Plantar Fascitis, omg what do I do....

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Replies

  • megannnn15
    megannnn15 Posts: 36 Member
    Exercises for your feet to help you:

    Stretch, Stretch, Stretch!! Your muscle is pulled tight and tearing! Scar tissue is building up making it more difficult to stretch and there you have a recursive problem. You need to stretch it out. Find a golf ball or tennis ball and roll it under your arch with your foot. Do this every day while you're sitting. I've heard of people who do this in my office when sitting at their desks. When you wake in the morning, do this before standing up for at least five minutes.

    And of course, doctor, doctor, doctor. Good luck!

    This is definitely amazing advise, this will help you long term! Good luck!
  • tracyriener
    tracyriener Posts: 1
    megannnn15 below said it best! Stretches are extremely important. Before getting out of bed in the morning you can use a towel, that you keep nearby to pull the top of the foot back to stretch the calf through the achilles. Do several reps of stretch and relax. Wearing good shoes for exercise and for daily activities. The ball under the foot rolling on the floor feels great! My plantar has recently flared again so I have had to go back to the stretches. It helps but takes time.
  • Im_NotPerfect
    Im_NotPerfect Posts: 2,181 Member
    The show brand Danskos are the BEST for PF. They are spendy, but completely worth it! Also, don't walk around without shoes on...that can aggrivate it.
  • RevCO30
    RevCO30 Posts: 176 Member
    Chop your foot off! Just kidding, I had a bout with PF last year and I know how excrutiating it is. Unfortunately it lasts a long time. Did the doc tell you to roll your heel on a can of frozen juice a few times a day? It helps some, the cold helps numb the pain a little. It sucks but you just have to kind of wait till it goes away.
  • conniemaxwell5
    conniemaxwell5 Posts: 943 Member
    If you can find a chiropractor or physical therapist that does a therapy called dry needling, go! I had a severe case of plantar fascitis for about a year and ended up walking with a cane for a short time. I went to a physical therapist who did several treatments of the dry needling and it was completely resolved and I've had no recurrence for about a year now. If you can't find someone who does this therapy, you might try acupuncture. They are similar but the areas they target are different somehow. The dry needling targets the actual muscles that are involved and I'm not sure what exactly acupuncture targets. Good luck - I totally understand the pain you're in and how it limits your ability to exercise!
  • murdie
    murdie Posts: 85 Member
    I had it about a year ago. It is horrible!!! My podiatrist recommended some exercises and I did them faithfully and it was gone in less than 2 months! Look on the internet and you can get exercises..do them! I actually had a broken foot on the left and a heel spur on the right at the same time! good luck!
  • perfectionisntme
    perfectionisntme Posts: 205 Member
    I bought a pair of orthodics to help with arch support.
  • flyithi
    flyithi Posts: 8
    I had this about 15 year ago from not wearing shoes around the house and I agree it was absolutely horrible. I tried everything; ice, PT, better shoes, stretching and custom orthodics (which hurt and don't fit in many shoes). Then I came upon Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy (ESWT) at my podiatrist, It took 30 min in the office, didn't hurt and I was pain free almost immediately. I walked all over Disney World that summer without a problem. It was controversial back then and I don't know if it's still around. Right after I got it, the office told me some insurance companies stopped covering it because it wasn't researched enough but I would have paid anything. I hardly ever go barefoot now and replace my tennis shoes fairly often. I have to really limit wearing flip flops/sandels in the summer because I get a slight feeling of it with no support. Good luck to you.
  • ogiesmom
    ogiesmom Posts: 25 Member
    bump for later, I have that problem too
  • WVprankster
    WVprankster Posts: 430 Member
    When I was diagnosed with PF, the first thing my doctor told me was to stop running. I called bull****-a reasonably fit 32 year old man can't perform the basic movement necessary to save himself from a rampaging beast? Eff that. Strapping myself into a ridiculous boot or having to use "special" shoes? Double eff that. I shouldn't need outside stuff to fix my inside. So here's what I did, and what has worked in the long-term.


    I backed off. I did purchase new insoles my my daily and athletic shoes. "spenco" or something similar. They helped. I iced my foot a few times a night for a few nights a week. The real issue was two-fold: heal the damage I'd already done, and prepare for more exercise. To make this happen, I started to stretch and strengthen my calves through foam rolling and weights, respectively. I also up'd my hydration to a gallon a day- I routinely see the bottom of a plastic Gatorade bottle I use for water (One of my students called it "Ghetto-ade"). As the pain lessened and I loosened up, I took my shoes off. First, just sitting barefoot in front of the TV. Then standing for extended periods of time. A walk across my apartment complex. All reasonable. I then took the insoles out of the athletic shoes, and used the insoles only while at work. Still no pain. About six months ago I got rid of the insoles entirely, and made the jump to zero-or low- drop casual and athletic shoes. I have not had any instances of PF since at least December.

