Plantar fasciitis
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I have had horrible heal spurs, the Dr told me to roll my foot on a golf ball and to sit on the floor with my feet flat against the wall and lean forward, to do this 3 times a day. My spur went away without surgery and I still use the golf ball and stretch my toes up.
Spurs are calcium and they will reabsorb back into you body if you can get it to break off, what is why he had me roll my heals on the golf balls, this was 10 years ago and they have not come back0 -
I suffered from this problem for years, one day I went to see my Chiro for back pain and he noticed how I was walking and asked what the problem was, I explained - he proceeded to tell me how he could help. WELL DAMN - no more pain after 2 treatments!
Chiro did two treatments of underwater ultrasound. Best $50 bucks I ever spent.
Also - wear orthotics to support my arches better0 -
I had some shoe inserts made. NOT INEXPENSIVE, talking a couple hundred bucks here.
Felt like I had a golf ball in my shoe, but I got accustomed to it.
After a couple of months, the pain went away completely.
I still have the inserts, but haven't used them in years.
S-T-R-E-T-C-H your arches. While watching TV or working on the computer, roll a Coke bottle between your heel and the ball of your foot. Don't try to smash the bottle, but apply downward pressure as you roll it forward and back. Helps.0 -
Also Avia walking shoes was what he told me ot wear, they are the best for heal problems, J.C. Penny's usually has them on sale0
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I am a runner and I have had 2 major bouts with plantar fasciitis (one in each foot one year after the other). (I also had a heel spur, which are very common, but had fractured the heel spur.) I was even in a cast for 4 weeks (for a tendon tear at the same time).....I was still in major pain after the cast! I tried all of the various fixes mentioned here but was never getting any relief. I even went to physical therapy and that didn't help. I could hardly walk from my office to the copy machine. Right after I had the cast removed and has rested it for so long, I still had pain. My sister-in-law is a PT and she recommended yoga. All I did was hang over to touch my toes (getting an all over stretch) and while sitting crossed one ankle on top of my knee and leaned forward for a couple of minutes. I had no pain for the first time in a year! I have resumed running and have found these not quite so common tips have helped me have no pain whatsoever. I am sure they won't work for everyone but you never know.....I even ran 20 miles in 24 hours in the Ragnar Relay two weeks ago.
1. Yoga (all over fascia stretch)
2. Rolling a softball under my calf muscles at different angles (while seated with legs in front and body weight partially supported by arms)
3. Drinking a lot of water to stay hydrated especially during longer runs
4. Wearing Birkenstocks (not even all the time)
I have a whole closet of night splints, orthotics, etc. but have not had to use them at all.
Good luck! I have felt your pain.0 -
'Thank you all I have the heel suprs as well and the dr said that I can get the shots but Im not sure if I can stand having shots in my feet. Where would I get one of the night time boots?
Honestly if the pain is that bad with it you might want to suck it up and get the shots. My husband never complained about them (I think they might have numbed the area but I can't really remember). It's worth it if it gives you comfort. PF is not something to mess around with.
Also you might want to look into orthodics.
ETA: I personally would not go the croc route. I've known too many people who have twisted ankles and got hair line fractures in their ankles wearing those hideous things.
PF is awful! I've 2 flare ups of it the past few years. The latest was this past winter. I was training for my second half marathon and had been running for a while so I don't think that was part of it. I got properly fitted for running shoes and all that. I did however start wearing Crocs to one of my jobs at the time and then my problems started. They were awful to my feet! I know some people that swear by them but they made my life hell for quite a few months. I took 3 weeks off from running but kept weight training. I picked training up again and still ran my race, but it probably wasn't the smartest decision. Stretching, ice, tennis ball massages, and sleeping with a boot helped A LOT. After it heals, scrunching up a towel under your toes on the floor helps strengthen your feet, so that might help keep it at bay. Good luck, I hope it feels better soon!
PS. In my experience, Birkenstocks have been a Godsend! The only time I didn't feel foot pain is when I wore them.0 -
I've had it for years. Like many of those above, getting out of bed in the morning and walking to the bathroom was excruciating. I ended up going to The Good Feet Store. Dropped a couple hundred on just the hard inserts (I didn't buy the soft ones) and wear them in my shoes all day. I'm not going to lie, they killed my feet for the first week or so. Like another said, it feels like walking with a golf ball in each shoe... very painful. BUT, as your plantar fascia stretches, fixing the problem, that feeling goes away. I don't even feel the inserts anymore. They really have done wonders for my feet.
