Plantar Fasciitis is making my life miserable.

I wake up limping. I come home from work limping. I go to the gym limping. Anyone else here have trouble with Plantar Fasciitis? Have you tried anything that has worked?

Replies

  • Oh noes....that sounds horrible! All i can recommend is some hot tea, a good movie, and a break from working out. If you have any muscle relaxing bath stuff that would prob work too. (i had some once and cant remember the brand, it works amazing.)
  • iryshjones
    iryshjones Posts: 79 Member
    Go see a podiatrist. You may need orthotics, if not there are exercises you can do. There is also a splint type cuff you can wear at night that will stretch out the tendon. All 3 have helped me tremendously. Good luck
  • LLS88
    LLS88 Posts: 4 Member
    I recommend visiting a physiotherapist. They can show you how to strap your foot to relieve some of the tension. Once you know how to strap it, you can buy tape and either do it yourself or get someone to do it for you.

    I'm a medical student, we were recently shown how to strap for plantar fasciitis in a training course...I strap my friend's foot before we train and she has said it makes a huge difference.

    Good luck
  • Bob314159
    Bob314159 Posts: 1,178 Member
    I started getting in one foot 2 months ago and stretching is helping. My personal experience is that most orthotics are a scam - I know someone who gets good orthotics and no way I can spend what she spends to get them.
  • gpstrucker
    gpstrucker Posts: 930 Member
    I did have that problem. Exercises and the right shoes helped me a lot.
  • reneeot
    reneeot Posts: 773 Member
    all the above!!!

    And what I do for clients as massage therapist is strip out the calves. And massage the achilles tendon.
    Lay face down and have someone press thumb into calf, slide up from ankle to knee(repeat several times over entire calf). Its painful, but effective! massage achilles between thumb and pointer finger. Dont over massage. Same thing with calf strip through entire calf only 1 or 2 times.

    Repeat 2-3 times a week.

    If you loosen calf muscle that will take tension off achilles tendon, which will relieve plantar fasciitis.

    Works best is you dont over exert while doing treatments for 10-14 days.
  • KT tape and better shoes. I would take a short break before hopping back into exercise, though.
  • ubermensch13
    ubermensch13 Posts: 824 Member
    See you doctor and get prescription inserts. My wife struggled with it for months until then, after a few months of using them religiously, she is fine.
  • hooperkay
    hooperkay Posts: 463 Member
    yep have had it. Need good shoes. Can get inserts for shoes for heel pain, they help. You can sit. Put bad foot on your other knee. with one hand gently hold toes in your hand and pull toes back. with other hand rub down arch of your foot. The tendon on the bottom of your foot tightens when you have PF and massaging it will help. Also don't walk around barefoot. It takes a long time to heal. A poditrist will offer injections for foot. I don't like medication so I didn't get them, but the massaging really helped with pain. Finally went away after like 8 months.
  • Jongfaith
    Jongfaith Posts: 195
    I used to work at a foot massage spa. Go to your doc, rest it as much as you can, stretch and get it rubbed! Got a significant other? Fab then its free! otherwise seek out a friendly massage therapist to work that out once the inflamation has gone down.

    Plantar Fascitis is very painful so baby your feet as much as possible... Good luck and feel better!
  • lostemt
    lostemt Posts: 152 Member
    Get a bottle like a soda bottle the smaller one. Then roll that along the bottom of the foot and and will help. Also what I a have done is sit on a flat surface and straighten the leg out grab and elastic band or even small towel and put around the ball of the foot and pull it forward. This will stretch it out. Like the others said may want to see a dr to.
  • AlissaFL
    AlissaFL Posts: 80 Member
    Yes! I have had this since 2003. I had to see a physical therapist in order to get some relief. Once I did that, I have been able to maintain on my own- massage, wearing supportive shoes, watching for fatigue, etc. Arch supports won't solve the problem, but they will help prevent it from coming back once your done with the PT. Also, I started doing yoga and all the balancing has helped strengthen my arches, so I rarely have any pain. Good luck to you, I know how bad it hurts. I would 100% start with a PT before I did or bought anything else.
  • bathsheba_c
    bathsheba_c Posts: 1,873 Member
    For me, regular stretching was enough (the UK's national health service website has good recommendations). If that doesn't help, then I would see a doctor to learn about taping, proper shoes, etc.
  • AlissaFL
    AlissaFL Posts: 80 Member
    Oh yeah and I wouldn't go the injections or expensive custom arch support route either. My PT used hydrocortizone cream and an ultrasound (I know, I thought it was odd, but it did work- something to do with the frequency used) on my arches. The ultrasound heated it up, so it would absorb faster. Then I had to do some foot exercises which weren't hard especially since I wasn't in pain. All in all I went twice a week for 6 or 7 weeks, so not too much of a time investment. : )
  • Diana35bha
    Diana35bha Posts: 292 Member
    The only thing that worked for me was prescription inserts!