    TL;DR: Ridiculous boots are ridiculous, regardless of the (apparent) success posters have had. I got rid of much "shoe" over th course of a year and half, and can now avoid rampaging beasts at a moment's notice without wincing.
  • cynthiatwayne
    cynthiatwayne Posts: 71
    I live with this. When it first came on four years ago, and I let it get to its worst before doing anything about it, walking was excruciating and I limped everywhere I went. As you probably know, It's hard to limp with both feet!

    My mother's doctor told her and myself (both afflicted with PF) that you can't wear sneakers. You just can't. If you can bend the shoe in half, you can't wear it. You need something with a heckuva arch support and anything spongy enough to bend isn't enough. Once the pain goes away for some months you can try wearing sneakers during workouts like I do, but it took me a long time before I got to that point. My feet no longer hurt when I wear my work-out shoes and I can even walk around the house barefoot for a short period.

    I recommend Danskos if you can afford them. They're unfortunately expensive but I wear mine two years at a time. I wear them every day, nothing else. No sneakers, no cute shoes, no heels unless it's for less than two or three hours MAX. They are the only shoes I wear for any day-length period. I admit that I don't like clogs, but they work and keep my feet from hurting and allow me to stay on my feet. (I admit though, I was so far gone that even walking in Danskos was painful for a week. The hard soles take getting used to as well if you're accustomed to the cushioned soles of sneakers.)

    If you can't afford Danskos, talk to a doctor about any other brands. Some people have had luck with orthopedic inserts, but personally I was too far gone for those. Remember: if you can bend the shoe, you can't wear it.

    Exercises for your feet to help you:

    Stretch, Stretch, Stretch!! Your muscle is pulled tight and tearing! Scar tissue is building up making it more difficult to stretch and there you have a recursive problem. You need to stretch it out. Find a golf ball or tennis ball and roll it under your arch with your foot. Do this every day while you're sitting. I've heard of people who do this in my office when sitting at their desks. When you wake in the morning, do this before standing up for at least five minutes.

    And of course, doctor, doctor, doctor. Good luck!

    Tennis or golf ball YES...or freeze a water bottle and roll it when hard and frozen...ices and rolls at the same time. And you CAN run again....just may take some time. and stretch out your calfs...extremely tight calfs create foot issues.
  • kandrews24
    kandrews24 Posts: 610 Member
    Lots of great advice here. I went to the Good Feet store and bought arch supports. I put them in my shoes and problem solved. It took several weeks to build up my arch strength. They have arch inserts in different colors and ones that work with all sorts of shoes.

    http://www.goodfeet.com/

    How I can go without them and be pain free, but I don't dare make a habit of that.

    When I first put them in, it felt like I was walking on a golf ball. So funny because I could see it was like 1/4 inch or something.

    I sure hope it gets better. It is really painful and debilitating!
  • Shays0518
    Shays0518 Posts: 51 Member
    I had this in both feet and after PT, and splints and boots and everything else I finally had surgery on both feet several years apart. Long story short with lots of work and rest and now losing 30+ lbs I'm good!
  • rbeckner711
    rbeckner711 Posts: 161 Member
    I had it years ago. I ultimately went to a podiatrist who set me up with hot soaks, ultrasound and taping. Once I responded well to these therapies, he made me orthotics. It eased enough that I was able to go on a walking tour of Europe that I had planned.

    Good luck.
  • morielia
    morielia Posts: 169 Member
    Did you see a regular doctor or a podiatrist? If the former, go see the latter immediately. If you saw a podiatrist, find a new one. He should have given you anti-inflammatories (like celebrex) and some stretching to do and probably a set of orthotics.

    Every time before you get up, stretch your heel by straightening your leg and trying to point your toes to your face as hard as you can. Hold for 10 seconds, then relax, and repeat for a full minute.

    Periodically stretch your foot on the stairs, basically like doing calf raises, but just let your heel drop off the stair and sink into it. So stand facing going up the stairs with your heels hanging off (hang onto something) and sink down.

