My current joy: plantar fasciitis. Not anything fatal or terribly painful, but really inconveniencing when you are dedicated to exercising at full speed 6x a week.
Because I am still waiting for a podiatrist appointment (Two more weeks!) I decided to test waters with acupuncture as somebody on a mailing list I am on told me it really helped her when she had plantar fasciitis.
I always wanted to try acupuncture (I am big believer in the 'treat the body as a whole' concept and in the traditional Chinese approach, so off to an acupuncture doctor I went today.
But, she asked me to take fish oil ... a teaspoon-full twice a day. As I was reading some of the posts here, all of sudden it crossed my mind - how many calories in a teaspoon of fish oil? LOL
Not to mention the awful taste - and she doesn't want me to take the capsules, she wants me to take the liquid - gack. I can't wait. Although if it gets me back on my feet again, I am prepared to do anything and everything.
Recommended exercise for plantar fasciitis - in bare feet roll a coke can across the floor and back to you as you sit. Roll it from toe to heel and back again. The can should be cold - but the contents don't have to be coke!
Well, since a tsp is 1/3 of a tablespoon, and a tablespoon of oil has 120 calories, I would imagine that fish oil would be no different and would come in at 40 calories per tsp.
I can't see how fish oil is going to help your plantars' fascitius...I know that fish oil supplements are suggested by holistic practitioners for a variety of scenarios including reduction of inflammation, but plantars' usually takes up to 6 months in severe cases to resolve with specialist intervention. You can take it and it won't hurt, but I wouldn't count on it being terribly helpful...personally, I'd wait for the podiatrist if I wanted to avoid the calories, and if you can't wait for the podiatrist, get thee to a physiotherapist for relief. Nothing against acupuncture, but I do have an issue with non-substantiated treatment recommendations...
Kira
Look on the bottle you buy, it'll tell you. I took the nordic naturals liquid for awhile and it doesn't taste bad and you don't burp up fish. I imagine the liquid is absorbed quicker by your body since it doesn't need to digest a capsule. Fish oil is very good for any type of inflammation, not to mention over all health. I'd take it and not worry about the calories.
My fish oil (capsules--I take 3) comes to about 30 calories per day. I do count it, but it's not much and it has helped me in many ways.
Fish oil does have some anti-inflammatory properties. I remember a study that showed that the liquid was more effective and/or effective sooner than the capsules, but the difference was so small even the researchers concluded that the capsules would be the best choice for most people, since most people find the liquid unpalatable. The other thing you have to watch for is that your taking fish oil and not fish liver oil (with cod and other fish liver oils, you've got to be more aware because there's a risk of Vitamin A and/or Vitamin D overdose - overdose of fat soluble vitamins can be dangerous). Also, the research found that it could take up to 3 months to see significant reduction in inflammation and pain.
I had to stop taking non-steroidal-anti-inflammatories (otc or prescription, drugs like naproxen, ibuprofen, relafen and even aspirin) for my arthritis and autoimmune disease, because NSAIDS were causing asthma-like symptoms (the good news, I didn't actually have asthma and could stop all my asthma meds). I started taking fish oil almost immediately, and it took nearly a month to notice any effects at all. With something as painful as plantar's fasciitis (I've had that in the past, and it sure does take a long time to heal), I don't think you want to be waiting a month for relief.
I remember when I had bouts of pf, the doctors (one doctor at a time, but I've lived in several different areas, so have had several doctors treat me when I've had it) gave me a relatively large dose of an NSAID like relafen, an injection of prednisone AND an oral steroid for 1 - 2 weeks and it still took time to heal. It took a while for the pf to heal completely (and only after I changed the types of shoes I was wearing and the amount of time I spent on hard pavement or concrete flours), but it felt noticeably better immediately after the steroid injection (you don't want a lot of steroid injections over a lifetime, but when they provide dramatic pain relief, they can be a quality of life saver).
Once you do get your pf healed up, you're going to want to do what you can to prevent future flares. You may need a prescription orthotic, or maybe just shoes with very good shock absorption and arch support. When I got pf the first time I was working in a job that wasn 3/4 on my feet and I was wearing keds style tennis shoes (very flat insole, no support and no cushioning). For the most part, I only wear Hafflinger, Birkenstock, and New Balance because they have the best foot support for my foot.
My view of holistic medicine is that it can supplement western medicine, but generally isn't a very good replacement, especially conditions that have a strongly research-supported course of treatment like pf.
I have no idea about the calories, but my doctor just said to take fish oil capsules for the Omega 3, etc. I went and bought some and have been taking them daily for about a month. I just HAD to pass this along, I was amazed! I can't believe how bad they taste... it's like I burp them up! I don't like fish in the first place, so the burps are especially awful. I called and talked to the nurse about the awful taste and she said to store the fish oil capsules in the freezer. While they are a bit harder to remember to take because they are in the freezer, they thaw further down in my system and I don't burp up fish! ROCK ON!
Last edited by sassybiscuit; 03-29-2009 at 10:00 AM.
Thanks guys.
I have to say it was really tongue-in-cheek regarding the calories, I don't care how many it has. Yes, the doctor wanted me to take it for its anti-inflammatory properties and to be honest, I really wanted to start it myself so that I get more omega 3 - I do eat fish as much as I can but I am sure even that is not enough.
Don't know if I mentioned that, but she (the doc) got quite amused (when she was asking millions of questions re my health and what meds or supplements I take) when I admitted that I currently don't take any fish oil myself but that my dogs get a capsule every day.
Kaplods, thank you for your informative post. I am slowly becoming an expert on PF myself. And no, I do not view the acupuncture or the fish oil as substitution of regular medical care - my podiatrist appointment is in two weeks. I am not hurting terribly (because I am really watching it) it is more of a real nuisance because it really affects what exercises (or rather, types of cardio) I can do and that I cannot walk the dogs.
Oh, and I have to mention that although the fish oil doesn't actually taste as awful as I feared - it has a little bit of orange oil in it which improves both the taste as well as the smell.
If you google pf, you'll find several stretching techniques that really help reduce the pain, especially when getting out of bed first thing in the morning. Those really helped me more than the injection (which was very painful for me and helped only for a short while). I used the shoe inserts and bought more supportive shoes too. The New Balance is what my podiatrist recommended too.
I want to echo what Anne said about stretching techniques. My podiatrist had me stretch my heel before getting out of bed and that made a difference immediately. I also stretch my foot before standing if I have been sitting a long time.
How Many Calories Does THIS Have?
I can't wait. Although if it gets me back on my feet again, I am prepared to do anything and everything.
