You didn't say what your symptoms are. Typically, with plantar fasciitis, there's pain on the underside of the foot, at the forward part of the heel (where the fascia joins the heel bone), especially those first few steps when you get up in the morning. It's not caused by the heel striking the ground.
There's lots of misinformation out there, even from the medical community. There's even disagreement about whether there's much inflammation involved at all, and some say it should be called plantar fasciosis. I developed what would probably be considered a moderate case about two years ago, which took over a year to heal to the point where I no longer felt it at all. I've read that 6 to 18 months is common. I went to a local podiatrist who specializes in runners and hikers:
http://www.nwfootankle.com/The traditional approach is the use of orthotics, ice, stretching of the calf muscles, cortisone, and sometimes surgery. My doctor offered me that approach if I wanted it, but suggested a different approach, which I'm very glad I took. Here's
my understanding of what he told me. I don't want to pass this off as his medical advice...I participated in my treatment, and accepted or rejected his suggestions as I saw fit, which seemed to be agreeable to him.
Most treatments just treat the symptoms. The cause of the injury itself is difficult to determine, but the footwear that we commonly wear sets us up for that injury. In other words, for all practical purposes, there are no good shoes (or boots). The combination of heel elevation, toespring, unnecessary arch support, and more-or-less pointed toe boxes all put unnatural stresses on your feet.
Here's what I did:
-Icing...gave a little relief, I guess. I soon gave it up.
-Stretching...calf muscles including the muscles on the front of the calf/top of foot.
-Taping, in an "X" pattern. This was the main thing that helped me. It took some pressure off the fascia, allowing it to heal while still letting me walk.
-Wearing teardrop-shaped tarsal pads in my shoes (from the Doctor), which allowed my big toe to "droop" slightly, which takes tension off the fascia. This helped a little, I think, especially at first.
-Removed the insoles from my shoes, to allow a little more room.
-I now buy bigger shoes. I measure 8.5 on a brannock device, but I now wear 9.5 - 10, 2E or 4E, depending on the shoe.
-Stopped wearing Superfeet and the like. I wore them for years, and I believe they weakened my feet. I can't prove it. My doctor says my arches are perfect and don't need support. Also, I don't over-pronate or over-supinate.
-I wear sandals whenever possible. If I could find some without any heel elevation, I'd wear those. The doctor is big on Crocs, but I can't warm up to them.Yet. I've replaced the insoles in my hiking boots (Keen Targhee's or Merrill Radius low) with the flat green ones from Spenco.
By the way, avoid the cortisone unless you are in severe, debilitating pain. It's only for control of pain, does nothing to aid healing, and can sometimes make things worse. It's not the same as using cortisone for a knee injury.
This website has a good description of how to tape your feet. There's some other good information there, and some, IMO, not so good.
http://heelspurs.com/index.htmlGood Luck!