Plantar fasciitis

leviathas

I had it for years. Reduced my running significantly (in intensity and length) and it almost went away. Comes back when I over stress my feet. But the towel grab and drop movement as well as rolling over a can/ball really helps. That and Advil. And heel pads.

MRbigGUYXXL

bump

Marshachia

I had this for a year after walking on a reflexology pool. The pain is totally gone now, probably due to red krill oil.

jenxbennett

Crocs and stretches cured mine. It wasn't very fashionable, but it worked. Wear them even in the house.

rosecropper

I have had success with exercise that strengthens the foot, ankle, calves- without putting pressure on heels- especially if has dorsiflexion component.
Includes cycling both stationary and road, high incline elliptical, stair treadmill, rowing machine & swimming.
Then ice thoroughly & take ibuprofen so I can still walk the next day.
Also I like to sleep on my stomach with my feet hanging off the end of the bed to avoid prolonged plantar flexion at night.

markswife1992

look at MBT's (shoes)
they are a lifesaver

vilyda123

I tried everything but what helped me are insoles with arch support and cortisone injections.

icemom011

What worked for me, was wearing snickers as much as possible with gel cushioned insert, even inside, if you standing around, like while cooking or walking a lot. Before you get up in the morning, do a very good stretch, by pulling your toes as hard as possible towards the knees, you can use towel to help you pull if it's difficult, just put your foot into it and gently pull giving bottom of your foot a great stretch. When you have 10 minutes or so, even while at your desk or watching tv, basically few times a day, roll frozen water bottle. I found that Gatorade bottles are the best because they have ribbed surface and thick enough and don't break, so you can reuse them. Open one, fill almost full with water and freeze. When you roll it with your foot, put pressure on it, it will stretch the fascia and keep it cool, it's very helpful. And, very important, wear foot brace . I wore mine all day every day , they help keep fascia stretched and allows it to heal. I bought mine online, but you can find them in cvs now. It's just an adjustable piece that wraps around your foot. I never wore boot at night, it could be uncomfortable, but throughout the night, if you happen to wake up a little, just stretch again, pull your toes up towards the knee as much as you can. Good luck, op.

stephbaim

So to preface, I used to be an elite martial arts athlete and when I retired, I took up running to stay in shape and fell in love with it.

I have been suffering from PF for 15 months now. I was in the best shape of my life, then boom. The first podiatrist put me in a boot and scheduled physical therapy and I'm to sleep in a night splint. It seemed to help but it came back worse than before. Then we went the cortisone route with physical therapy again (still in night splint). Once the shot wore off it came back even worse than before. Orthopedic inserts are ordered.

Enter new orthopedic surgeon. I've developed tendinitis in my opposite leg knee due to the boot I was in. Put me on an oral steroid and then was told to get Active Release Therapy from a Chiropractor (still in night splint). The ART was good (painful), but my calves would be good one day and tighter than before the next and they told me it wasn't helping. In addition, I've now developed PF in my other foot and have sciatia. Back to doc #2, another round of steroid shots (one in each foot this time). He keeps saying "this will just go away on it's own."

I had a visit with my general practitioner doctor and she was not happy about the 4 steroid shots and 1 round of oral steroids. I gained 10 lbs with each steroid treatment. They have me on meloxicam for inflammation now long term.

I have started getting adjustments from a Chiropractor to my neck and spine. In just 3 weeks the sciatica is completely nonexistent. As a result I'm able to do yoga, which is helping keep my calves stretched. Usually the pain comes back 5-6 weeks after the cortisone shot, this weekend will be week 4. I'm still sensing some pain in my right leg, but my left (I pray) seems better. I'll know for sure in anther two weeks.

To be honest, it has been a horrible 15 months. I went from running 27 min 5ks (better than when I was a teen) to being told not to do any exercise. Even low impact workouts (if I'm up on my feet) seem to hurt. The stationary bike helps, but my right knee will tighten up after 20 minutes. I'd love a weight lifting routine I can do that will raise my heart rate but is very low impact (no plyo).

stephbaim

JanetYellen wrote: »

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

I have a pair of crocs flip flops that I wear especially indoors. They have the perfect arch support built into them. Walking bare foot seems to make the issue worse, so being able to have a pair of slip on shoes with gentle arch support really seems to help.

wizzybeth

JanetYellen wrote: »

Many people say crocs helps them. I would love to know why exactly.

stephbaim wrote: »

I have a pair of crocs flip flops that I wear especially indoors. They have the perfect arch support built into them. Walking bare foot seems to make the issue worse, so being able to have a pair of slip on shoes with gentle arch support really seems to help.

There is just something about the way the Crocs are made, the material, shock impact, whatever. I can even wear their wedge semi-high heel sandals without pain which is IMPOSSIBLE with any other shoe. Some Crocs feel better than others - some I put them on and I hate them. But the vast majority of my shoes - flats, sandals, and and even my winter boots are Crocs. I have sneakers that are OK and a pair of hiking boots that I wear if I'm going on rocky trails, but my feet get fatigued much more quickly when I'm not wearing Crocs.

