Plantar Fasciitis

[BlueHair]

I have Plantar Fasciitis in my right foot that won't heal. It's been really painful since about last March. Rest, orthotics, and stretching hasn't helped much at all. I bought a night boot today to sleep with to see if that will help. Have any of you had any success healing PF?

[hostile]

My experience has been that PF can take up to 1 year to get better w/ daily stretching and night splinting. There are other modalities out there, including ultrasound treatment, injections (steroid, plasma concentrate), and surgery (plantar fascia release, gastrocnemius recession/lengthening). Most foot/ankle specialists that I know will hold off on surgery until there has been an adequate trial (6months) of consistent stretching and night splint wear.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I suffered from it for several years. It was extremely frustrating. I finally solved it by telling my doctor that he needed to give me a referral to a podiatrist or else (referrals were required by my insurance at the time). My podiatrist said that 1-2 more years under my doctor's care and I would have had permanent damage to my feet. For the next year I went through quite a bit of treatment, including custom orthotics, steroid injections (to break up scar tissue), and surgery to remove a bone spur. I am now completely healed and haven't had a bit of pain for many years.

[Shaka]

I was suffering with it a while back. I did all the stretching and orthotic stuff but it didn't go away. What really helped me was one of those el cheapo Home Medic shiatsu massage things with the rotating balls. Once I added that to the mix I healed within a few months. I'm not saying it works for everyone but it certainly helped me.

[creekster]

I had it and it took about 7 months of stretching and being careful and NSAIDs and it got better.

[ezrida]

plantar fasciitis

Hi
There are many things you can do to treat your plantar fasciitis. I had plantar fasciitis for about a year and I discovered that treatment is individual. Things that work for one will not always work for the other. The good news is that you have many treatments you can try but you must be persistent and patient.
I have found a good plantar fasciitis treatment review website in:

http://www.plantar-fasciitis-elrofeet.com/How_is_Plantar_Fasciitis_Treated.html

There are many self care treatments ideas in there but I think you should consult a podiatrist before you do something.
Icing or cold therapy is used to reduce inflammation so if you want to reduce your pain symptom you can apply ice. I prefer to roll a frozen water bottle.
Take care

[BlueHair]

Thanks for the advice. It's really frustrating because I can't even ride a stationary bike without it flaring up. Dropping 20 pounds would probably help, too, but pretty much any exercise sets me back.

[kccougar]

How about prevention? I've suffered from it in the past, but wearing an orthotic relieved the symptoms. I now just get a very small amount of tenderness only some mornings. I want to ramp up the exercise again and start running, but I'm afraid it will return.

[OrangeUte]

I was suffering with it a while back. I did all the stretching and orthotic stuff but it didn't go away. What really helped me was one of those el cheapo Home Medic shiatsu massage things with the rotating balls. Once I added that to the mix I healed within a few months. I'm not saying it works for everyone but it certainly helped me.

I did this and wore blue insoles called "heel seats". I had to stop running for about a month but they worked. You have to wear the heel seats constantly - I still wear mine.

[Green Monstah]

I had it too. I know this sounds crazy (and probably is), but I used a ton of ice to reduce inflammation (in addition to the stretching) and swam alot. Sounds nuts, but I swear my foot would feel better after I swam.

[thesaint258]

Here's a link I saw this morning that had an interesting exercise to help prevent plantar fasciitis (it's the last exercise of the article). http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/healt...juries-2442312

I've never seen this exercise before, so I don't know if it will help or not, but I'm going to start doing that to see if it helps me at all.

[Eddie]

I think I've got this. I used to just think I was getting old, so I should expect some soreness in the morning when I get up as well as more soreness after I exercise.

But after doing a little research, I've discovered that maybe I shouldn't be having the pain I'm having in spite of getting older.

Mostly it is just pain in my heal. I just noticed it seriously within the past month - but the reality is that it might have been around longer. When I get up in the morning I end up walking down the stairs very gingerly on the balls of my feet. I got talked into playing basketball last weekend, and hurt a little until I was warmed up, then did OK while playing, but the rest of the day it felt like my heals were bruised.

In doing a little reading, I've stumbled across some stretches. Now before I get up in the morning I cross my leg to reach my foot, and pull my toes back towards my shin for a 20-30 seconds. After stretching like that a couple of times on each foot, I'm generally able to get up and head downstairs without much pain. I still feel it - but not enough to alter my gait.

I've gotten a tennis ball and started rolling it on the bottom of my foot as well. It's pretty sore while I'm putting pressure on the bottom of my foot through the arch, but usually feels much better after than before.

I haven't done anything with NSAIDS as yet, but am starting to think I should work that into the mix.

Any other advice? I'm not against heading to the doctor, but I hate going and having them just tell me to stay off it for a while until it feels better. My wife can tell me that. Is there a certain amount of time I should stay off of it once it doesn't hurt anymore to make sure it's healed? And what kind of timeline should I look at to head for professional (non-internet) advice if it hasn't started feeling better?

[hostile]

Sounds like plantar fasciitis. Everything you have done so far is fine. I usually recommend that my patients stretch their calf muscles several times a day. Put the ball of your foot on the edge of a stair and let your heel go downward 4-5 times a day for a few minutes. The natural history is that it will get better but will take several months. I think it is rare to need more advanced interventions such as steroid injections, PRP injections, or fascia release.

[Shaka]

Sounds like plantar fasciitis. Everything you have done so far is fine. I usually recommend that my patients stretch their calf muscles several times a day. Put the ball of your foot on the edge of a stair and let your heel go downward 4-5 times a day for a few minutes. The natural history is that it will get better but will take several months. I think it is rare to need more advanced interventions such as steroid injections, PRP injections, or fascia release.

This is good stuff and was part of my routine to heal the same problem. I also used the bottom of my foot to roll a tennis ball back and forth on the floor. I think the MVP was a foot massager with heat and balls the size of a big marble that would rotate. It took months but it went away.

[Eddie]

First, thank you for the input.

I'll work in some additional calf stretches. I actually started doing some calf drops on the stairs today thinking that a little stretching combined with exercise might be good.

I've got a massager I can try as well and see if it helps.

So - what can I do as far as exercise in the meantime, and what will aggravate it and keep it from healing?

Running sounds like it is out. Or is a slow jog OK on a very limited basis?

Does cycling cause issues, or is that a better plan?

Or should I just stick with walking and swimming?

I've got a tri I'm signed up for the end of July and would love to not take the next month or 2 off completely. But I could see just swimming and cycling, or very limited running, etc.

Thanks again for the advice!