Nurse with plantar fasciitis. Help?

A friend of mine has plantar fascitis and says that when she exercises regularly (I think on an elliptical, mostly) the pain goes away. Maybe the increased blood flow or something? I hear you that you are doing lots of walking already, but maybe actual, intentional exercise is different somehow.

Going to go against the grain of many of the comments. I am not a doctor, but this is what helped me. 1) Lots of self massage - calf, Achilles tendon, hamstrings, and glutes. 2) Switch to a more minimalist shoe, something that is lower to the ground and does not have any heel lift, and has minimal cushioning and a flexible sole (Nike Free or something similar will do). The special socks, and many of the stretches involve pointing your toes upward. Zero drop shoes prevent your toes from dipping below your heel while you are standing. My experience was that the muscles and tendons were tight and putting "slack" on my plantar fascia allowed everything to tighten up more, which is why the symptoms are worse when waking up or after resting off of your feet. Since I switched to minimalist shoes and began regularly massaging, I haven't had a flare up in 2 years. Oh and 3) Use and NSAID (Aleve is my go-to) to relieve swelling/pain temporarily, but of course long term use is a bad option (not good for the liver and kidneys).

Solution is Superfeet insoles, available at any running store. They give you support all day, so that you are not continually re-aggravating the condition, so that it can heal.
Worked for me. I put them in every pair of shoes I had, and I stretched, and I got better fast -- while still running quite a bit.

slinke2014 wrote: »

I don't know if anyone recommended them yet but Zionic brand shoes are wonderful! They have orthopedic soles and have everything from flip flops to boots. I started wearing them and my foot pain was greatly reduced.

and I meant Vionic shoes....not zionic LOL

Hello nurse, I got that from running overweight, do you have a strong hands husband, ask him to massage your feet while you stretch them, pointing your toes at you, he must apply some pushing with his knuckles, it hurts as hell but the pain will subside with days, also apply some muscle soar aiding roll on at nights, fascitis is the layer of the feet plant too tense.

Or, go to a therapist, they will put electrodes and relax it.

Oh..one more thing, roll your plant on a tennis ball, it feels totally unpleasant to the point of peeing in self but it absolutely helps the foot to release that tension and massage deeply.

Do it!

I feel your pain. I was recently diagnosed with my second encounter, I had no idea it would come back. Initially I was given some heel cups that worked wonders and while I could never locate any to purchase I was able to get a new pair from the internet once I found out what they were called Tuli's Heel Cups (they are not all created equally). I wore them almost all the time, except in the shower, I put them in my socks when at home and even slept in them for those late night trips to the restroom (no time to stretch before getting up). The pain lightened up much faster than I expected. I still wear the heel cups on occasion especially when I am going to be on my feet for long periods.

mystgrl1604 wrote: »

ladipoet wrote: »

Have you ever heard of or considered trying acoustic compression therapy?

First time I heard of it. What is involved?

Here are a couple of quotes from various websites I found when I googled it to find a definition for you:

# 1:

"Myofascial Acoustic Compression Therapy...is widely used in the treatment of acute and chronic pain in muscles, tendons and joints. MyACT describes the use of acoustic waves to target tissue at varying depths to compress and manipulate tissue resulting in a focused and precise deep tissue massage. The results of the mechanical stimulus delivered by MyACT can lead to increased circulation, range of motion and pain relief – key components in the healing process."

# 2:

"Shockwave therapy is a relatively new treatment option in orthopedic and rehabilitation medicine. The effect of shockwaves was first documented during World War II when the lungs of castaways were noted to be damaged without any superficial evidence of trauma. It was discovered the shockwaves created by depth charges were responsible for the internal injuries. This created a great deal of interest and research into the biological effects of shockwaves on living tissue. The first medical treatment developed from this research was lithotripsy. This allowed focused shockwaves to essentially dissolve kidney stones without surgical intervention. Today, over 98% of all kidney stones are treated with this technology. The use of shockwaves to treat tendon related pain began in the early 1990s.

A clinical shockwave is nothing more than a controlled explosion that creates a sonic pulse, much like an airplane breaking the sound barrier. The primary effect of a shockwave is a direct mechanical force. The exact mechanism by which shockwave therapy acts to treat tendon pathology is not known. The leading explanation is based on the inflammatory healing response. It is felt the shockwaves cause microtrauma to the diseased tendon tissue. This results in inflammation, which allows the body to send healing cells and increase the blood flow to the injured site.

Shockwave Therapy offers a cutting edge treatment for Tendonitis, Bursitis and Fasciitis. It is an FDA approved, noninvasive procedure that can be used to treat Tendonitis, Plantar Fasciitis, Bursitis, Calcific Tendonitis, Rotator Cuff Syndrome, Tennis Elbow and Golf Elbow. Shockwave Therapy is used as an alternative to Physical Therapy and uses a stream of pulsed sound waves to break up old scar tissue and promote blood flow back to the effected area. Many have shown a positive response versus placebo treatment and others have shown no benefit over placebo. No studies have reported any significant side effects when utilized for orthopedic conditions. Contraindications to shockwave therapy include bleeding disorders and pregnancy.

There are two main types of shockwave machines, low and high energy. High-energy treatments are administered in the operating room with regional or general anesthesia. Low-energy treatments are administered in the clinic and do not require anesthesia or injections. Dr. Berry currently uses a low-energy to mid range machine by placing the probe on the area of greatest tenderness and the shockwaves are delivered over 10-20 minutes. Occasionally, patients will relate mild transient discomfort at the treatment site. Patients are usually treated with 3-5 sessions separated by a week. Between treatments, patients are able to perform all normal daily activities. Some patients report immediate pain relief but the healing response usually requires 6-8 weeks."

Hope this information is helpful.