plantar fasciitis?

littlekitty3

I've dealt with it and ran a marathon with it. I don't recommend that haha. But this is what I did to alleviate the pain and strengthen the foot and surrounding area.
First and foremost, if you can get a hold of electroshock/wave(whatever they want to call it anymore) therapy, do it. It works wonders on a lot of the tendonitis I had.
Next is to get a boot/special sock that keeps the foot in a flexed position all night so that it doesn't tighten as soon as you wake up.
Keep shoes off in the house (idk I was told to do that and I am the type of person that never takes shoes off for some reason)
Get a golf ball and roll your foot on it, it might feel like there's bubble wrap or something (best description I can give).
Wrinkle a hand towel up with your toes.
Pick marbles out of rice with your goes.
Do ankle strengthening exercises if you also had ankle problems in the past (especially Achilles/IT band issues in the past.)
Stretch your calf also
Stretch the bottom of your foot by flexing the foot and bending the toes back far enough to feel a stretch.
Get better shoes/orthotics, especially if you're on your feet a lot.

I have also experienced pain on the top of my foot when I had PF. It could be a variety of things for this, either your arch is too high or your shoes are too tight.
PF is normally at the bottom of the foot. Sometimes you can get it in the heel (also could be a bruised fat pad).

Cherimoose

Here's my question for you: What is the dysfunction higher up, in the pelvic/trunk area that is causing this pronation down below?

Over-pronation often originates in the feet. For example, here's an interesting study showing that children are more likely to have flat arches if they wear shoes vs. walk barefoot:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1624509

Anyway, i'm interested to hear what the podiatrist says on Monday.

halleymw

You can't diagnose plantar fasciitis from an xray. You may have a heel spur, but many people with no pain at all can have a heel spur. The us could show thickening of the area so could conceivably help with the diagnosis, but the symptoms certainly do not go along with the diagnosis. PF is mostly a clinical diagnosis. OTC arch supports are just as effective as $700 ones, so unless your insurance covers it I would not buy one for PF. If there is another diagnosis, then a custom orthotic might be worth while.
Mike

stuart160

Morton's Neuroma is what it sounds like you may have

tabithalobster

When I had PF it was worse first thing in the morning - in fact I could barely bend my foot to walk when first getting out of bed. It loosened up during the day. doc suggested heel insoles, and advised it wiuld improve, but over several months. I used gel insoles, and it has improved over last few months so now it has almost completely gone.

Reading your post I am so grateful for our NHS here in the UK!

runner359

I would try other options first before buying $700 orthodontics. The exercises are important to do consistently, google this. Also you can get these plantar fasciitis "boots" from most drugstores. The are for sleeping in and will help. It takes time to work through this so don't expect results in a couple weeks.

GoodLittleEater

Over-pronation often originates in the feet. For example, here's an interesting study showing that children are more likely to have flat arches if they wear shoes vs. walk barefoot:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1624509

Anyway, i'm interested to hear what the podiatrist says on Monday.
[/quote]

That's very true that shoes at a young age can affect our development. I guarantee you your feet alone are not the only thing affected. Especially if you've been demonstrating pronation since childhood.

ironman1431

Hi,

Your symptoms do not sound like PF. PF is typically worse in the a.m. when you first step out of bed, then eases up a little throughout the day. Pain on the top of the foot is not PF.

Whether you pronate, or supinate, have flat feet or high arches, it does not mean you require custom orthotics, or a stability shoe or whatever. IMO, custom orthotics should only be used in cases of extreme biomechanical issues/anomalies (pes planus, pes cavus etc.), or leg length discrepancies. Typically in my practice, 90% of the injuries to the lower extremity are from overloading the tissues (your body will adapt to the stresses put through it provided those stressed do not exceed its capability to adapt), or poor movement patterns, and/or weakness somewhere else along the chain (hips, knees etc.).

Sounds like you may be overdoing it and not resting adequately? Additionally, the research evidence (i.e. Randomized blinded trials, unbiased, published research in medical journals) for custom foot orthotics is not very robust for long term injury prevention in "normal" anatomical feet (unless you have a heel spur, or other medically diagnosed anatomical anomaly), nor does it suggest that custom orthotics are necessarily better than over the counter. Think of it this way, if you broke your arm, you wouldn't spend the rest of your life in a cast, so why rely on foot orthotics long term for this bout of foot pain?

I would get a couple of second opinions from various health care providers before you spend $700 on something you may not necessarily need. Good luck

thinbeautifulnonsmoker

Yes, it sounds like plantar fascitis. You can get it in the heel or the arch and it sounds like you have it in the arch. I had a case of it which I resolved in 1-2 months by 1) staying off of it for a brief period (a few days) 2) changing to minimalist shoes and going barefoot as much as possible intermittently with 3) wearing some special socks called Feetures (which are amazing !!) and using some over the counter arch supports which cost less than $20. I did not see a doctor, I merely researched it on the internet and then took steps to solve it -- and it worked. Now I can run or walk without pain. I still use the minimalist shoes. It is often an injury that is a result of overweight and maintaining a healthy weight is the best long term solution.

buzz3d269

Thanks for the continued replies

So, I saw the podiatrist yesterday morning. He has told me that he doesn't believe it to be plantar fasciitis, he said that the ultrasound showed a slight inflammation (about 4.1 instead of the normal 4), but not enough to call it plantar fasciitis.

He believes that it is overpronation, and that custom orthotics is the only way to correct it. He also believes that the pain that I'm getting on the side and top of my foot is unrelated - the ultrasound showed a small cyst (possibly ganglion? can't remember, he is mailing me a copy of the report, but I don't have it yet). The small cyst is apparently nothing to worry about, but is likely what is causing that pain. Normal treatment is to get it aspirated off.

For now, I have held off on the custom orthotics, I just don't have that spare cash hanging around. I have gotten a referral off him to see a clinic that specialises in fitting running shoes to runners, apparently it involves meeting with a podiatrist who will analyse how I run on a treadmill etc. This is something I was thinking about regardless, as I've felt for a while that as I'm getting more active, I should get some decent shoes. I may also use this as a "second opinion" to see what they think about the overpronation and the cyst - knowing now that pain in both parts of my foot is not because it's about to break in half(!) etc means it's bearable until I figure out what to do...

Thanks again for all the replies, I will continue to do a lot of the exercises and relief techniques mentioned regardless!