I was having burning pain in my arches and thought it was plantar fasciitis, so I was dutifully stretching my feet and calves, only to have things get worse, to the point where I developed a lump in the middle of my arch.
I saw a podiatrist who diagnosed me with fibromatosis, saying stretching my foot was the worst thing I could have done because it damaged the fascia, hence, the lump. He advised me to wear shoes with a slight heel, take shorter strides instead of my usual long ones, wear soft foam arch supports and wait about six weeks to get better. One more thing -- he said that genetically because my big toe wasn't very flexible, it put more pressure on the fascia when I took long strides.
I love to walk and feel like a prisioner. Anything I can do to speed up the process?
RE: Plantar fibromatosis
Hi Pilgrim,
I have a set of fascia releasing hard plastic spiky rehab balls, simply roll them underfoot starting gently then progressively more pressure, I get my clients to write the letters of the alphabet underfoot to give maximum coverage of the sole of the foot.I know you can get them on the net, I will try and find where mine came from , my wife bought them from a fitness/rehab convention. I will post here later with contact details. I also think you should ensure a good walking gait starting with a heel strike progress thru' until the toe is the last part of the foot to leave contact with the ground, I try to make my foot vertical before lifting off.
I find these two exercises are very effective. Do your arches collapse or are you a little flat footed, if so tibialis anterior muscle will be over active, possibly hypertonic and may need regular stretching and a good massage.
Regards
Gaz
RE: Plantar fibromatosis
Thanks. I'll look for that.