Plantar fasciitis

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Replies

  • chelny
    chelny Posts: 179 Member
    MIM49 wrote: »

    Yes. I think the stretching exercises have caused more microtears in the fascia as pain has increased 10 fold since starting exercises. I am doing a lot of icing, resting, and wearing the splint. I have inserts but have found Birkenstocks give the most relief. So far 2 different podiatrists have not done much. Both say it can take awhile to get better.

    I'm sorry to hear that. It sounds like a really bad situation.

  • brenn24179
    brenn24179 Posts: 2,144 Member
    I have had it and my hubby also. He took cortisone shot, I didn't. He got some expensive insoles but later got some at Walmart for about $50 which did just as good, I did the same. It got better, comes and goes but we have not had it for a long time now, like years since we have had it. They had a machine there you stand on and it tells you the insoles to buy.
  • cupcakegirl81
    cupcakegirl81 Posts: 2,030 Member
    Mine was so bad I couldn't sleep. I went to the podiatrist and had some inserts made. Total life saver. It is completely gone, now. I still wear them on walks, but I don't have to wear them all the time.

    Also, stand on a step with your toes and lower your heels. It's a good stretch for the pain.

    Good luck.
  • Crafty_camper123
    Crafty_camper123 Posts: 1,440 Member
    Since shoes like birkenstock are giving you relief you might look into other orthopedic shoe brands as well. One of my favorite is Alegria. Most of thier shoes have removable & replacable footbeds that accomodate orthodic insoles. But thier stock insoles mold to your feet for a supportive, custom fit too. Other brands too look into would be Dansko, & Klogs. You might mess around on this site, there are tons of reviews of shoes of various brands and styles pertaining to all kinds of foot issues. Here's the Plantar Fasciitis page
  • TheBigFb
    TheBigFb Posts: 649 Member
    Ok, Tennis Ball helps. Achilles tendon calf stretches, Foam roll your Calves, freeze a plastic bottle of water. And INSOLES in your shoes
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    i always start the night with the splint on, but it typically comes off around 2am because its uncomfortable...

    first thing in the morning i do the toe flex exercises as mentioned above; i also spell letters with my toes - it helps to break up the lesions that form over night

    also finding a massage therapist who does a) graston or b) myofasical release was like a night and day improvement
  • allmannerofthings
    allmannerofthings Posts: 829 Member
    Custom made orthotics - solved the problem not immediately but quickly and completely they were about $500 for the pair, but covered by my insurance - but i would happily pay that for the difference they make
  • ChrisCatMama
    ChrisCatMama Posts: 1,038 Member
    I have it. Ended up going to a podiatrist - he’s amazing. I got orthotics- still use them since I am flat footed.We tried a night splint. I slept like a baby with it but didn’t provide much relief (it helped some) I went to physical therapy but it didn’t help. An mri revealed a torn band in my foot and I had to wear a special boot. This was right before Thanksgiving and I had to keep it on til sometime in January. I’m still wearing what I call a sock bandage. (It’s like a footless sock the doctor measured out for me)
    This all started last June! I still do foot exercises (like others suggested) and only do low impact cardio workouts.
    I hope yours isn’t as bad as mine and heals up soon!
  • gentlygently
    gentlygently Posts: 752 Member
    Mine went away when I took up swimming - I am guessing all that kicking streched out my feet/calves etc.

    I do yoga now - so my ham strings are very much more flexible, so are my calves and my feet muscles are stronger. Haven’t had PF in a long while.

    There is a school of thought on PF that insoles can help but do not fix the underlying problem (weak arches, tight leg muscles) that you might want to read up on (look into barefoot shoes etc).

  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
    Shot
  • rafeno760
    rafeno760 Posts: 2 Member
    I, unfortunately, have suffered from this for a year. $430 insoles, $130 running shoes, stretch every day multiple times, mobility (shin rolling, lacrosse balls, smashing calves, spikey balls to the feet, massage, etc), and daily ice baths.

    I wear crocks in the shower; never barefoot.

    (pro tip for rolling out calves.: sit with both shins on the carpet, and put a hard stick, foam roller, lacrosse ball in between your butt and your calves. Sit down to apply more pressure, slowly work up and down.)

    PF sucks *kitten*. once I get to 4-5k steps my feet are throbbing. I have more PF of the arch but I do feel it emanating from the heel, just not sharply. I am healing though.. I think... I am strong AF tho. Working on ankle stability, lots of one-legged exercises, balance exercises.

    good thing is that I have lost 20+ lbs and am losing more, anything to take the stress off my feet.

    Single legged calve raises (with the toes dorsiflexed) is the way to go, SLOWLY (3 sec up, hold 1-2 sec, then 3 sec down). 15 times per leg. As you add weight (in the form books in a backpack), decrease reps.

    Start off with two feet then move to one as you gain strength.

    Night splints suck *kitten*, they are noisy, cumbersome. maybe now I can stick with them consecutively now that it is warming up. Podiatrist said "meh" to using them.

    Cheers if any of this helps.
    I can provide many examples of mobility exercises if anyone is interested in them. :#
  • Diatonic12
    Diatonic12 Posts: 32,344 Member
    edited May 2019
    I learned to tape my feet with athletic tape and/or kt tape. The athletic tape worked better for me because I could get the tension just right. I did that for a year, every single day. I started swimming to take the pressure off. I could run in the pool but not on the road. Eventually, after the weight came off I could walk without the pain and no longer needed the tape. I did use some walkfit inserts, too.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jQv_CipqyU
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,281 Member
    edited May 2019
    thank god mine is gone.. maybe it was the weight loss.. but really when I purchased shoe inserts from Target of all places.. it started to fix my feet. They were not dr. schools.but some brand in the shoe dept. they were pink and were not the full length of the shoe..they just went into the front of my shoes and supported the arch.

    Before that I tried all the stretching.. I found dangling my foot off my bed at night helped too. But mine lasted a few years. oh..also buy new shoes all the time..don't let them get over six months old