    The 1st time I got some I had to go private as they weren't available on the NHS and they were very very expensive, but the pain relief was immediate. Several years later I started with pain again, this time the GP referred me to an NHS physio who got me free full length orthotics. These are now reviewed annually.

    Good luck

    Di
  • xiofett
    xiofett Posts: 138 Member
    Get a 20 oz plastic Coke bottle, fill it with water and freeze it. When you have a flare up, use it as a roller on the floor, the bottle shape fits the foot pretty well. The rolling will help stretch the fascia, the cold will help with the inflammation (the -itis part of fascitis). When you're not having a flare up get a tennis ball and roll your foot over it just like you did with the bottle. Don't use your whole body weight, but do put as much weight as you can stand on it.

    Go find a massage therapist that specializes in sports massage or medical massage. You're not going to find these at a salon or a spa, you'll need to find someone working with a chiro/PT office. That's where I got the tip above.
  • bimpski
    bimpski Posts: 176 Member
    i suffered for years. this is the only thing that helped me...

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001B5JVIA/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00
  • misscoup
    misscoup Posts: 1 Member
    This may be late, but hopefully it will help. I had struggled with the same thing for 3 years and these are the things that I found that have helped tremendously. I saw several physical therapist and found one that helped and stuck with him.
    ---never walk barefooted
    ---get orthotics made.
    I had one set made from a podiatrist and one made from a good physical therapist. The podiatrist made one I wear all the time now but it was the one made from the physical therapist that got me over the hump as it had a soft top and worked with what shoes I was wearing at the time. Be aware of the over counter insoles. I spent a lot of money on these types first (along with different shoes) before I realized that the over the counter arch and my arch did not match up and therefore putting more pressure on the heel side of my arch where the pain was the most.
    --wear night splints
    --increase range of motion of your ankle. I have a chiropratic adjust my feet whenever I went in, which is about once every 2 months.
    --once you find a good shoe that works with the insoles, buy mutiples. I change shoes about every 6 months.
    --stretch your feet and calves before you get out of bed, then continue to stretch throughout the day (you can google this to see what you need to do
    Good luck
  • twoboysnmygirl
    twoboysnmygirl Posts: 161 Member
    I'm so sorry! I got PF in January this year and it was so excruciating! There were days that I was in so much pain and SO frustrated that I had to stop running and couldn't work out. BUT, that's what I had to do. I did all the things you are "supposed to", I have inserts, went all summer without flipflops and wore my tennis shoes instead, ice, stretching...you name it...and the bottom line is that it is an injury that just takes a LOT of TIME to heal. Taping helped as well, and after 9 months, I am FINALLY able to run again!!! WOOT! I have to go slow and be careful b/c I can still feel a little bit of tenderness when I push it too much, but it's healed enough that I'm not in constant pain anymore.

    So, my advice would be to rest. :/ I know it's not what you want to hear, believe me, I was so frustrated that I finally wanted to exercise and my feet wouldn't allow it, but I believe it will heal eventually and the quicker you rest them, the faster they will heal! Good luck to you.
  • aylajane
    aylajane Posts: 979 Member
    I am so sorry! That is some horrible pain! I had it years ago and at the time only steroid pills for a week relieved it, and only temporarily. Tooks MONTHs to go away. Nothing like jumping out of bed to turn off the alarm in the morning and screaming when you feel the pain and fall flat on your face.

    Now, to prevent it, I do wear good orthotics (I have very flat feet, which also contributions to some knee issues) but they were not expensive - under $30 on amazon, Protech Powerstep full length, bought a pair for all my shoes). I also do stair heel stretches (where you stand backwards on a stairstep with your heels hanging off and lower yourself below the step a few times).

    I keep a tennis ball under my desk and during the day (without shoes) I roll my foot longways and sideways over the ball for a mini-massage. It strengthens your arch muscles and can actually help you "grow" an arch over time. This was courtesy of my chiropractor - who can also use an activator thing on your arch to help get things started. The chiro can also do the Kinesic taping and a few other things to help - they dont do adustments only in your back, they can also do your ankles and a few other things that seriously help. If you have never been, find a chripractic "wellness" center and go for the full evalutation. Assuming you have ruled out medical issues for just about any kind of pain you feel, they do wonders. My son's orthopediest told us one of his legs were shorter than the other and encouraged surgery to stop the growth plates in his leg to let the other one catch up... Luckily we missed the "window" and his growth plates were too far closed, because we then went to the chiro and once she fixed his neck and back issues (ortho said he had scolosis too, should have been our first clue about the leg thing being wrong) his legs were "even" - surgery would have just messed him up worse. I was 41 when my back issues finally caused me to consider going to a chiro, but in the end she fixed my headaches, knee pain, feet issues,etc. They have a terrific understanding of how your muscles are attached and how one underactive muscle causes the others to compensate to the point of pain in a place that is not where the issue really lies... they fix the real issue - activating the lazy muscle - and the others get to relax and the pain is relieved. They are very realistic and practical and I cant speak highly enough about their whole body approach. At least the one I found is incredible! And insurance covered way more than I thought...

