Yoga Is Hurting My Foot??!! Help..

I have had 2 bouts of PF. Once was in only 1 foot, lasted a few months, got inserts, went away.

NO ONE TOLD ME that I had to keep up with stretching/appropriate footwear/etc. when it wasn't hurting.

So it came back, both feet, lasted just over a year. I required physical therapy & special inserts, & a special sock @ night to keep my foot stretched while I slept.

So, if you have had it once before, you are now more prone to it forevermore (per my foot doc). Yoga seems to me that it would encourage stretching of your body, & also the use of some of the muscles in your feet that you don't normally use in those ways, for stability in the poses.

Now, a quick search online pulls up a lot of sites on yoga stretches to HELP PF. I would first of all talk with your instructor about what they know you can do to alleviate the problem. If they DON'T know, or aren't aware of anything, then find another instructor. No point in doing something that's supposed to be good for you, if the person leading you in that activity is not knowledgeable.

Secondly, you need to make changes to your non-yoga time. Always wear shoes with arch support (Crocs are recommended as "house shoes" for their cushioning). Make sure to do proper stretches in the morning before getting out of bed, & then throughout the day as needed.

Stretchess:
Stand with the ball of your foot on the first step of stairs, heels hanging over, & sink your weight into your heels, letting them drop below the stair surface. This will stretch the back of your calves down through your heel.

Cross one ankle over your knee, grasp your heel in one hand & the toes in your other & push/pull to stretch the bottom of your foot. This link has an example (I add cupping the heel w/your other hand & pushing on your heel while pulling on your toes/ball)
http://sportsmedicine.about.com/b/2007/01/05/new-stretch-...

If you find that this is not helping to keep PF at bay, you can also get a Strassburg sock. This is something worn @ night to keep your foot flexed. (If you get one, be warned, using the proper tension will cause your toes to have a stabbing pain in the morning until you take it off, this only lasts a few days until you get used to it)

Hopefully a good yoga instructor, stretches, proper foot gear & maybe a sock will help keep the PF at bay! (I've found your feet tell you when they are about to get worse by feeling really "tight" before throwing out a lot of pain. Once the pain starts, you're in trouble. Back off @ tightness & then resume slowly)

T.

Edited to add: I noticed another person commented on bare feet/hard floors. If possible, wear some type of foot gear doing yoga & see if that helps. Try to find something that cushions/supports to some extent but still allows flexibility. Ask your instructor for advice.

Riley said: "Most people who have dance or gymnastics training can't do yoga.
Conversely, most people who do yoga can't do dance or gymnastics."

Holy Moses, Riley! That's me! I took dance and gymnastics in high school and college and it was a nightmare but I was determined. I can't do "dance" workouts like Zumba to save my life. I'm good with cycling and walking, although running is too high impact for my Fibromyalgia.

But give me Yoga and I'm in heaven. I love it. I'm good at it. It feels wonderful. I couldn't figure it out until your explanation. ::off to do some research::

Talk to the instructor. He/she might have suggestions. Google stretches for plantar fasciitis. There are some that can help. What about a softer, thicker yoga mat? I have a history of both plantar fasciitis and tendonitis in my feet and I use an extra thick yoga mat. I also recently purchased orthotics for my workout shoes. I obviously don't wear them during yoga, but I wear them for all other workouts.

I have a couple of neuromas on one foot and basically, I can't jump out or in when it comes to starting and or beginning a pose, therefore, I walk it out or in.. Maybe you ll have to ask the instructor how you can modify your pose. yoga can be very straining on the feet, especially when first learning poses since alignment isn't always the easiest to come by. My husband has Sciatica and twisting poses are out for him... he too must do modified poses.
Honestly, when it comes to a foot injury (at least mine) the thing I can do for them is NOT to strain them.. once I do that, then Ibuprofen and Ice only help to a certain degree..

Hi Lisa,

I can't help you with the yoga thing, except to say to do all your yoga on the floor instead of standing up with it...

However, I had planter fascitis and it was SO bad that I had my doctor give me shots in my foot for it. The shots would help for a month and then I'd be right back where I started. I did the stretches in the morning, used the tennis ball, even wore a brace at night that ended up affecting my hip - forget that! Then TWO friends told me that they got rid of theirs by wearing hard soled shoes. Both of them told me to go to Nordstroms and buy Munros or Naots. Lisa, it changed my life. No more plantar fascitis. These shoes are expensive but it's really the most wonderful thing to not have foot pain anymore.

Maybe if you wear the hard soled shoes everywhere else, you can go back to doing yoga barefooted without pain.

Good luck!!
Dawn

Ask your instructor for ideas on how to modify the poses. Also, athletic tape helps. I had bad plantar fasciitis for a long time when we moved to an apartment with hardwood floors, it eventually got better as my feet got used to it, but it was really really bad for awhile, like, at the end of the day I was limping and avoiding going to the bathroom because I didn't want to walk.

My doctor recommended ice and ibuprofen as well, but also some stretching exercises in which you sit and point your toes toward your knees, and then away (you can probably find a diagram online) and showed me how to wrap my arches with athletic tape to help support them when I was barefoot. To do that (again, you can probably find a video online) you take a long piece of athletic tape, center it on the back of your ankle just above your heel, then wrap it so it makes an X on your arch and the ends come up over the top of your foot. It takes a little practice to get it comfortable (it is, after all, tape on your foot), but it helped me a lot. Also, as far as athletic tape goes, get the good stuff, especially if you're just using it in yoga, the cheap stuff will work okay, but it's just not as comfortable.

Good luck!

It's because yoga is like massage it relaxes n stretches and relieves or detoxes the body allowing good blood flow. You have a blockage which is te situation in your foot. You need to clear it! Have a foot dr. Cut it out clean it out or you may try massage once a week or month n see if they can break it up n real ease it lavender is good for detoxing the body use t on bottom of your feet lavender oil!

I can't do yoga.

I've dislocated 3 ribs, my left hip, and sprained my back.

I have a dance & gymnastics background. I'm flexible as all get out (splits, besques, walkovers, you name it. I can still put my feet on my head). Which is EXACTLY the problem.

Dance & gymnastics strengthen certain muscles, and stretch certain tendons & ligaments.

Yoga strengthens certain muscles, and stretch certain tendons & ligaments.

But they're DIFFERENT sets of muscles & ligaments!!!!

Meaning yoga was stretching the CT that holds my skeleton together!!! Aka, bad.

Most people who have dance or gymnastics training can't do yoga.
Conversely, most people who do yoga can't do dance or gymnastics.

Injuries.

Plain & simple.

Certain sports cross over really well. Runners & cyclists & climbers & body builders usually excel at yoga.

If you have a D/G background ... Try altering the poses to NON yoga poses. Its subtle (backbend v yoga thingy that looks like a backbend but isn't), but it makes all the differences. Its NOT yoga. 5th positions, splits stretches, etc. BUT it uses our training to yoga patterns. So you get the meditative aspects without the grievous bodily injuries.

For fun, my DG friends name "it" after ourselves.

Ri-Ga , Zoyoga, Yo-Steph-ga, Yogliza.

If you find your foot is hurting, ask your instructor about modifications or alternative poses.

Anytime you are barefooted on a hard floor it can irritate your condition.
Ask your instructor what changes you can implement to help you but shoes, seem like an obvious choice.