Who has plantar fasciitis? ugh

I have it. Regular massage on the calf helps a lot, so does wearing good shoes all the time. I'm rarely barefoot anymore. Also keep a towell or belt near your bed and stretch your foot before getting up in the morning. A dr can prescribe and anti-inflammatory that helps and go see a podiatrist for custom orthotics. It will heal over time.

I do, I do. And it SUCKS. A tip a physiotherapist told me was when you wake up in the morning, before you get out bed, to stretch. She suggested spelling out the alphabet with your foot. It stretches your heel area without retearing. It seems to have helped me out. I also wear orthotics. Best investment EVER. Good luck

I used to have a lot of pain from it but once I started wearing inserts in my shoes it hasn't bothered me much since. They make braces you can wear to sleep in that stretches the foot to alleviate that pain and also stretching exercises help, you can find some online for p.f. just google it, hope you find relief soon

I have it and wear custon orthotics in my work shoes, but can get away with no orthos in my running shoes if they have really good arch support (=$$$$$$). To my knowledge it doesn't ever "go away"--you will always have it and will be prone to painful flare-ups if you don't take care of your feet. Having said that, I rarely have foot pain now that i wear the proper shoes and my orthotics--I do still wear cute heels from time to time, but I make sure I won't be doing a lot of standing or walking when I wear them. I also make sure to buy sandals and flip flops w/ good arch support--I even go barefoot most of the time at home w/out repercussions. Bottom line--take care of your feet!

Hi
There are many things you can do to treat your plantar fasciitis. I had plantar fasciitis for about a year and I discovered that treatment is individual - Things that work for one will not always work for the other. The good news is that you have many treatments you can try but you must be persistent and patient.
I have found a good plantar fasciitis treatment review website in:
http://www.plantar-fasciitis-elrofeet.com/How_is_Plantar_Fasciitis_Treated.html
There are many self care treatments ideas in there but I think you should consult a podiatrist before you do something.
Icing or cold therapy is used to reduce inflammation so if you want to reduce your pain symptom you can apply ice. I prefer to roll a frozen water bottle.
Take care

I had tried everything and was still having some pain. I went to a running shoe store to have my gait checked. It turns out i over pronate very badly and my shoes gave me no support. I got the right shoes and some super feet and have had almost no pain since, even when running.

You need to ice, keep a sock on and use coke bottles they fit the foot perfect! Ice for about 10-15 minutes at least 2x per day. Also, stop motrin and switch to Aleve, same basic medicine but the Aleve is an over the counter version of what my foot doc was going to prescribe for pain, take 2 every 12 hours for about a week and then reduce that to one every 12 and then one a day and then none as the pain gets better.

KEEP MOVING, one of the biggest misconceptions is that you shouldn't do anything when in fact not doing anything makes the problems worse. Walking is best until you get it under control, make sure ifyou pronate or have flat feet you need to get a good insert for your shoe to help keep your arch and the tendons in the correct position.

I used an arch wrap, you can buy them in the foot care section of walmart for about $5 each, I slept in them, this keeps the tendon along the bottom of the foot in its proper position over night and will help eliminate the first thing in the morning out of bed tear.

OF course stretch, you can find plenty of exercises and stretches online.

I had it so bad that I could not walk on anything but my toes on my right foot for about 2 months and it was chronic pain for about 6 months and after being very diligent with the icing, I ice after every run now, and taking aleve (I take one if I feel any onset of symptoms), wearing tennis shoes everywhere and getting good inserts from my doctors office, not the cheapy ones in the store (the ones from my doctor cost less and were better quality for sure) I can say that I can now wear sandals or dress shoes out and FINALLY go bare foot in yoga again and I have been absolutely pain free for over a year.

Hemlock2010 is soooo right, orthotics will help, they can be expensive, I went with the insert from my doctor and started buying shoes that fit my foot type better and it made a world of difference right away. I didn't find any true relief until I went to the foot doc and found out exactly what my foot issues were and how to properly correct them.

I had surgery to fix mine. I had a extreme case though. I was told by my podiatrist that sadly weight is a factor. The more weight you have the more it compresses the nerves. I also have the orthotics, and I wear them at work only now, just because. I am a surgical tech and am on my feet all day. It is an easy 10 minute surgery with a 1 inch scar. I did the injections, taping the feet, stretches, even a cast to keep the foot in the stretched position. nothing helped. but after surgery, good as new!

