Good Lord... is it Plantar fasciitis??

juliekaiser1988
juliekaiser1988 Posts: 604 Member
edited December 19 in Fitness and Exercise
I have an appointment set with my son's Sports Medicine doc on Thursday. My "phone a nurse" thought my symptoms sounded like Achilles tendonitis, the Sport Doc says it sounds like plantar fasciitis.
Am I
Pain in the lowest part of my heel but NOT the underside of my foot. The very back of my foot, low- right where it starts to round under the foot.

Hurts the day after running, and lasts about three or four days. Makes it difficult to walk during those day, and I'm feeling pudgy from not getting exercise for the last few weeks from running- then laid off for days on end.

ideas? Thoughts? Opinions?

Sitting here with my foot on ice at the moment. Can't take ibuprofen or aleve (stomach issues).

Am I doomed to no more running forever???

Replies

  • Citygal212
    Citygal212 Posts: 11 Member
    Does it hurt when you get up from sitting for a while or first thing in the a.m. when you get out of bed? I had it last summer in both feet, (in the bottom of the foot) and the pain was worse in the morning, I was hobbling around for the first half hour. I still feel it if I sit for too long. It does get better, look online for PF stretches and you can always get one of these socks you sleep in that keep your foot in a flexed position. it helps.
  • mimieob
    mimieob Posts: 54
    sounds like the pain I had about a year ago, ER Dr. said PF and showed me some excersises to help...now I work 5 - 7 hours on my feet and go to the gym regularly with no more pain...i just stand with feet together and rise up on balls of my feet several times a day, 4-5 times each time, like anytime I am just standing, like when cooking, washing dishes, or whatever....good luck, you can google other exercises, it will take time but it does get better...very bad cases need surgery
  • dianacrum
    dianacrum Posts: 67
    I have heel spurs....plantar fasciitis and it sucks....BUT you are not doomed forever!! My doc did a cortisone shot (which I recommend only if you are in SEVERE pain and want an immediate fix)....it is VERY painful and burns like the ****ens!! However it does provide immediate relief. My doc gave me "braces" that I wear to bed at night and they are a BLESSING!! As long as I wear them I am pain free :) And my pain is not near the arch of my foot, it is closer to the back of the heel.
    Good Luck :)
  • juliekaiser1988
    juliekaiser1988 Posts: 604 Member
    Does it hurt when you get up from sitting for a while or first thing in the a.m. when you get out of bed? I had it last summer in both feet, (in the bottom of the foot) and the pain was worse in the morning, I was hobbling around for the first half hour. I still feel it if I sit for too long. It does get better, look online for PF stretches and you can always get one of these socks you sleep in that keep your foot in a flexed position. it helps.

    Yes, it's worse when I sit for a while then get up and in the morning. Why does the flexed position help when sleeping?
  • juliekaiser1988
    juliekaiser1988 Posts: 604 Member
    sounds like the pain I had about a year ago, ER Dr. said PF and showed me some excersises to help...now I work 5 - 7 hours on my feet and go to the gym regularly with no more pain...i just stand with feet together and rise up on balls of my feet several times a day, 4-5 times each time, like anytime I am just standing, like when cooking, washing dishes, or whatever....good luck, you can google other exercises, it will take time but it does get better...very bad cases need surgery

    Thanks for the info. Seeing the sports doc on Thursday afternoon. I'm hoping this is what he'll suggest- some types of stretches/ exercises. He told me 20 minutes ice, one hour off until he sees me Thursday.
  • juliekaiser1988
    juliekaiser1988 Posts: 604 Member
    I have heel spurs....plantar fasciitis and it sucks....BUT you are not doomed forever!! My doc did a cortisone shot (which I recommend only if you are in SEVERE pain and want an immediate fix)....it is VERY painful and burns like the ****ens!! However it does provide immediate relief. My doc gave me "braces" that I wear to bed at night and they are a BLESSING!! As long as I wear them I am pain free :) And my pain is not near the arch of my foot, it is closer to the back of the heel.
    Good Luck :)

    That's me too- not the arch, but the very back of my heel, really low.

    Wonder if they'll do the brace idea on me?

    It's just so depressing to finally get motivated and excited about running, and did my first 5k two weeks ago, and now I'm benched!
  • dianacrum
    dianacrum Posts: 67
    I have heel spurs....plantar fasciitis and it sucks....BUT you are not doomed forever!! My doc did a cortisone shot (which I recommend only if you are in SEVERE pain and want an immediate fix)....it is VERY painful and burns like the ****ens!! However it does provide immediate relief. My doc gave me "braces" that I wear to bed at night and they are a BLESSING!! As long as I wear them I am pain free :) And my pain is not near the arch of my foot, it is closer to the back of the heel.
    Good Luck :)

    That's me too- not the arch, but the very back of my heel, really low.

