Anyone else suffer from plantar fasciitis???

Hello there!

I too have suffered from the dreaded Plantar Fasciitis. It was so irritating and made my life pretty miserable. I tried all sorts of things and ended up going to the Podiatrist who as well as stretching and icing told me to get some Orthotic Insoles. I looked around and was tempted with a custom made pair but at $300 I couldnt quite afford it, Instead I opted for a pair of "off the shelf" ones. I tried a couple of pairs and they didnt really work then a friend suggested another brand she had had success with. They were only $20 so I though I would give them a go and I am so glad I did. I felt almost immediate relief and was back running in a matter of days. I couldnt recommend them enough - www.footlogics.co.uk

Ughh. PF!

Have had it off and on for the past 7 years or so. 3 incidents caused a week of absolute bed rest while hoping on one foot to and from the bathroom.

The last of which was so severe my achilles was affected. I went for tests at emergency as I feared I had a partial tear in the achilles.

Results were not clear of a tear but the Dr. said my achilles was definitely inflamed and swollen. I was on crutches for 2 weeks.

The pain was out of this world! No amount of icing, anti-inflams or excercises helped. In fact, stretching it made it quite worse and may have prolonged it. Once it is injured enough to the point of not being able to walk all I can do is rest. Anything else makes it worse.

Now that I'm dropping weight I hope it never comes back.

I've got it. I wear orthotics in all of my shoes except for heels and I'm good. I don't go barefoot or wear sandals. It does hurt after several hours on my feet but the orthotics are a godsend. I need to get a new pair every 2-3 years because they wear out though and they're not cheap.

ETA: I also bought a home ultrasound machine on amazon for about $80 and use it on myself rather than the $25/visit treatments from the doctor. It's incredibly helpful and the doctor said I was allowed to do it but that most people don't because they're afraid they're not allowed and because they don't know how inexpensive a machine can be. Just make sure to always use proper ultrasound gel or ultrasound lotion.

I had a bad bout with PF when I first started running. I sometimes get twinges these days, but I know better how to nip it before it gets bad. I found really helpful information and an orthotic at http://www.heel-that-pain.com/

As soon as I got the PF down to a dull roar I went to a "running store" , not the local shoe store, and the staff there selected shoes for me. Not as affordable as the $29.99 sale special, but much relief when running or walking.

A woman I work with has had surgery on both feet. I believe I have had as much relief as she has had and no cutting involved. Just my opinion.

I have PF ... hate it!!
On the advice of a co-worker who suffers from it as well, I now (1) take ibruprofen, (2) ice my foot for about 15 - 20 minutes after I workout, and (3) massage my foot before I go to bed at night.
The mornings are much easier when I do this ..... on those days when I'm rushed and don't bother with it, I can definitely tell when I step out of bed onto my foot the next morning!
Good luck!!

My massage therapist recommened rollong my foot over a golf ball a couple of times a day. That cleared it up really quickly when nothing else had worked.

OP, how are you getting on?

I have successfully got back into my exercise over the course of the week. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday i did 1 mile runs. Thursday a 10 mile bike ride. Friday I had a rest. Today I ran 5k, and tommorow i'll likely do another 10miles on the push bike.

I have been stretching my calf/soleus as well as the plantar facia a couple of times a day and massaging my foot. It's infinitely better.

I'm so glad to be back exercising again. I missed it dearly.

I have dealt with it in the past. I stopped walking/jogging and just focused on rolling a frozen water bottle under my foot. I stand up a lot for my job and the water bottle exercises made it go away. I even had stitches in my foot for a week after Easter and last week I was able to walk a 4 mi trail with ZERO foot complaints.

I've had PF for a few years now. When I started running in 2006 I had awful shin splints (my feet turn inwards like a bandy legged pigeon, I was 5st heavier than I am now and I had rubbish trainers on). I went and saw my friend who is a pod and he said I needed orthotics as my arches were virtually non existent, just Orthaheels from Boots, they were about £28. Since then I have worn them in all my shoes.

However, a few years ago I did some exercise (netball or running) and my heels hurt, thought nothing of it. Until I got out of bed the next day and found I couldn't actually stand up, had to crawl to the bathroom and literally drag myself around for the first few hours of the day. Since then I have kept replacing my running trainers (from a proper running store AND asking my pod), regularly replacing the Orthaheels and rolling my foot over a tennis ball after exercise. I find this bit helps the most, and I will do the same when I get out of bed in the morning after exercise. I play a lot of netball as well as running amd treadmill etc at the gym and my feet can hurt all day if I don't roll over the ball. The biggest flare up came during London Marathon last year, meaning I had to walk/shuffle from Mile 11 until the finish (devastated but glad I finished it!) I looked into the overnight boot but thought I would try and manage the problem with tennis ball rolls, stretching and occasionally resting it (my least favourite part of recovery). I am a student during the week so being on my feet isn't too bad, but on Saturday when I work, the 8 minute walk to the bus stop is agony. However I am not allowed to sit down behind the counter so I might have to find a new job!

I got it in December (last year) and it put an end to my running, I had to pull out of a planned 5k and 10k because of it, no exercise for weeks and lots of pain. I still can't run, Doctor has told me to give it up or I'll do more damage. I do spinning now instead, much less stress on my heel. I found stretching it out with a belt in the morning and rolling my feet on a tennis ball really helped. I also got an insole for my trainers when I'm at the gym, which was made to measure by a Podiatrist. I'm lucky in that I don't get any pain unless I run, so while I was gutted not to be able to run anymore, it was worth it to be pain free.

Even though I don't get much pain now I still really stretch well in the morning and before and after exercise.

I've been dealing with PF for a couple of weeks. Kinda brought it on myself by walking too long too fast straight out of a long winter indoors. Add to that I've had both knees replaced. Doc said I'll have to give it a couple of months to see any noticeable improvement (really?!). For now, therapy includes heat, ice, arch supports in my shoes, a 'boot', rolling, stretching and massage. I use the treadmill for only 10-15 minutes, but I can stay on the elliptical (zero impact) for about 30 minutes before the pain is intolerable.