[pct-l] Plantar Fasciitis and KT Tape

[Scott Williams]

Thanks for sharing that Herb.  I'm going to forward your story to several
friends who each say they have "no arch" and can't do it.  It is amazing
how getting back to basics, ie. some of the stuff our bodies were designed
over a few million years to do, can benefit us.  After years of foot pain
and knee problems, hiking with something akin to the old Keds and PF Fliers
of the fifties, neither of which had any kind of support, they just kept
you from cutting your feet on rocks and glass in the street, has benefitted
me, and obviously you too.

Thanks

Shroomer

On Sat, Mar 9, 2013 at 9:09 AM, Herb Stroh <HStroh at sjmslaw.com> wrote:

> Schroomer wrote:
>
> "Born to Run," by Christopher McDougall, a wonderful sports/medical
> anthropology/personal overuse injury recovery story....This
> is the book that has begun to challenge what Nike and others have done to
> our feet over the past 40 years and the reason all big shoe manufacturers
> now have "barefoot shoe" lines.  The gist is that we've padded and
> supported our feet so much that we now have a culture of people with weak
> feet, a society prone to PF and a host of other injuries that were nearly
> nonexistent before Nike introduced the arch support in 1970."
>
>
> Can I get an "amen"??
>
> My feet are flat, pronated, some other kind of "-anted," and I suffer from
> a form of PF. My feet hurt every morning. Multi-day hiking was very painful
> after a couple days. I was afraid that my feet would retire me from the
> trail, so I went to a podiatrist who declared I have "terrible feet." Not
> much he could do, other than orthotics he said. Tried those and there was
> no improvement. Put pads on the orthotics and there was no significant
> improvement.
>
> Then I started researching online and discovered the barefoot running
> movement. Reading "Born to Run" was the final inspiration. I started
> walking short distances--like around the block--barefoot. I continued to
> slowly lengthen my walks. I bought some minimalist shoes (Zems). I started
> running barefoot and in the Zems. At first it was hard and I felt I was
> making no progress. About 3 months into my training I thought that maybe my
> feet were getting better. By six months I knew they were better and had
> tossed my orthotics. I had an arch again! I can now run barefoot 4 miles,
> and can do 10 miles in the miinimialist shoes. Keep in mind, I am a guy
> that used to wear shoes and slippers in the house and NEVER went barefoot
> anywhere!
>
> There are some easy trails near my house that I hike barefoot. It is hard
> to describe how good the ground feels on bare feet--the cool earth, wet
> grass, pine needles, even rocky ground has an almost sensual feel.
>
> As noted in Barefoot Running, any engineer will tell you the worst way to
> support an arch structure is with something underneath it. To do so
> contrary to the design. The author also notes that no shoe manufacturer can
> point to a study proving that their running shoes reduces injury. All those
> millions of dollars in research, but not one study that shows using their
> shoes prevents harm to the user's feet.
>
> If you decide to try minimalist footwear go very slow and listen to your
> body. It is not for everyone, but for me going 'natural' was a Godsend and
> will keep me on the trails for years to come.
>
> Herb
>
>
>
>
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