Plantar fasciitis

newtothishelp

Hi everyone,
Does anyone have any tips for dealing with plantar fasciitis? Its really got me down right now. Dr says i just have to wait for it to go away. It started aboue 2 months ago wgej i was about 3 weeks into the couch to 5k, which i was really enjoying

R_is_for_Rachel

Have you seen a podiatrist? I'm suffering with plantar fascitis myself at present and it's pretty depressing. There's exercises that can help, NSAIDS, cold packs, insoles and the other thing im trying at the moment is Crocs! They helped massively last time. Plus as my podiatrist pointed out.....losing weight! Good luck x

MissusMoon

I'd also recommend seeing a podiatrist. In the mean time, stretching your heel by pointing your toes and feet up helps. Making certain you've got great shoes with great insoles helps a lot, too.

quatermore

Deep massage, ( check online for instructions) insoles, NSAIDS, cold packs, and reduce physical activity. Try rubbing your feet back and forth over a large cold soda bottle. The deep massage really helped me but it is quite painful. Good luck!

85Cardinals

I have that but not too bad. It comes and goes and is worse in the mornings. Losing weight has really helped mine, keep losing weight. San Antonio Spurs star the great Tim Duncan had it bad for a couple of seasons, then lost weight and extended his career by at least 3 years! Gratuitous Spurs mention there cause I live in SA. Good luck with yours, original poster.

I tried a gizmo for it once you were supposed to wear while you slept, it didn't do much for me. Keep losing weight, it's hard on your feet that weight.

MelaniaTrump

Podiatrist.
He/she will give you a sheet with exercises to do.
Look online for exercises, but be careful, online you find a lot of "coocoo's".

It goes away with exercises. If I forget to stretch, it comes back.
All it takes is 5 mins of stretching.
I do them with my leg lifts, and my hand weight ex's.

I take fish oil for inflammation. I swear it works.
I add turmeric with a dash of pepper to many foods.
I try to avoid fast food and alcohol.

Capt_Apollo

what helped me was lots and lots of stretching. particularly this stretch



the boot to sleep in also helped a lot, as it stretched my calves while i slept.

also, i stopped wearing the super cushionie shoes and inserts they recommended. it treated the symptom, not the problem. i switched to a more minimal heel shoe, with proper arch support, and i've been symptom free for years.

__leis__

I was going to recommend rolling your foot over a tennis ball but a cold bottle of soda sounds better!

TorontoDiane

I have been suffering for the last 5 years ... it seemed to come on really suddenly.. I thought it was caused after I fractured my foot and broke toes.. and then fractured my other leg and ankle in another incident.. but when I had xrays done on both feet.. and it turns out I had bone spurs and plantar fascia issues on both feet.. this was checked by xray and ultrasound on both feet.. what helped me was getting injections.. cortisone.. I had them in both feet.. and I cannot even tell you the relief I had from them.. is saw podiatrists.. they have all kinds of new technology but he told me it is expensive and may not work.. so when I saw a rheumatologist.. she injected my feet.. and I have only had to have them injected one more time.. the pain compared to before is night and day.. goodluck

activeinmysixties

Clearly you need to see a podiatrist. There may be something structural that need addressed because of your increased activity level @JanetYellen give some good suggestions regarding management of inflammation ... I am not sure how @Capt_Apollo feel the shoes/inserts (?orthotics) only treated the symptoms .... if you want to stop a fire you take away the fuel....

A good article to read would be http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/plantar-fasciitis/basics/causes/con-20025664

raccoon3

It tends to pop up for me whenever I'm wearing shoes that don't fit quite right, especially if they're a little too small or have crappy arch support. For instance I can't wear Chuck Taylors anymore because they're just not supportive enough and don't allow room for an insole. Maybe try wearing really supportive shoes for a while, if that's a possibility.

wizzybeth

I personally found the overnight foot braces that you can get from amazon.com worked wonderfully. I also switched to wearing Crocs shoes a lot which really helped.

PatriciaTkayaking

I've been dealing with this for almost a year now. I started swimming for movement, plus sometimes a recumbent bike at the gym. Shoes where to sole cannot bend (per doc), the night brace, stretching, rolling your foot over a cold water bottle, before you get out of bed, lay on your back with your feet in the air and use your feet to "spell" the letters of the alphabet ... moving your feet in the shape of "a", "b", "c", etc.