Most of my weight loss can be attributed to walking... with plantar fasciitis. Between the inserts and losing weight, the problem is completely gone (although I did go for a month without the inserts recently and I started to feel a hint of the problem returning). I run without the inserts in my running shoes. Now, I still wear the inserts about half the time, depending on which shoes I'm wearing, but I don't feel like I NEED them anymore on a regular basis.
All of this is to say that while your condition really is painful and makes exercise seem a little more complicated, it doesn't have to be this way. You can still exercise (even on your feet), get results, and have less pain. This will make you even more willing to exercise, and instead of a downward inactive cycle, you can possibly experience a very positive and healthy opposite cycle.0 -
I also have PF. I'd suggest making sure you see a podiatrist and have them advise you on the best shoes for you. I was having foot pain during and after my workout until I replaced my sneakers. Orthotics to wear in my non-sneaker shoes is really making a difference as well.0
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I have it in my right foot. It's gotten better now that I've lost a few pounds. When it does flare up, I freeze a water bottle (3/4 full so it doesn't burst). Then I roll it under my foot. It hurts like heck at first, but after a while the pain isn't as bad.
Make sure you invest in good shoes to exercise. I have had good luck with Adidas and Saucony. I avoid anything with "gel" in it because it makes my PF worse. I also wear supportive shoes at work and for around the house I have some Nike flip-flops that have lots of padding. I tried the inserts and they made it worse.
When mine flares up, I just work out despite the pain. But I've been to a doctor who gave me the okay to do this, so please get advice from your doctor on what is best for you.0 -
i had PF and heel spurs. when i lost weight, both problems disappeared. get some MBT shoes, they are expensive, but worth EVERY PENNY..wear them all the time, even though you will look and feel ridiculous. also try some braces to wear on your feet while you sleep. those helped ALOT.
So encouraging to hear yours went away. This is a huge reason why I am so motivated to lose weight- I am TIRED of hurting!
to let you know, the MBT's work only if you wear them all the time. i had to wear them for probably a couple of weeks before they helped and wore NO OTHER SHOES NO MATTER WHAT. i even went to a funeral and wore them, had on super long black pants to disguise them.
the "boots' you can get online.
both my PF and heel spurs developed during my pregnancy, when i gained over 60 pounds in 7 months. all that extra weight + hormones, etc. and my feet were a mess. i would literally cry walking upstairs to my baby's nursery during the night, it was so painful. i did alot of research and along with the shoes and night boots, losing the weight worked for me. i never have one single pinch or pain. (weight went from over 188 to 124 current)0 -
I had this for 3 years and would literally cry every morning it hurt so bad to walk...
I tried the cortisone shots, but if you do that too often you can get a build up of scar tissue which will hurt worse and last forever.
Take a water bottle (one of the small ones you buy at a gas station) and freeze it. 5-10 times/day (seriously) put it on the ground and run your foot over it, back and forth, back and forth along the arch. In addition to doing this, take an NSAID like ibuprofen to get rid of the inflammation.
The only exercise that I could do (outside of water) was a bike.
Good luck, I've been PF free for 3 years now but it was one of the most long-term crappy things I've gone through.
same here doc suggested it for me0 -
I have had it. Rest is the best thing for it. If you want to continue burn calories focus on strength training right now not so much cardio. Best treatment methods:
1. Before getting out of bed in the morning stretch the fascia with a towel or resistance band. Take a towel/band/fabric and fold it in half and place it around the ball of your feet while your sitting in the bed, its going to cause mild discomfort but that helps loosen up the stiffness from sleeping.
2. Never walfk barefoot. PERIOD.
3. Get some orthotics for your training sneakers. The best ones are the custom but are expensive. The next est thing to day is get the semi-custom from Wal-Mart. You stand on the little machine and it will tell you which ones will work best for you. Those really helped me.