I have tried different name brands - Soft & Flexible, Naturalizer, (flats) New Balance, Asics, Nike (sneakers), a couple other name brands that I picked up but can't recall...so far the best comfort I've gotten comes from Crocs and Nike.

lisalewis7588

I'm an orthotist (I make orthopedic braces including custom orthotics) and I see maybe 10 people per week with plantar fasciitis. No two people are alike and everyone needs different interventions or combinations of interventions to find pain relief. I would recommend seeing a good podiatrist. There are all sorts of home remedies but a professional will be able to find the root cause(s) of the problem (collapsing arches? tight or weak calf muscles? heel spurs? overuse? too much too soon? combination of any of the above?) and target the appropriate therapies (OTS inserts, custom orthotics, proper footwear, ice, massage, physical therapy, night splints, cortisone injections, heel spur removal, plantar fasciotomy, etc.).

acbraswell

I recommend using the Trigger point foot roller. I also like Oofos, which are similar to Crocs, but are made for recovery after running. They're super-supportive but not restricting. I've been battling PF since October. I bought a stabilizing running shoe from a local running store. Also as mentioned before, stretching, massage, and ice. Good luck!

Trigger Point foot roller: https://www.tptherapy.com/product/NANO_foot_roller
Oofos: http://www.oofos.com/

ekfulton

CROC flip flops were the only thing that helped. I wore them constantly - even in the shower and my feet healed within about 6 weeks. Now if I start to feel pain I go back to the crocs. I also try to never wear flat soled shoes.

_Waffle_

ekfulton wrote: »

CROC flip flops were the only thing that helped. I wore them constantly - even in the shower and my feet healed within about 6 weeks. Now if I start to feel pain I go back to the crocs. I also try to never wear flat soled shoes.

If you have PF you need to wear shoes all the time, even in the shower. Great advice.

jgnatca

All I can add to this conversation is that it takes a long time to recover from. The sooner you catch it and start stretching that achilles tendon, the sooner you can get back to running. AS SOON as the PF pain returns, stop wha you are doing. Walk (limp) the rest of the way.

wizzybeth

I rarely if ever go barefoot. It kills me if I am barefoot. I keep my Crocs flip flops by my bed for when I get up in either in the night or in the morning...even if it's just to go to the bathroom, I need my Crocs.

MelaniaTrump

Can someone give a link to what those croc flip flops look like?
I only have a walmart, and a small mall, so I guess an amazon link would be nice.

wizzybeth

You can sometimes get great deals on http://www.Zulily.com on crocs, much better than amazon or the crocs website, but that is hit or miss. Sometimes they have them sometimes they don't. But here is the crocs website: http://www.crocs.com

RodaRose

Here:
http://www.crocs.com/c/women/footwear
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=croc+flip+flops

wizzybeth

I actually like these better than flip-flops, as I don't like having the thong thingee between my toes, lol: http://www.crocs.com/p/crocs-meleen/11853.html?cgid=women-footwear-sandals&cid=05M#&origin=category&srule=CatPosition-SearchPlacement-Revenue7day-PRRating-PRReviews&start=49&sz=36&prefn1=variationSize&prefv1=&prefn2=refinementColor&prefv2=&prefn3=fitGuideFit&prefv3=&prefn4=lifestyle&prefv4=

Miles_to_Go

I had it for 10 years - miserable!! When I first got it (both feet, severe) I went to a podiatrist and got custom orthotics. that I then wore for all 10 years. When I first got fasciitis I also got steroid shots in my heels. That helped ease some of the severe inflammation, but it didn't go away entirely. Rolling my feet on frozen water bottles was helpful. Other than that, find shoes with firm arch support, wear custom orthotics, do not walk barefoot on hard flooring (at least that's what worked for me). Eventually it went away, but it's important to avoid re-injury.

ameliadlt

I bought these arch supports at sports authority and wore them in my tennis shoes for three weeks straight, worked great. I have flare ups now and again after too many days wearing sandals or shoes without arch support.
Rolling out my feet with Yoga Tune Up balls helps.

scolaris

I had a bad bout last fall.
I kept walking, but no running or dance :-(
I wore ONLY a stability running shoe outfitted with superfeet orthotics for an entire semester of substitute teaching.
I stretched and iced religiously.
When it finally passed after 4-5 months I tossed all my pancake flat fashion shoes, even if they were cute styles or quality leather. I've replaced them with supportive comfort brands like birkinstock and Ahnu.
I changed over to an arch support flip flop for wearing around the house and out to the trash cans or hot tub etc.
I keep a quality trail running shoe and hiking boot on hand for walks longer than a few miles. I have multiple pairs of superfeet orthotics I pop in shoes like Vans or Doc Martens. I replace the trail running shoes & inserts every semester.
So far, so good... I hope to never go back to that sort of pain.

NadiaMayl

Here is what I had to do:
-Podiatrist. Resulting in orthotic inserts for high arches.
-physiotherapist to get me in 3x week to do mean stretches and ultraviolet (or was it ultrared!?!?) lamp.
-at home, freeze a bottle of water and roll it from arch to heal 3x day for abou10min each time. Do the stretches the physio gives you.
-stay off high impact exercise until pain goes away.
-when healed, always keep up with your stretches
-don't walk barefoot... Find the right shoe for all, croc flip flops are the only ones which don't trigger plantar for me

Google stretches for plantar fasciitis, you'll find many good things. Avoid steroid shot, it's only short term and will only exacerbate issues.

Good luck, discipline will get you out of it!

Cheesy567

Capt_Apollo wrote: »

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.

Great diagram. Note the straight knee in the leg being stretched-- that's the key to stretching out your gastroc muscle. If you let your knee bend, you'll just be stretching your soleus. Plantar fasciitis is caused by a tight gastroc limiting the natural movement of your heel bone, and the added stress causes microfractures where the plantar fascia (soft tissue along the bottom of the foot) attaches to the other side of the heel bone.

Gel pads, icing, proper shoes will make it feel better, but stretching the gastroc will address the root cause of the problem.