    Wonder if they'll do the brace idea on me?

    It's just so depressing to finally get motivated and excited about running, and did my first 5k two weeks ago, and now I'm benched!

    No worries doll....its fixable!! Keeping the foot in the flexed position (esp. overnight) keeps the plantar fascia stretched out and avoiding the pain in the AM or after long periods of not being used when it then tries to stretch out again! :)
  • ninepoundsonly
    ninepoundsonly Posts: 1
    You need to consider ESWT - Shock Wave Therapy. It is an approved treatment both in the US and the UK which works by sending (unfeelable) shock waves through the plantar fascia. These waves break down calcification (which is causing the problem )and allow the plantar to heal properly (which the body is desperate to do). Result: no more pain, quickly. With this there are no exercises or splints required and no painful injections either.

    I know of a clinic in England - The Joint Pain Clinic (Notts) - just google it or the Edinburgh Pain Clinic which also can provide this treatment.

    Good luck :smile:
  • claw0416
    claw0416 Posts: 95
    I am currently doing like the ESWT..It may be the same thing.. My podiatrist didnt'' give me the name of what I am doing but calls it theraphy.. 3 days a week for 45 min I am attactched to wires and and sponges in suction cups to my foot..in intervals it gets intense tingles and then lets go..I have neen through my first 2 visits..I have 4 more to do...I have noticed a difference in my foot already..I have PF in both feet for over two years..at times intense pain to the point I don't even want my sheets to touch my feet..Then this past May I ruptured my left foot while having my PF kick in in both feet at the same time..The pain was horrible! I think I would go through Natural childbirth and be in labor for days on top of it again, then to go through this pain..Pain meds did nothing to relieve the pain...they put me on a very high dose of Lortab and Celbrex.. They finally put me in a walking cast and no weight baring...Which then led to me compinsating and baring all weight on my right foot..which I am sure I have fractured the top middle part of my foot now..so once the left foot heals they are looking at doing a PF release on the right..But I honestly think if they will do the ESWT on that foot too, It would help and save me alot of grief and pain..After being in a walking cast since May I am just now able to bare weight with the cast..I am able to walk a little more without the cast too..but can't stand for more than 10 minutes at a time without being in pain and walking...gets better, but it helps to have the cast on..

    Anyhoo..after all my rambling..What I ws getting at..I recommend the ESWT..I have noticed a big difference just in the first 2 sessions..
  • juliekaiser1988
    juliekaiser1988 Posts: 604 Member
    I had bought a "tingly" thing back in December and never even thought to use it until after I went to see that sports doc. I now use it a few times a month and it really does seem to help! :)
  • Colbyandsage
    Colbyandsage Posts: 751 Member
    It sounds like it is PF. The good news is that it does get better.

    Once you see the therapist, go to a running store and get fitted for shoes. I dealt with it all last year when trying to run. Got fitted and it is much better.

    Good luck!
  • scottb81
    scottb81 Posts: 2,538 Member
    PF hurts on the bottom. If your pain is on the outside back of the heel it sounds more like the peroneal tendon or the point where the Achilles inserts into the heel bone. I had both PF and peroneal tendinitis earlier this year. PF is much worse but neither forced me to stop running.
  • Donnacoach
    Donnacoach Posts: 540 Member
    When I had Plantar Fascitis it lasted for three months. I have never heard of it just lasting three or four days at a time, then letting up. To me it sounds more like something with the heel or tendon. Good luck. I hope they can help you out with whatever it is.
  • lois4468
    lois4468 Posts: 166 Member
    I have had it for more than 4 years. Started in the arch.. went to specialist for that and got a cortizone shot in it. Was good till this last year now it its farther back where arch starts at heel. I have new arch supports from a Lady foot locker that help but still hurts when you get up. Good luck with it.. Not a fun thing. Do search on internet, not a lot out there.
  • khoolette
    khoolette Posts: 73
    I have had PF for 5 years now. Got inserts for my shoes (not walmart kind, professionally fitted) and I don't have the pain when I wear them. If I go without them for more than a day, the pain comes back. The pain IS in the bottom of my feet...so maybe this is not what you have..
  • ickybella
    ickybella Posts: 1,438 Member
    Hmm, when I had it, it hurt on the bottom of my foot.The pain persisted for MONTHS, nearly a year, I think. Good lord. It gets better, though, and last year I was running 7 miles every Sunday. I haven't had PF pain in a long time. Could it be a heel spur or a trapped nerve or something? I don't know, only the doc will be able to tell you that.
  • 2myhealthat50
    2myhealthat50 Posts: 6
    When I had plantar fasciitis, the doc had me sit in the bed at night and in the morning, straighten my leg out in front of me, hook a towel around the ball of the foot that hurt, lean back slowly and hold for 30 seconds. I did this and the pain went away. I now just do it as a habit every night. Hope you get well soon!! Mel
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