnastics again. Any advice for gymnasts with PF would be appreciated. THANKS!
 
My 8 yo DD has it. I had ordered some things, I think they were called "x bands"; but they never came and the customer service person never responded to my e-mails about my order. :mad: so... we never got those. The doctor recommended massaging it and I picked up a ball from REI that is for just this. It has really helped. she hasn't had problems with it since maybe November!
 
I don't know about gym shoes, but you can buy inserts that help. In adults, you can buy boots, that stretch your foot back as you sleep, or roll some sheets up tight and use it to stretch you toes back. She needs to be stretching her toes back every chance she gets. I know for Severs, gymnastics use heel cups and claim it helps.
 
The orthopedist has had her in a boot for the past three weeks and she's in physical therapy and we do stretches, massaging, and icing 3x a day. I'm thinking more for when she's back at gymnastics after she's healed, looking for something for her feet to prevent it from happening again. That's why I was thinking those shoes (are they called vault shoes?) that are very minimalist but have cushioning on the heels and balls of the feet.

2G1B - I saw those X Bands on their website but their contact form wasn't working and there was no address, email or phone number listed so I couldn't find a way to contact them to ask them any questions. I'm sorry that your order never arrived. :( I hope your daughter feels better soon. My daughter's pain got so bad that her school called me to come get her.
 
I had is as a runner in college. Quite painful. I do not believe there is true "prevention" of this injury, as it is a typical overuse injury. That being said, stretching is the best prevention for many injuries/conditions. Rest is the best thing for getting over it. So, on that concept, balanced workouts that don't spend extra time on tumbling and give the athletes enough rest days is very important.
 
My daughter had this as well. I bought her The X Brace from Amazon for around $25.00. I also bought her an inexpensive night splint. She is pain free now.
 
My daughter has been dealing with this for about 2 years. It comes and goes, but we have found a couple of things that work best for both prevention and treatment. She wears heal cups almost all the time at practice - we order them online from Gibson. They are like a neoprene "sock" that has a heal cushion built in. They don't bother her at all and seem to help a lot. The only downfall - they stink! They need to be washed a lot. :) When she is having pain, she does an ice bath (the whole foot), rolls her foot on a frozen water bottle, and uses a product called "Traumeel" (a cream available at health food stores). It definitely can be extremely painful, but usually if she is doing all of these things, it will get better. I've also been told by a number of people that good shoes makes a difference. Unfortunately, my daughter lives in flip flops or slip on boots, but you may want to give it a try. Good Luck! Hope she is feeling better.
 
There are exercises that might help. For example, lots of calf stretching (upper and lower). Also foot strengthening exercises such as 'doming' the foot (raising the arch), spreading the toes, etc.
 
Also, someone prone to this should be wearing athletic shoes/sneakers at all times possible. No flip flops, flats or boots. Even around the house, during warm up and cool down actvities at gym. It makes a difference.
 
Also, someone prone to this should be wearing athletic shoes/sneakers at all times possible. No flip flops, flats or boots. Even around the house, during warm up and cool down actvities at gym. It makes a difference.

Yes! I have found that this makes a big difference for my daughter, too. Supporting the arch outside of the gym will greatly help it for gymnastics. She laments not wearing flip flops or fashionable footwear, but at least she can still do gymnastics. The effects of this practice may take a while to notice (or, maybe not!) but it is well-worth the patience.

She also wears a night splint, which maintains some stretch on the calf muscles, achilles tendon, and arch/tendons in her foot. This way, she doesn't have to overcome this very tight tissue in the morning upon waking, which can sometimes stretch well into the day.

For practice, she uses the cotton KT tape to support her arches, and has found that this really helps a lot. We really like the cotton version, instead of the regular synthetic, as the cotton version isn't quite as stretchy. (hence, more supportive) The cotton version is also less expensive, and tends to stay on much better, too.

Perhaps another avenue to investigate might be looking for a structural condition that may be leading to the plantar fascitis in the first place? Has your orthopedist or physical therapist made any notes on foot/knee/hip alignment while watching her walk? For example, my daughter's feet pronate quite a bit, leading to ankle tendonitis and plantar fascitis. She got custom-made orthotics for her shoes last summer, (via a podiatrist) which she wears all the time. (except in practice) Over the long run (6 months or so) it has made such a difference.

Good luck, and keep looking for solutions! You'll find the magic combination!
 

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