After it heals, some strapping or minimalist shoes might help with a bit of support and make it slightly comfortable. Might be worth a try

If it's for flat water paddling try Crocs..

The podiatrist at our local hospital sells them so they must be good..

DJ

riverider said..

Try paddling in crocs

Easy if you live in far north qld, Tha Daintree river should do!

I have had plantar fasciitis for many years and good orthotics are amazing. I have a plastic pair (hence can get them wet) that if my arch is getting too sore on the board, I just wear a pair of water shoes and insert the orthotics into them and problem solved.

My mother had heel spurs...drank lots of soy milk and they went away...

Worth a try

Foot stretches, particularly before you get up, and before exercise.
Calf stretches before and after exercise, and other times just for fun :)
Roll a frozen 600ml water bottle under the arch of the foot every night.
Flat soled shoes and focus on walking on the forefoot, through the middle axis of the foot and not the big toe.
Strengthen the calves with resistance exercises, such as calf raises, focusing on weighting the little toe.

I no longer need orthotics after the above, after over 30 years of using them. I still have a little plantar fascitis, but much less than before.
My walking is much faster and more effortless. I don't run due to knee surgeries, but walking on the forefoot lightens the impact on the knees, hips and spine.

I kick the ****e out of the sheets so they don't push my feet down at night. Annoys the crap out of the Mrs but the plantar doesn't shorten any more than necessary at night.

Heel spurs don't go away that I know of.

Relax on the board. Sounds like you are gripping it with claws. :)

Only been paddling for just over 3 months, and first thing I noticed is my feet hurt after about 10 minutes.
Don't think there is a fancy name for it - they hurt more in small swell / chop than in flat water.
After a bit they didn't hurt all the time, and narrowed it down to they hurt when I'm not relaxed / trying to grip the board with the soles of my feet.
Now they don't hurt much at all as more relaxed, but still go numb if I don't remember to move a bit.

Good footwear with arch supports generally fixes the problem. It might take 6 months to heal but it will work. Have a look at the shoes that you podiatrist sells. Expensive but worth it.

Yep, very painful. Stretch your calf muscles as much as possible, particularly before and after surfing. Best stretch is on stairs, stand on the balls of your feet and drop below the level of the stairs and then up as high as you can go, slowly in sets of ten. Don't wear thongs or other backless footwear. Wear shoes that have good arch support and do em up tight..... you may need to get orthotics.

Surfrod66 said..

I have developed Planter Fasciitis ( heel spurs) from spending to much time standing on my board . It is the second case my podiatrist has seen.... Just wondering if anyone else out there has suffered the same and how they went about fixing it. It is now so bad I can no longer paddle or walk in the mornings..
getting desperate sitting on the beach watching and taking photos..

I have heard that going skiing in Japan is good for it

Rosscoe said..

Hey Flying Kiwi, is that like immaculate conception? Just saying???.

In my early days paddling I remember seeing a post from JonathanC about foot pain etc. He raised a very good analogy which I still sometimes think of to relax my legs/feet (particularly if choppy). Think of a sheepdog balancing/running over the backs of sheep - be the sheepdog, they do fine on a moving surface - don't be a crow trying to 'clutch' onto the board with your toes. Weird, I know, but there is no doubt that your balance is much improved if you keep your calves and feet relaxed.

I certainly hope not!