    I did all of this with no improvement, but YMMV. I ended up having to get a steroid shot. I wear very minimal orthotics now and haven't had a problem since. They're not super expensive - about $70, they're custom fit to my foot, and they've lasted me a couple years now.
  • ecw3780
    ecw3780 Posts: 608 Member
    go back to the doctor and ask for physical therapy. I kept being told I had plantar fascitis, and it turned out I had tendonitis in my posterior tibialis muscle, and a calf that was full of knots. They can do ultra sound therapy and give you other treatments to help.
  • _Lori_Lynn_
    _Lori_Lynn_ Posts: 460
    w
  • Cassea7
    Cassea7 Posts: 181 Member
    I had this for over a year..OUCH!:sick: I know it hurts to walk..I went to one physiotherapist..didnt help much at all..Then I found a new physiotherapist..She cured me!! Self massage calves everyday..And stretch calves and then walk on tip toes to strengthen and then massage again..Also press your foot onto a tennis ball..Also put heat on your calvesYou will get better if you do all this:smile:
  • llaskoske
    llaskoske Posts: 21 Member
    That's actually an inflammation of the plantar fascia and is only a symptom of the real problem, which is a torn ligament in your heel. When the muscle tears away from the heel bone, the bone grows a little bit to hold onto the muscle. After a while, you get what is called a 'spur'. It never goes away and can require surgery. Relax, though, I've had a heel spur for about 30 years. When it acts up (usually due to being flat-footed and going barefoot too much or from wearing non-supportive shoes), I thrown in the Dr Scholl's arches and use sport tape to support my arch at other times. It calms down in a few weeks, and by putting arch supports in all your shoes, or buying shoes with support in them, you can keep it at bay.
  • Jennical
    Jennical Posts: 219 Member
    Bump to let hubby take a read later....
  • garnet116
    garnet116 Posts: 144 Member
    Mine comes back right away if I walk barefoot (or even with socks) on my hardwood floors. I always, ALWAYS have to wear shoes around the house. And not just any shoes, either my running shoes (that are really supportive - moderate stability shoes that I was fitted for), Orthaheel flip flops, or Orthaheel/Superfeet insert insoles in my shoes. Even my "slippers" which are just Croc Mammoths have Orthaheel inserts in them. Good luck!

    Between SuperFeet Green insoles and night splints mine is slowly going away this time but I'm still going to look into Orthaheel sneaks or the Merrels that were also suggested in this thread. I get to go shopping tomorrow! Hubby is of course going to want me to get the least expensive thing that will still help, so we'll see what I end up with...

    I LIVE in Orthaheel Tide flip flops all summer. They are fantastic for PF. I had tried 2 other Orthaheel sandles and didn't feel they were as supportive. You can order a pair from Zappos and if they don't fit you can send them back. I am looking forward to wearing them again as soon as the weather warms up!
  • yustick
    yustick Posts: 238 Member
    You have a lot of advice here. Your head is probably spinning a bit, you can't do all of it.

    I too have been struggling for years. The PF led to a large heel spur, which is more pain. Just started Active Release Therapy with a chiropractor. It seems to be helping. He had me change to a very flexible shoe...Merrell Mix Master Move Glide, which is completely the opposite of every thing else I was told. H said the more rigid supportive shoes didn't allow me to walk naturally and my heel was absorbing the pressure. So this shoe may be more for the heel spur than PF.

    He also has me doing exercises to strengthen specific small muscles in my feet.

    Good luck. Maybe it will help you to know that you are not alone.
  • Kimbie500
    Kimbie500 Posts: 388 Member
    I second the supportive shoes at all times advice. I didn't want t buy/wear those rigid plastic boots to sleep in so I ordered some elastic supports here: http://www.fs6.com/. I believe they really helped. I'm between their sizes and got the smaller one - my feet would sometimes go numb in the middle of the night and I would wake up just enough to take them off, so I wish I'd have gotten the larger size.

    I also iced and stretched and shelved running for 6 months - it was OK, I could still bike ad ride my horse, but I'm now rebuilding running stamina and it blows!

