Plantar facitis?

menagerie mama · Dec 16, 2005

Does anyone here have plantar facitis? I have it and I've been in therapy for it for a few months now. It HURTS!!! I'm tired of going to therapy and getting tortured!

They've been doing all kinds of weird treatments to my feet but none of it is helping. They told me it's a long road to recovery, but is it ever gonna ease up? It hurts, so I walk in a way that makes it hurt a little less, but walking that way makes my back and neck hurt, so it's a catch 22....

katpaige · Dec 16, 2005

I have it too. When it was really bad the doc gave me Vioxx but it didnt help much. then he gave me a cortisone? shot in the arch of my foot which hurt like hell at first but the pain went away. you need to wear special arch supports to help it. Some days are good and some are bad still.. just one of the little ''joys'' of getting old

karmasmom · Dec 16, 2005

When I was a manicurist my specialty was pedicures. I had quite a few clients who suffered from this. I would recomend reflexology. Our massage therapists were trained in it and I saw it do wonders. Alot of salons that offer massage also offer reflexology either as an add on feture or by its self. The inserts help ease the pain but they don't help treat it. I have heard that acupuncture can work also. I don't know antone who tried it so I can't say for sure if it works. The beautiful thing is you can get a massage to help with the back and leg pain. I would look in to it if I were you.

solaritybengals · Dec 16, 2005

OMG how painful!!!! I had it in high school when I did long distance running. It took a year of no long distance to cure it for me but it was directly related to the distance and how I landed on my feet (heel cups while running and shoe padding during the day).

I feel for you... I wanted to scream when I got out of bed in the morning and would wonder how I would ever make it through the day with the horrible pain. It would go away after a while only to resurface worse after a run.

My doctor told me if it got bad enough she would do steroid injections into the tendon. Are you kidding me???? I'm not that serious of an athlete!!! Huh yah no thanks.

malynn · Dec 17, 2005

I have had this for years, had numerous injections in my heel. The only thing that helps me is some orthotics that were made for me, they were made especially for my foot. They took molds of my foot and made them. I cant wear them in every shoe, they make my shoes feel smaller. The only other relief I can get is wearing athletic type shoes, New Balance are the most comfortable.

stampit3d · Dec 17, 2005

Boy ! I don`t have a clue (thankfully) as to what in the world this is...I`ve never even heard of it before....but ya`ll have my sympathy (for all it helps)
SOUNDS TERRIBLE!!! Bless your little hearts (er, I mean feet) anyhow!
Linda

katl8e · Dec 17, 2005

Originally Posted by malynn

I have had this for years, had numerous injections in my heel. The only thing that helps me is some orthotics that were made for me, they were made especially for my foot. They took molds of my foot and made them. I cant wear them in every shoe, they make my shoes feel smaller. The only other relief I can get is wearing athletic type shoes, New Balance are the most comfortable.

Same situation here. Mine is a complication, from a heel spur. The shots gave some temporary relief but, the custom orthotics have been the best thing.

For me, wearing flat shoes is the worst thing. Having my heels elevated takes the pressure off of the spur, which alleviates the pain from the plantar fascia. I'm not suggesting 4" stilettos (although I DO wear them) but a bit of a heel may help. When I worked on my feet, I wore cowboy boots, with a 1 1/2" walking heel and had minimal discomfort.

lndscpsam · Dec 17, 2005

Originally Posted by KarmasMom

When I was a manicurist my specialty was pedicures. I had quite a few clients who suffered from this. I would recomend reflexology. Our massage therapists were trained in it and I saw it do wonders. Alot of salons that offer massage also offer reflexology either as an add on feture or by its self. The inserts help ease the pain but they don't help treat it. I have heard that acupuncture can work also. I don't know antone who tried it so I can't say for sure if it works. The beautiful thing is you can get a massage to help with the back and leg pain. I would look in to it if I were you.

I agree with her! I've had it and this always gave me the most relief quickly. Then of course the orthotic shoes helped to relieve the pain too.

sammie5 · Dec 17, 2005

My father, sister and I have all had this, to varying degrees. My dad's is much much better since he got orthotics, and wears his shoes all the time - going barefoot, or wearing slippers, at home aggravated the problem.

Mine went away all by itself, after about 3 years of pain. I have no idea what made the difference.

My sister's was bad, and I think probably aggravated by heel spurs. A round of physio, and really good shoes helped her a lot, so it's much more bearable.

katl8e · Dec 17, 2005

The odd gait, caused by the pain, sent me into a bout of tendonitis. This put me into a walker boot, for six weeks. I've been fighting this for almost 6 years and have successfully avoided surgery.

My Conair Bubble Jet foot spa has been wonderfully therapeutic, too.

If yours doesn't respond to conventional therapy, there is a recently-developed surgical procedure, for plantar fascitis. A small incision is made in the instep of the foot and a laser is used to "shave" the plantar fascia, alleviating the constriction causing the pain. When I read about this, I filed it away for future reference. I'm hopeful that it won't be necessary but........

pat · Dec 17, 2005

Yes, I have had this, but compared to everyone else here, I guess I had a milder case. Didn't feel like it

Anyhoo, I was told to simply stop walking barefoot...even if I got up at night to go to the bathroom, to put on sandals, shoes, anything, just not to go barefoot. After some time of doing this, it cleared up, to my great, great relief.