    Anyway, my infomercial for the day :) Good luck! I feel for you! If you want a start - google "chiropractor plantar fasciitis treatment" there is a youtube video that shows you some massage techniques!
  • jaimatjak
    jaimatjak Posts: 4 Member
    We were just having a talk about plantars and my neighbor changed her shoes to a wider size. You can get wider sized shoes at Payless. She recommended New Balance shoes as well.
  • Nic620
    Nic620 Posts: 553 Member
    Podiatrist! ASAP! I got cortisone shots in my foot & got orthotics made. Totally helped. Once I lost weight that helped. I got it towards end of my pregnancy and it carried until & I delt with it until my daughter was about 4 months. It was horrible! I'm so sorry for anyone who has it it's really is horrible!
  • That happened to me. It takes patience and time to recover. Go see a podiatrist. I had to wear a contraption on my foot at night that kept my foot tendon stretched and had to tape my foot - you can find how to do that online too, but a podiatrist will help you with that too. And I run with orthotic inserts. It took a while for it to get better. You can google exercises to help ease it as well, but definitely go see a podiatrist as soon as you can.
  • mdmorgan25
    mdmorgan25 Posts: 15 Member
    My son is a college athlete. I had a lot of trouble with my feet when I started working out and he told me to get a tennis ball to stretch my feet. His rationale is simple, there are muscles in your feet that are being worked too. Anyway, I started using it and it cured the pain in my feet. All you do is roll the ball around under your foot for about 10-15 mins every day until the pain is gone.
    Best wishes!
  • jonibc
    jonibc Posts: 104 Member
    I've been dealing with this for more than a year. I ignored the pain and kept doing my workouts until it got to the point that I just couldn't do it anymore. I had to get a cortisone shot in my heel, then be on cortisone pills for a little while. Had to wear a brace in the daytime, a boot at night. I've been doing the stretches several times a day and I have no more pain. But if I get up in the AM without stretching first, I still feel a twinge. I am very careful now to wear shoes with good arch supports. I had to give up yoga for now because I can't exercise barefoot. I'm hoping that, as I lose more weight, it will become less of a problem. I encourage you to go see a podiatrist and don't make it worse by ignoring it like I did. but beware, my insurance would not pay for the brace, boot, or custom orthotics. I've been able to do without orthotics by choosing shoes with good arch support.
  • bcv30
    bcv30 Posts: 2
    Ive had first hand experience! I'm a marathon runner and last year I could hardly walk. After months of being in pain I finally went to the Dr. and was given a night splint. After wearing it every night I saw the pain start to go away. I don't wear the splint anymore unless I have a flair up. Good luck!
  • Here is what works for me:
    1. Plantar Stretch three times a day. You can see how to do it online at www.runnersworld.com (video section, injury prevention sub-section, feet and ankles sub-section)
    2. ice right after run
    3. reduce running distance or intensity until it is under control
    4. keep the daily Plantar Stretch up even once it is cured
  • jaimatjak
    jaimatjak Posts: 4 Member
    Hi there,

    Often when I am experiencing Plantar Fasciitis, it's my body screaming for 'downtime'. I go to bed early that night with a pillow under my foot to elevate it. It often occurs when I've been pulling late nights and not allowing myself enough sleep.

    You must stand a lot. Take a break.:drinker:
  • Bukawww
    Bukawww Posts: 159 Member
    I've had PF since 2005. i didn't know it was a 'thing' until 2009. I just thought my feet hurt. I can't afford to care how much they hurt, though...I need to lose weight. I can't step into a doctor's office expecting them to fix me if I am still carrying around an extra 80lbs.

    So for now, I ice it, ibuprofen, roll it out, stretch, and wear Birkenstocks most of the time. I also wear these weird looking shoes by Terox...they are my waterproof option and great for when I need more cushion in my step. I am still walking/running, etc...some days, I have to crawl to the bathroom, other days its just a hobble. After 9yrs, I'm kind of used to the pain. I just started Stronglifts 5x5 and the squatting is not my favorite since you push up from your heels, but the stronger I get, the smaller I get, hopefully the more able I am to heal this crap.