    Good luck to you!
  • dianesc67
    dianesc67 Posts: 32 Member
    I had shots at first , which worked well, then he made me custom supports for my shoes. Always wear a good heal, dont go barefoot ever. It took about 3 months of wearing my supports in my shoes, before the pain disappeared. My weight loss helped too I'm sure!
  • DterMined2012
    DterMined2012 Posts: 540 Member
    I have PF and have had flare ups for several years....flarring now and it is a killer!!! Started ibuprofen 800mg today have taken it twice today and gonna start a medrol dose pack in the morning...I stayed off the treadmill....did elliptical for a short time tonight and my foot is feeling better...just wonder what it is going to feel like in the morning...almost couldn't take a step this morning;....it hurt really bad!!! .I am a nurse and walk alot during the day and my foot kills me...think I best get the Danskos!
  • thingamabobby
    thingamabobby Posts: 1
    I personally don't have PF, but I had horrible shin splints and horrible lower back pain. Thought I needed orthotics, but man, they were super expensive. Did a little research, found the concept of barefoot running/general shoes. Being of the science-y mind, I was skeptical - I've been wearing supportive shoes all my life!

    I got a pair for work, which I walk all day in, and within two weeks my lower back pain near enough disappeared and I've started running again with minimal pain. I've still got a bit of work to do to un-learn years of my foot muscles being lazy (which is what general shoes do - support the foot, making it so the muscle doesn't strengthen).

    Going barefoot re-trains your feet to walk and run the way the body was design. You're not designed to strike the ground heel first, but mid-foot, rolling into your toes. Your arch is supposed to be the 'spring' action to take the jarring action, not the heel.

    Research the idea if you're curious. I personally buy a shoe called Vivobarefoot - www.vivobarefoot.com. They've got some pretty good YouTube videos that show you how to go about running properly again.
  • Alkirra
    Alkirra Posts: 142 Member
    Birkenstocks all the way and new balance runners with orthotic inserts (cheap from your local supermarket )
    The burk's ttook 8 weeks for me to get used too without pain. Slowly does it star 1/2 hour a day.
    The new balance. Take the insert out and put in the one mentioned above. Walk for at least 10 minutes
    And increase as you can on a daily basis.

    I now don't suffer from plantar. Good luck
  • Kamile69
    Kamile69 Posts: 87
    After 2-3 weeks of inexplicable heel pain, I went to the foot doctor.... I have plantar fascitis. He made a little support thing to wear, which helps very slightly.... two weeks later I still have the problem.

    Now I was never much for exercising, but now I feel like I can't even if I wanted to... and now it hurts to even WALK.

    I looked up online a couple exercises to try to do to improve it, and I'm wearing good sneakers all the time.

    Any other advice?
    When my doctor diagnosed me with pf, he sent me to a physio, who then discovered that I have nerve bundles in my lower back that are sending messages down my legs and mostly my feet saying 'don't walk'. Now, I not saying this is what your situation is, but through physio 2x a week, plus accupuncture, plus stretching exercises, I am now feeling much better than before. As others have said, it takes time, patience is definately needed! Good luck! :flowerforyou:
  • Eat2Win
    Eat2Win Posts: 123 Member
    My husband is an avid runner who will run thru any type of injury, but when it came to PF, he was overwhelmed. I was truly amazed
    that this one slowed him down. He tried different running shoes, all sorts of inserts, even spoke with a chiropracter friend and nearly
    went for all the Xrays etc on the foot when we came upon an ad for a special ball for rolling under the foot there in the arch. As soon
    as he got it, he began to roll it when waking, when resting, whenever he could. Although it didn't heal instantly as fast as he wished,
    he did begin to run again and continued to use the ball as he had begun and even with the ball and running small jaunts, he healed.
    We highly suggest giving this ball a try. It is called FOOT RUBZ.....on ebay item number 261037968978. He was up and running and even ready for a half marathon now :) Best wishes to all needing this.
  • jc4mee
    jc4mee Posts: 40 Member
    Just like so many others, I've had the same thing. My podiatrist started out hitting it with all of the remedies, ice, NSAIDs, stretching, boot and rest. Prior to the foot pain I was working out 60 to 90 minutes most days of the week and I went down to doing nothing trying to get it healed up. I wouldn't say that was the best method though. I would suggest biking and swimming for exercise, but stay off of your feet as much as possible. Now, I went for several months with the pain and only went to the doctor when it got so bad I could hardly walk and it took me close to a year to get over it. Just now I am getting started back exercising. So far, I'm working out in the water and on the elliptical with no ill effects. I don't think that I will do much (if any) running.

    The doctor advised me to wear good athletic shoes all of the time, which I did, but with them I still had a little bit of pain. When I switched over Easy Spirit shoes is when the pain totally disappeared. I've even bought Easy Spirit walking shoes and they are much easier on my feet than the Brooks shoes I was wearing and they are about 1/2 the price!

    Do be sure to take care of your feet because they have to carry you around for a lifetime!!

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