I tried stretching -- much to my 60 year-old male doctor's amusement, I'm less flexible than him -- and icing my feet (to reduce the inflammation) and massaging them (to break up the scar tissue that had formed in my heels). I like using the Trigger Point roller / balls to massage my feet, but you can also save yourself money by using tennis balls or soda cans (or beer cans if that's more your speed) which allow you to ice and massage at the same time. Also, try filling a Dixie cup with water and freezing it for a larger chunk of ice than what you'd pop out of your ice tray.
My feet got a little worse (apparently when the doctor said "take it easy," he didn't really mean "run 20 miles a week") then a little better, but never healed up completely. So I went to a sports medicine doctor -- Blue Cross had better not have been lying when they said I didn't need a referral because my primary care physician has not yet discovered multiple lines, voicemail or call waiting and can only be contacted by carrier pigeon -- who told me part of the problem was that my glutes were weak and my calves were overcompensating. Funny, because whenever local gentlemen issue unsolicited commentary on that part of my anatomy, "weak" is generally not a conclusion at which they arrive. Ah well.
Sports Doc forbade me from running, recommended physical therapy (I start next Monday, bright and early) and suggested I buy splints to sleep in. They arrived today:
Seriously. I thought she was talking about those wonky socks you see advertised in places like Runner's World or Outside. If I'd known she was actually talking about these sexy puppies, I would have saved the money and planned to take my ski boots to bed.
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