Plantar fasciitis- foot injury help please

njitaliana

I had it for 9 months. What helped me:

Superfeet orthotics (green) in all my shoes and slippers
Brooks Glycerin running shoes
Abeo sandals with built in arch support
Crocs flip flops with built in arch support (to wear in the shower)
Physical therapy (with a therapist who did rigorous manual work on my foot/calf)
Running the arch and heel of my foot back and forth over a golf ball (a tennis ball didn't help)
A nighttime splint to steady my leg/foot
Elevating my foot in a recliner


What didn't help:
Cortisone shot
Acupuncture
Tylenol
Advil

mulecanter

Had it. It sucks. Went to podiatrist, he prescribed a heavy-duty anti-inflammatory and a stretching program. Recovered quickly, ran marathon. Some are not as lucky.

armymom5

One other thing that I forgot to mention that worked well for me was Herbalife Joint Support. A friend suggested it and I thought it couldn't hurt to try and it worked wonders for me. I still take it 3 times a day.

nickle2dime

Orthaheel shoes! Wearing orthaheels saved my feet and changed my life. I wear them inside and out. I have a few different pairs. As soon as you put your foot down in the morning, slide them into your shoes. They even make house slippers. Wear them all day every day! I tried a few styles to find the ones that felt right, but a lot of that is due to having a wide toe box and very narrow heel. Almost all shoes slip on me. That is why all the orthaheels I wear are either backless or have an adjustable heel strap. These shoes saved my feet! I have zero pain now. It didn't take long for it to go away, either. These shoes are made for this! Dr Weil recommends them. I bought my first pair at a local specialty store so I could try on several at a time. This was more expensive than buying online but I wanted to see what they were like. Now I buy though Zappo's. Good luck to those suffering!! Give Othaheels a try!

Lots of styles!
http://www.zappos.com/vionic-with-orthaheel-technology

beanie1119

I had really bad PF in my left foot. I tried a few things including physical therapy. I tried the shoes, nothing. The therapy, nothing. So finally one day on a whim I got on one of those dr. scholls machines and it read my feet and pin pointed my pain. I bought the inserts they suggested (50 bucks). After about a month of wearing them, I was walking around and had been sitting for awhile and realized as I was walking I didn't feel my normal pain in my foot. I was thrilled. Ever since then I have made sure to wear the recommended inserts from dr scholls. I dont care if they are 50 bucks cause they are sooooooo worth it for me. Hope you find relief if you havent already.

alathIN

I had PF about 2 years ago. It did take me about a year to get through it, to where it doesn't bother me any more.

There seems to be a lot of individual variation in what helps and what doesn't. Here's my experience:

Completely stopping running DID NOT help for me. What wound up working was to continue running at a reduced volume and reduced intensity - consider each run as an extended warmup for the stretching, which is the real workout.

Stretching did help - I have gone through several different versions, most foucing on the calf, hamstring, and the foot itself. The Rubz ball is nice. Icing also helps. Some of the stretches I more or less invented myself and mostly involve sitting on my heels with my feet and toes in different positions to stretch different areas of the foot.

The Strasbourg sock helped me a lot. You can get this on Amazon. The problem with PF is that your foot flexes as you sleep, and the fascia starts healing in this shorter, flexed position. Then you wake up and take a step, and tear up all the healing that happened overnight. The Strasbourg sock keeps your foot in extension, so you can heal. This does not have to be worn super-tight or cinched back hard.

The steroid injection was like magic... for about two weeks, then the pain came back as bad as ever. I would not do this again as it doesn't really do anything for long term healing, and having injections increases the risk of PF rupture.

Orthotics didn't help me at all. I know a couple of guys who swear by them, but they are now wearing orthotics all day every day. It seems to me that orthotics don't really help heal the problem, they just do the job your PF is supposed to do for you.