After almost 20 years running I have been struck by plantar fasciitis.
I have read a lot about this on the web, some runners keep on running with the pain, others stop, others say that it is not worth spending money in physiotherapist, orthotics, etc that time will eventually heal and recommend massage and stretching exercises.
So far my approach has been very conservative, that I stopped running at first after 4 weeks of no running, the pain was minimal but was still there.
I decided to go back very slowly, on grass and only 3-4 K, very gently.
After about 3 weeks doing this, i found that the pain was still there, so I stopped again and kept on swimming and cycling.
Since the beginning I have been doing a lot of stretching and massaging the area.
I have been without running since about 6 weeks now and I am getting quite desperate because i do not find that the pain has gone away or that I have improved after stopping the running all together.
I have seen my doctor who surprisingly told me that it was ok to keep running but very gently and on grass, and icing after, etc.
I haven't seen any physiotherapist but I am wondering if it would be worth trying this.
I live in the inner west area in Sydney (Leichhardt).
Can anybody with a similar experience recommend something or someone around here?