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I'm recovering from a very bad case of Plantar Fasciitis, which I got from jogging too much without stretching enough. Even though I'm a big guy (6'2", with my weight yo-yoing around an average of about 235 or so) I've been able to put in over twenty-five miles a week jogging without much of a problem for years, but back in early September, I got hobbled during a run. It was very upsetting at the time because I hate not being able to run, but I found some things that worked for me:
First, I went to Fleet Feet, a jogging shoe store, to get their recommendations for orthotics. They sold me on the "green" version of "Superfeet" replacement insoles, which I've since purchased for all of my shoes, whether for jogging or for work. They also sold me a Strassburg sock, which was helpful for the first few weeks, during the acute phase. That's a sock you wear while sleeping: it dorsiflexes the toes which keeps the back of the calf stretched. I also saw my doctor, who's also a jogger, and he showed me some stretches that I should do.
I used to stretch before and after jogs, but for the last 10 years or so, I used to think that stretching was more dangerous than just walking a block or two "to warm up" and "to cool down", so I would barely do any. As a result, my leg muscles had gotten ridiculously inflexible, given how hard it is to prople a big guy for miles and miles every week.
Anyway, after not running for a couple of months, always wearing the orthotics, stretching the lower legs every day and then slowly building back up, I'm now worked back to close to my usual jogging mileage, without much problem with the plantar fasciitis. So I think I've been pretty fortunate, as I was worried that it wouldn't go away, but it pretty much has been controlled.
In short, get some good orthotics and stretch the leg muscles routinely and things may get better faster than you think.
Man, it sucks, though, for the first few days. Good luck with your recovery.
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