Sugar_Slayer

The night brace/boot and shoes with good arch support took care of mine. The other thing that my podiatrist suggested that has helped is wearing shoes all the time. I have a pair of Brooks tennis shoes that are my "inside only" shoes.

MonkeyMel21

I also agree with sleeping with a boot/brace. My husband has it and I had him come to my office and they fitted a splint to his foot and it has helped him soooo much. I know it's a bit harder when you can't do it for free but if it's been 2 months, I'd suggest making an appointment.

sashayoung72

I had/have this, do everything above. after losing several pounds, even with a great deal of walking, I do not have symptoms anymore. I continue to do the stretches, (I lay face down on the bed and put my toes like i'm trying to climb and push while pulling heel up toward my head). and my podiatrist recommended New Balance also or a good quality running shoe with good support.

85Cardinals

New Balance are great shoes, I swear by those too. And stylish too, I'd like to think.

MelaniaTrump

Foot brace - don't buy it on Amazon.
Just go to any old store. Walmart, CVS, walgreens, etc.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/ACE-Plantar-Fasciitis-Sleep-Support-209616-One-Size-Adjustable/19898460

geneticsteacher

Stretching, exercises from your doctor, yoga all help temporarily. I switched to minimalist shoes 2 years ago (no arch support at all) and have had no further problems.

wizzybeth

JanetYellen wrote: »

Foot brace - don't buy it on Amazon.
Just go to any old store. Walmart, CVS, walgreens, etc.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/ACE-Plantar-Fasciitis-Sleep-Support-209616-One-Size-Adjustable/19898460

Well I first went to my local pharmacy to buy one. It was 74.00. The exact same one ...same manufacturer....on Amazon was 30.00. I would think mind paying a few bucks more but 44.00 more was a bit steep.

ogtmama

K-tape! Of course after you see a doctor and do your exercises...but I had issues with my arches while pregnant and k-tape made a world of difference for day to day comfort in between. You can YouTube videos for how to apply it.

BettyEtte

Sounds crazy, but I swear by Crocs ballerina flats. Maybe the knubby things under the heel? Anyway, my PF has greatly improved since I started wearing them.

MelaniaTrump

The ACE foot brace was only $24 at my store.
Many people say crocs helps them. I would love to know why exactly.

wizzybeth

That's reasonable. My store was outrageous. It was not a chain (the CVS didn't have it) but a mom-n-pop. They are interestingly out of business now 10 years later....but I refused to pay more than twice the price just to buy local.

jpneugebauer

See your friendly PT (Can you tell what I do for a living??

BuddhaB0y

I didn't see it mentioned here but one of the biggest tips I found was to try not to walk around barefoot at all... Even walking around inside. I always wear sneakers around inside and I find it's pretty much gone now

drummer_lady

Definitely see a podiatrist or a physiotherapist to find the underlying cause and help correct it. For me it was really low arches (needed to get custom orthotics) and weak calves (for which I do stretches and strength building exercises multiple times a week). I have been dealing with plantar fasciitis for nearly 2 years now and it has only started to get better in the last few months since I started seeing a good physiotherapist regularly. I am finally able to start running again!

Everything else mentioned above is important too - find good supportive shoes to wear, stretch your calves, ice your feet, avoid high impact activities, etc. When I'm at home, I wear Orthaheel slippers made by Vionic, which are specifically made to help plantar fasciitis.

ALG775

I've had it 3 times (at 205, 210 and 240). The first two times I cured it by getting pregnant! This was not an option the third time

Along with the calf stretches and massages on the bottom of the feet, I also tried ESWT- shock wave therapy- this helped a lot. Reduced my pain by 75%. The final thing that helped was stretching and getting deep tissue massage on my ham strings. That did the trick.

Keep trying different things- visit a podiatrist, physio, chiro-it can be persistent
Good luck!

Capt_Apollo

BuddhaB0y wrote: »

I didn't see it mentioned here but one of the biggest tips I found was to try not to walk around barefoot at all... Even walking around inside. I always wear sneakers around inside and I find it's pretty much gone now

i found the complete opposite to work for me. putting my foot in a shoe that constricted it wasn't working.

85Cardinals

ALG775 wrote: »

I've had it 3 times (at 205, 210 and 240). The first two times I cured it by getting pregnant!

I tried that with very little success.

RodaRose

I used the gel packs religiously for a long time.

I did not do extra walking at first-- only chair and floor exercises and swimming and upper body weight machines.