As an avid hiker or runner, you are on your feet a lot. This means mile upon mile of heavy-impact on your feet, up and down inclines for as much time as you can squeeze in. But then, one day it happens. You suddenly feel an odd pull down the arch of your foot and your heel starts to throb. The pain makes it hard to not only run but difficult to walk as well. If this has happened to you, you are the victim of plantar fasciitis.
Plantar fasciitis happens to active people all of the time. In fact, it is one of the most common injuries you can receive. Unfortunately, it means that you will not be able to get around as well as you had before and you could find yourself hobbling as you attempt to continue on your daily routine. There are ways to work around it, however.
The plantar fascia is the ligament that runs from your heel, across the arch of your foot, and ends in your toes. Usually, when you have strained it, it is the arch of the foot that is most likely damaged, but it pulls hard against your heel, making the heel ache. It typically happens from a strain to the ligament, caused by unsupportive shoes and overuse. Rest from running or hiking can reduce symptoms, but you will also need to stretch out the ligament and keep it from tightening while you are recovering.
The short answer is yes, you can still workout with the injury, but your workouts and activities will need to be modified to accommodate the injury. If you continue on your regular activities without paying attention to the injury, it is not going to heal on its own and it can get worse and more painful. The best thing to do is stop the heavy impact activity that caused it in the first place while you are recovering and ensure that you have supportive shoes to prevent the injury from continuing to happen in the future.
If you want to maintain your active lifestyle and be sure that you are not losing any muscle tone while you are in recovery, there are still plenty of activities that you can do that will not involve heel pain. Gaining weight can also exacerbate the issue, so you do not want to become a couch potato.
Some cardio alternatives that you can do while your foot heels are:
Outside of physical activities, there are also other things that you can do to help encourage your ligament to heal.
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