I have had it for over a decade and a half - - when it's been super bad I have to take Schiff Glucosamine & Chondroitin - that brand and Solgar brand work to HEAL it. Can't say it ever goes away, but I wear Crocs all the time and I do my cardio on a really thick jigsaw interlocking mats from Nefitco - 1.1" and they work really well for running at home barefoot and all my exercises. When it's been acute the G & C really help! Give it a try - but only those 2 brands. I've tried other brands without success.

My two cents in addition to all of the good advice you've already gotten here...

I had it for years, exercised through pain for years. Didn't take care of it and ended up with posterial tibial tendon dysfunction (PTTD), which means that I have no tendons in the bottom inner sole of one of my feet, now placing extreme pressure on the remaining tendons on the right side, and with extreme limitations for high impact exercise. Will need to push at Kaiser to get the surgery necessary for any type of correction.

if I'd taken care of the PF, would not have ended up in this boat - wearing custom orthotics now helps, as does physical therapy. There are a slew of exercises that I do every morning. Wish I'd learned about all of this earlier - it would have made a world of difference. Good shoes, special exercises, good orthotics, all might have prevented this.

Good luck, however you decide to handle it!

I had pf for a good 6 mos to a year. Came on when I started running more. Sucks!! This is usually caused by tight calf muscles. You need to stretch your calves several times a day, and before getting out of bed in the morning as your calves tighten back up overnight-then you step down and re-injure it every morning otherwise. You MUST not go barefoot. You need constant arch support. I bought some flip flops specifically for plantar fascitiis from footwear.com that I wear in the house always. With stretching calves several times throughout the day and always wearing shoes with arch support, mine Finally seems to have gone away. Be patient. It does a long time. I started doing lots and lots of biking while I healed. Good luck! Oh, and be careful of those cortisone shots - they can cause permanent damage to the fascia.

Let me offer a bit of a contrarian view. I have suffered from foot issues including PF for years. I have worn orthotics for decades. I have learned the hard way that orthotics are NOT a good long term solution. They make your feet weaker and weaker. The main reason podiatrists stand behind them is they make a LOT of money on them. Anyone who wears orthos long enough will tell you that the pain eventually comes back, especially if you are an active person.

I am now in the long process of weaning myself off the orthotics and letting my feet strengthen by using them as god intended - mostly barefoot and also wearing Vibram Five Fingers shoes. I am making slow steady progress and hope to be pain free within the next month or so. In addition to the change in footwear, i stretch daily, use some specialized massage tools and try not to over strain my feet.

Here are a few resource that you may find helpful:

This guy has gone through a similar process and has tried many different solutions and reviews them here. Pretty comprehensive. Worth reading if you suffer from PF whether or not you subscribe to my beliefs.
http://www.ronjones.org/Coach&Train/BodyXerciseLibrary/SpecialConditions/PlantarFasciitis.html

Here are great stretches to help:
http://www.heel-that-pain.com/videos.php

This is a very detailed and illuminating article on shoes, how to walk, and how to identify your particular problem areas:
http://www.eatmoveimprove.com/2009/11/shoes-sitting-and-lower-body-dysfunctions/

I hope this helps and you can find relief without resorting to orthotics, surgery, etc.

Best of luck!

Gabriel

This is a great thread. I've been having foot pain for a few months now and didn't know what it was or how to describe it. I'm still not 100 percent sure I have PF (haven't seen a doc to get diagnosed) but from the research I've done on my own I'm pretty sure... A lot of great advise is offered here and I will personally take better care of my feet especially the stretching and taking anti inflammatories. I don't want to wear special shoes because I would like to solve this and still be able to walk barefoot without the pain. So it's a learning game of what works for everyone individually... Best of luck to everyone, and to the OP I'd like to hear what you've tried so far and how you're coming along.

I injured that muscle years ago by stepping on one of my daughter's toys

STRETCHING is the only thing that helped me...I could not walk in the morning when I got out of bed without stretching first (and yes, every step throughout the day had some pain)...you might also avoid any shoes that shorten that muscle (like heals) for the time being!!!!! and avoid any shoe that does not support the middle of your foot and arch (like flip-flops)!!!!!!!!!!

I stretched several times a day...it took months for it to get better...but it finally did get better!

Insoles, keen brand shoes, etc. It all helps, but today I actually woke up pain-free for ONCE in 4x months.

I even stood up out of bed and walked without an ounce of pain. I think I owe this all to Jillian Michael's Yoga Meltdown Level 1--I did it last night before bed. I am SO adding this to my w/o routine 3x a week! If you are tight all over or you have Plantar Fasciitis DO THIS WORKOUT NOW! o__O