Plantar fasciitis..

You don't want to hear. Mine took months.

Shoe inserts can help.

I have struggled with plantar fasciitis for 1.5 years. It's absolutely horrible. I have tried everything. Cortisone shots, insoles, stretches, physical therapy, ibuprofen, Hoka shoes and minimal shoes. I feel like it is somewhat better now that I bought Foot Wakers on Amazon (comes with a video). Also, I just tried prolotherapy with a naturopath and she stated she has seen good results with it. I would try the last two methods. Good luck.

Sometimes wearing a shoe with a higher heel will help with the pain as it takes the tension away from the heel/ shortens the achilles tendon. Keep doing the stretches long term and remember to do them every night before bed, as tendons tighten up during sleep and inactivity. For me, wearing different shoes with an inch higher heel did the trick and continuing to stretch keeps it from coming back.

Msjournie wrote: »

How long will this uncomfortable pain will last. When it first happened I did a lot of calve stretches, and now my calves are not tight like they were. I've also done a frozen water bottle roll.
Is there anything else that can be done?

I got myself over it in 2 weeks. Roll your foot over a ball, any ball, as often as you can to stretch out the muscles in the bottom of the foot. It hurts at first, but will feel much better as the muscle lengthens. I used a golf ball. Most say to use a tennis ball.

You might want to try

A) swimming regularly - that sorts my PF quickly and keeps it at bay. And good for you in so many other ways...

and/or 'hanna somatics' (google it) if the stretching approach does not work

Lots of 'tense/use muscle then glide ie relax muscle' in good technique swimming - might be why it works, similar to hanna somatics?

The balls/stetch/arch approach didnt do it for me....

PF is a huge pain in the butt, but here are a couple things I did to relieve the symptoms:

1) Light leg stretches morning and night. The goal is to gently relax and soften the tightened muscles that are causing you pain, so you shouldn't do anything extreme. Ankle exercises are good too, but again, be gentle.

2) After a shower or a nice Epsom salt bath, use cold packs on the affected areas. This helped so much with my PF and tendonitis.

3) Go see a speciality shoe seller and get the right fit for your feet. Old and ill-fitting shoes often make PF worse.

4) Take it easy for awhile. You shouldn't have to give up activities you love, but be gentle with yourself. PF takes time to heal.

That's about all I know. When I went into the doctor to get my PF looked at, they were barely any help at all. So my at home care plan took at least a couple months before the pain started to go away, but I haven't had a problem with it since.

I rolled my foot over a tennis ball or a frozen bottle and stretched out my calves regularly...also used a night splint...

I wouldn't bother with a Dr for plantar fasciitis, physio therapist or podiatrist are your best bet for treatment. Best stretch is to sit with foot on opposite knee and pull ball of foot towards you.

Msjournie wrote: »

So the weird thing about my foot is when wear sandals (which is all the time) yes my foot hurts but not too bad tolerable.
I put tennis shoes on and I feel like I'm gonna die of pain.

Actually, it's not weird and may be part of the problem. The plantar faciitis is actually caused by inflammation of the tendons that run across the bottom of your foot (from heel to toe). If your everyday footwear has no arch supports, but your workout shoes have high arch support, you are most likely stressing the tendons farther then they are used to going every time you jump into your tennis shoes and then go for long walks.

Msjournie wrote: »

How long will this uncomfortable pain will last.

Truthfully, it depends on what is causing the inflammation and what your willing to change to avoid it, but even mild forms can take months to fully resolve. For some, like me, it's a life long pursuit of managing my issues to prevent flair ups.

If the pain is lasting all day and not resolving itself as you move around, you pretty much just need to rest, ice and OC anti-inflammatory meds for now. Be prepared for it to take a couple of weeks if you have a tear that needs healing. In the meantime, work on things that may have caused the issue in the first place.

Stretching - Don't just concentrate on your calves, stretch the foot as well. This article shows different options with great explanations http://www.athletico.com/2012/05/09/plantar-fasciitis-solutions/

You may also consider a night splint/sleeping boot. These devices will keep the foot flexed through the night to keep the calf muscles, achilles tendon and plantar fascia loose to avoid the irritation of stiffness first thing in the morning.

Reconsider your shoe apparel. For starters, you may consider finding an athletic shoe with a lower arch support. You may also want to consider everyday shoe wear that has better arch supports.

Beyond that, if the issue doesn't show signs of resolving in a couple weeks with rest, Ice and stretching, you'd be best to go see a podiatrist. They can better diagnose what may be causing the plantar faciitis in the first place.

i had it and went to "the good feet store" got arch supports and got relief instantly...I MEAN INSTANT. I wore them about a year and took them out of shoes and have had not further issues. My brother did the same and 2 colleagues did the same

Msjournie wrote: »

Thank you everyone!

So the weird thing about my foot is when wear sandals (which is all the time) yes my foot hurts but not too bad tolerable.
I put tennis shoes on and I feel like I'm gonna die of pain.

When I had mine it was the same except that my low-heeled boots were all that were comfortable. The boot at night and the stair stretches were probably what helped the most.

Everything that everyone has said, I have done. Mine flared up again 2 years ago from running in new (but not stability) running shoes. It took 3 shots (1 in November, 2 the following July), a night splint, rolling on a frozen water bottle, rolling on a wooden ball, stretching so your heel goes below a step, and getting rid of all of my unsupportive shoes and sandals, no matter how much I loved them. Oh, and I had to give up running totally for MONTHS. I took up water fitness and lap swimming.

So after two years, I am still wearing a splint at night, rolling on a ball 2x a day, swimming, and doing the heel stretches--all as preventative measures. Mine finally stopped after the second shot in July, but I am SO careful and attentive. I am running 1x a week, and in the pool for the other days.

Be patient. Don't push it. PF needs TIME...