The first thread linked is better than the second one, this is a cut and paste from a post there. Clipped out the sarcastic "you guys are old" comment. Also, keep an old belt or short length of rope handy. Loop it over the ball of your foot and gently pull to loosen up the calf, better with knee straight. Whenever you get the sharp, I stepped on a nail pain in the heel, pause for a moment and you will probably be able to figure out what you did to aggravate it. I like the
Superfeet supports, like $50 about.
Do not go to the Good Feet Store
Typed this out to give to my patients, got tired of writing this crap out on a note pad, sorta long, sorry. Do this stuff and I can pretty much guarantee it will improve.
Plantar Fasciitis
Generally, this is a problem that has more than one contributing factor, all should be addressed. The plantar fascia is on the bottom of the foot and is fan shaped, with the narrow end at the heel, and the wide end at the ball of the foot. Often after a period of rest, or on rising in the morning, the plantar fascia is strained, leading to heel pain. In many cases, a spur associated with the pain, but the cause of the pain is the soft tissue that is attached to the bone. Most people with this have a tight achilles tendon, where the calf muscle attaches to the back of the heel. This tendon is extremely strong, much stronger than the plantar fascia, but there is pain at the back of the heel, in addition to the typical heel pain, for many people that suffer from plantar fasciitis. Patients suffering from this complaint are often carrying too much weight, or wearing inappropriate shoes without adequate support.
This should be addressed with conservative methods before contemplating any surgical intervention. The Achilles tendon should be stretched every day, generally by doing exercises as recommended, with a splint worn at night used by some patients to achieve this. The fascia itself should be gently stretched prior to rising after a period of rest. This is conveniently done by rolling a small ball, can or soda bottle in the arch briefly before getting up and walking. In the evenings, or after periods of increased activity, ice should be applied for 10-15 minutes. Anti-inflammatory pills or injections are frequently used to reduce the pain, and allow the exercises to improve range of motion to be more effectively done. Appropriate, supportive shoes either with a custom made orthotic support or a prefabricated device should also be worn as well, particularly when the patient is very active. One of the newer non-invasive treatments is to use high energy ultrasound on the heel, under anesthesia, at an outpatient facility.
There are surgical procedures to address this problem as well, but conservative methods should be exhausted prior to contemplating more invasive treatment. For the great majority of patients, 90-95%, symptoms are resolved using conservative treatment. A maintenance program is then instituted to prevent reoccurrence of symptoms. For some patients this is as simple as stretching the calves each day. For others, orthotic supports are used in conjunction with daily exercise and a weight loss program. (During heel strike in normal walking, force is generated from 5-7 times the patient’s weight. A 1 pound weight loss can reduce the impact on the heel by up to 7 pounds.)
In cycling, you want to have your saddle position right, and be spinning the apropriate speed with the pedals to reduce chance of injury. You need to stretch often, older you are, tighter you get, tighter you get, more inevitable it is to have injury(plantar fasciitis, for example)
As you get older, you lose lean muscle mass. Muscle burns more calories than fat. If you lift weights, you tend to increase lean muscle mass, which means you burn more calories at rest, and while exercising.
If you have back trouble, you need to be doing some type of abdominal strengthening work, crunches, leg lifts, whatever.