4. Take NSAIDS like Aleve, Motrin, Advil after working out. I was advised to take 800mg every 4-6 hours as needed.
5. Freeze a water bottle (16-20oz) and sit in a chair and roll it with your foot. It works great.
Hope this helps. Just don't do impact activites until its heeled because you can develop a heel spur or stress fracture.0 -
Thank you all so much its nice to read that other people are going through same thing0
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i have this and had some orthotics made which really help. I also have arthritis in the toes so they help with that too. They weren't cheap but I wouldn't want to be without them.
Swimming is a good way to burn calories, the water will support your whole body.0 -
Night splints didn't work for me. Orthotics didn't work. Cortisone shots didn't work. The doctor finally did surger on all the various spots I had the spurs along with on the plantar fasciitis ... and it's all better now ... and I could run if I want to ... but I hate running so I walk and do other exercises.. That's what worked for me although the doctor can tell you what's best for you.0
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A few years ago I had this and it eventually healed up. For me it only really hurt to walk for the first several feet, then the tendon would stretch out and I'd be okay. I was working in the library at the school then and found that if I stayed on my feet there was no pain. But if I sat down for awhile with the weight off my feet it'd hurt again when I got up to walk. I had a cortisone shot and orthotics but time eventually took care of it.0
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What worked for me is buying fit flop trainers and taking an ibuprofen in the morning and stretching my feet before i started! I would find before i started doing that by the end of the day I was crippled and could hardly stand on my right foot! Fit flops were a life changing moment!
Hope it gets better soon I totally sympathise x0 -
Also Avia walking shoes was what he told me ot wear, they are the best for heal problems, J.C. Penny's usually has them on sale
That's weird. I have had PF in the past, but not recently until I bought some Avia shoes. It came on so quickly after switching to these shoes I have no doubt they are causing the pain.0 -
I think I had this once in my r foot as a result of driving a lot. I did stretches which helped, but quit that job and it went away. Yoga stretching might help it and is also a good work out- and also swimming. good luck0
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Biking, swimming, and yoga yoga yoga.0
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I had it, went to the doctors and got a cortisone shot and that was two years ago no more pain! I did get the inserts and used them till I broke them and never replaced them. Too much money!!!!!0
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I had plantar fasciitis VERY bad about 15 years ago. The thing that seemed to help me the most was to roll my foot over a tennis ball. Apply a little pressure, but not too much (do it and you'll feel what's right for you). It helped to loosen things up and really took the pain away. Highly recommended.0
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I was recently diagnosed with this as well. All the tips people mentioned are great and I will be trying some of them!0
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You don't need to stop walking. Hopefully, your doctor is sending you to a physical therapist, but if not, I will share the things I learned that helped the pain go away completely.
1. Freeze a water bottle and roll it under your feet
2. Stretch you feet before getting out of bed... (do this by using a belt or a towel around your toes and pull the ball of your feet towards you)
3. Take an anti-inflammatory
There might be some other tips out there that I had forgotten about, but these three things will give you remarkable improvement in just a few weeks.0 -
I got it when I was pregnant. It was so painful!! There are stretches you can do to "limber" it up before using it, once you have warmed it up you should be good to go. I have lost about 35 lbs since my baby was born and it is better!! Losing weight definitely helps!!0
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Hey hey.
Count me among the folks that have feet so bad that it sucks to get up in the morning. I have collapsed arches... ie feet that are completely flat. More or less, my parents could've done something about them when I was a kid but now there's nothing science can do.
I've found that caffeine (from coffee) and Tylenol helps me deal with some of the pain. I'm not a drinker so I'm not really using my liver. I also use an Eletronic Muscle Stimulation machine to treat pain. I have orthotics and they help. I've recently switched to a running shoe that's made for folks that over pronate. If you decide to look them up, look for "Stability" or "Motion Control" running shoes.
As far as exercise, I focus on getting my cardio on a stationary bike. I can't handle running without a lot of pain the next day.
For Plantar Fascitis, have you looked for a night splint like this?
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I have it. I strength train and I have exercises I do for the plantar. I also wear a foot thing I bought at Target that I wear at night that stretches the foot out so it doesn't hurt as bad.
The key to Plantar is: STRETCH0 -
Great tips. I'm actually going to the podiatrist tomorrow, but all signs point to this.0
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