I hope you find what works for you and recover soon,

menagerie mama · Dec 17, 2005

Originally Posted by katl8e

The odd gait, caused by the pain, sent me into a bout of tendonitis. This put me into a walker boot, for six weeks. I've been fighting this for almost 6 years and have successfully avoided surgery.

My Conair Bubble Jet foot spa has been wonderfully therapeutic, too.

If yours doesn't respond to conventional therapy, there is a recently-developed surgical procedure, for plantar fascitis. A small incision is made in the instep of the foot and a laser is used to "shave" the plantar fascia, alleviating the constriction causing the pain. When I read about this, I filed it away for future reference. I'm hopeful that it won't be necessary but........

Um...OW!

carolpetunia · Dec 18, 2005

Being uninsured, I had to work out a treatment plan for myself when I developed this. Here's what I did:

1. No more plastic flipflops or other unsupportive shoes.

2. No true flats -- just half-inch to two-inch heels for daily wear, including bedroom slippers.

3. High heels ONLY occasionally, and never for more than a couple of hours at a time. Wearing high heels allows those muscles and tendons along the bottom of the foot to shorten up, which only makes things worse.

4. Avoid wearing the same height heels two days in a row -- switch up the heights to keep your feet from adjusting to any single position.

5. After wearing high heels or walking a long distance, a good long soak really helps keep things from tightening up.

6. While watching TV or in bed, GENTLY flex your feet and toes up and back -- not hard enough to feel any pain at all, but just enough to gradually, over time, lengthen the muscles and tendons.

I followed this plan faithfully for close to a year, and the pain gradually went away. Once I was pain-free, I started doing exercises to strengthen the bottoms of my feet -- standing up on my toes and sinking slowly back down again, just a few repeats a day.

It's been years since I've had any trouble, and I can walk barefoot again without pain, too! Good luck...

emb_78 · Dec 18, 2005

Originally Posted by CarolPetunia

Being uninsured, I had to work out a treatment plan for myself when I developed this. Here's what I did:

1. No more plastic flipflops or other unsupportive shoes.

2. No true flats -- just half-inch to two-inch heels for daily wear, including bedroom slippers.

3. High heels ONLY occasionally, and never for more than a couple of hours at a time. Wearing high heels allows those muscles and tendons along the bottom of the foot to shorten up, which only makes things worse.

4. Avoid wearing the same height heels two days in a row -- switch up the heights to keep your feet from adjusting to any single position.

5. After wearing high heels or walking a long distance, a good long soak really helps keep things from tightening up.

6. While watching TV or in bed, GENTLY flex your feet and toes up and back -- not hard enough to feel any pain at all, but just enough to gradually, over time, lengthen the muscles and tendons.

I followed this plan faithfully for close to a year, and the pain gradually went away. Once I was pain-free, I started doing exercises to strengthen the bottoms of my feet -- standing up on my toes and sinking slowly back down again, just a few repeats a day.

It's been years since I've had any trouble, and I can walk barefoot again without pain, too! Good luck...

Wow!!! Great Advice!!!

tuxedokitties · Feb 14, 2006

Mine has just recently flared up, and searching for info I found this site:
http://heelspurs.com/index.html
it has lots of useful info.

One interesting point on the site was that it said while walking on your toes may seem to provide temporary relief from heel pain, it actually puts more stress on the plantar fascia and makes things worse in the long run.

I'm glad I found that, because I'd been doing exactly that to avoid the nail-in-the-heel feeling.

Hope you're better soon.

arlyn · Feb 14, 2006

No heel spurs, but I suffer from fallen arches, which often manifests it's pain in similar ways.
These helped me, not sure if it will help for you guys, talk to your orthopedic doctor first of course.
Z-coils

menagerie mama · Feb 14, 2006

Wow, I was taken aback to see my thread resurface! I've been out of therapy due to insurance for the moment, and it's killing me. I know, they told me not to walk differently because it is really messing up the rest of my skeleton. Hopefully I'll be able to get something done about this!

fluffysimba · Feb 14, 2006

I had it. I had it and the doc said it would heal in 6 weeks. ha ha ha More like 6 months!!!! They do have a brace you can wear at night that keeps your feet/heal in a "L" shape. This stretches those parts that need it. Sorry I can't remember technical terms.

Strangely my PF just stopped hurting one day - poof GONE. Talk about strange. But I am ever so thankful it's gone.

fluffysimba · Feb 14, 2006

I've just read the rest of this thread. WOW. I can't believe how long some of you have dealt with this nasty stuff. The pain is excrutiating and that I remember well ! I know the doctor I saw for this did not recommend ANY of the stuff you guys are talking about. He just told me it was injured and would heal. I'm rather upset now that the doc didn't take a more active help in getting me pain free.

I had to do it all on my own by doing online research and such. *snort* Well at least I'm good now.

miamispartan · Feb 15, 2006

My partner had a severe case of it. He bought special walking shoes, which have helped, plus he's put a firm pillow at the base of the bed and keeps his foot pressed up against it at night, which keeps the tendons stretched properly. For a while he wore this really uncomfortable boot type thing while we were watching TV, and that also helped. He's really not bothered by it anylonger....

Plantar facitis?

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