Plantar Fasciitis

[DOLLSEYES]

Anybody got it or had it?Whats the best way of treating it?

[Sian]

My husband has it and massaging his foot every day helps. some days are better than others and insoles in his shoes help also. It is one of those things that just one day go but that can take months or even years. There are lots of exercises you can do involving rolling your foot over something like a rolling pin or using a towel to stretch your foot against. Just google it and you will see.

[Fisherman Mike]

Yes used to suffer from it regularly during my football career....rest and anti inflammatory drugs is the only thing followed by preventative physiotherapy.

 

Serious cases are bloody agony.

[Longchalk]

Yes mate, had it on and off for years, but have now been almost 100% pain free for the last 6 years. It can hurt like hell, either as tearing pain underneath the arch of your foot, or sharp stabbing pain in your heel (sometimes called heel spurs)... The good news is, there are things you can do that will really make a difference. Fortunately permanently in my case.

 

1. Orthotics. - Don't mess around with off-the-shelf shoe inserts from well known high street chemists, or the internet, they will not fit YOUR foot precisely enough. Go and see a local Podiatrist and get some professional advice. Plantar Fasciitis usually responds well to shoe inserts that support your instep, and re-balance where the pressure points are on your feet as you walk. A decent Podiatrist will put marker insoles in your own shoes and have you walk up and down to leave an imprint (think of it as a bit like walking on carbon paper). Together with a visual assessment of how you walk, (called gait analysis) this will allow them to make up a "made to measure" set of inserts that should really help. Mine feel a bit odd for the first week or so whenever I get a new pair - a bit like having a pebble in your shoe under your instep, but this soon passes in a few days, and the support they provide to my feet, and the way they correct my natural tendency to roll inwards on my heels ("over pronation") has made my severe PF a thing of the past Sure, it will cost you around two visits at about £40 a pop I expect, and about £60-£70 to have the final inserts made up by a technician, but for the price of a slap up meal it's certainly worth it in my book. I go through about one set a year, transferring them each time I change my shoes, and I just phone my Podiatrist and get new set posted to me, working from my personal blueprint, whenever they start to get a bit too worn (they are made of pretty tough material sandwiched in about three layers). Admittedly I do a desk job, so if you work on your feet all day you might want two sets a year. But I can now walk 10 miles no problems (in that department at least!) whereas there were once times I could hardly cross the street without yelping.

 

2. Whatever weight you are now, lose some! You may perhaps be a fairly slim, fit individual, but the chances are that like with most people with PF you may have put on a bit in recent months/years? This pushes down on your feet, straining the plantar muscle (basically a flat fibrous sheaf under your instep) and causing pain & inflammation there, and/or under the ball of the heel where it attaches to your heel bone. Even losing half a stone can a have a really noticeable effect. If you can afford to lose a bit more, you might well find the symptoms go away altogether if you are lucky.

 

If you are advised to have cortisone injections I'd think about it carefully, and get more that one set of advice. It works for some people. I've not had them myself, but they are reported to hurt like bl**dy **** (big needle into hard, solid muscle) and the results can be varied. Some specialists will say that although there can be short term pain relief, long term they may contribute to worsening the situation.

 

And as Sian says above, rolling your foot over a rounded item can help stretch and relieve the plantar at the time you are suffering symptoms. But if it persists, I'd recommend the Podiatry shoe insert route. It really worked for me where other treatment were ineffective or short lived.

 

Hope this is of help.

Edited January 3, 2014 by Longchalk

[fat_jay]

Really suffered with this for nearly two years. In the end had a cortisone injection.....it hurt.........a lot!!! That said a month on and i was pain free, that was a couple of years ago with no sign of it returning.

[KFC]

Had it, use Gel heel pads, pain gone.

 

It's different for everyone both in severity and time. It does generally clear on its own but you may need professional help.

 

One peice of advice I had was not to walk about on hard floors in bare feet.

 

Irony is that, these days, I train twice a week on hard floors barefooted for two hours at Tang Soo Do lessons without any problem.

[kent]

Had it, use Gel heel pads, pain gone.

 

It's different for everyone both in severity and time. It does generally clear on its own but you may need professional help.

 

One peice of advice I had was not to walk about on hard floors in bare feet.

 

Irony is that, these days, I train twice a week on hard floors barefooted for two hours at Tang Soo Do lessons without any problem.

 

"tang soo do" ?

[rocksaplenty]

Podiatrist is definitely the route to go!

 

Mine made me some inserts that i copied and made a bit tougher: inserts built up on the arch side of the foot packed out with layers of sticky aluminium flashing tape, then covered in duck tape - makes a really solid insert.

[Dee Wildfowler]

It's normally expected that Plantar Fasciitis will clear up naturally after one or two years but I've had mine now in both feet for 12 years and the Doctors say that it's unlikely to get better now.

 

When it started I had the injections and did the exercises but all to no avail. Any pressure across the sole of the foot results in tremendous pain so, for example, now I can't climb a ladder or walk on stony ground. I've had a couple of friends who started with it and I advised them to have the injections and it worked for them.

 

John

[docholiday]

Yes mate, had it on and off for years, but have now been almost 100% pain free for the last 6 years. It can hurt like hell, either as tearing pain underneath the arch of your foot, or sharp stabbing pain in your heel (sometimes called heel spurs)... The good news is, there are things you can do that will really make a difference. Fortunately permanently in my case.

 

1. Orthotics. - Don't mess around with off-the-shelf shoe inserts from well known high street chemists, or the internet, they will not fit YOUR foot precisely enough. Go and see a local Podiatrist and get some professional advice. Plantar Fasciitis usually responds well to shoe inserts that support your instep, and re-balance where the pressure points are on your feet as you walk. A decent Podiatrist will put marker insoles in your own shoes and have you walk up and down to leave an imprint (think of it as a bit like walking on carbon paper). Together with a visual assessment of how you walk, (called gait analysis) this will allow them to make up a "made to measure" set of inserts that should really help. Mine feel a bit odd for the first week or so whenever I get a new pair - a bit like having a pebble in your shoe under your instep, but this soon passes in a few days, and the support they provide to my feet, and the way they correct my natural tendency to roll inwards on my heels ("over pronation") has made my severe PF a thing of the past Sure, it will cost you around two visits at about £40 a pop I expect, and about £60-£70 to have the final inserts made up by a technician, but for the price of a slap up meal it's certainly worth it in my book. I go through about one set a year, transferring them each time I change my shoes, and I just phone my Podiatrist and get new set posted to me, working from my personal blueprint, whenever they start to get a bit too worn (they are made of pretty tough material sandwiched in about three layers). Admittedly I do a desk job, so if you work on your feet all day you might want two sets a year. But I can now walk 10 miles no problems (in that department at least!) whereas there were once times I could hardly cross the street without yelping.

 

2. Whatever weight you are now, lose some! You may perhaps be a fairly slim, fit individual, but the chances are that like with most people with PF you may have put on a bit in recent months/years? This pushes down on your feet, straining the plantar muscle (basically a flat fibrous sheaf under your instep) and causing pain & inflammation there, and/or under the ball of the heel where it attaches to your heel bone. Even losing half a stone can a have a really noticeable effect. If you can afford to lose a bit more, you might well find the symptoms go away altogether if you are lucky.

 

IF YOU ARE ADVISED TO HAVE CORTISONE INJECTIONS I'D THINK ABOUT IT CAREFULLY, AND GET MORE THAT ONE SET OF ADVICE. IT WORKS FOR SOME PEOPLE. I'VE NOT HAD THEM MYSELF, BUT THEY ARE REPORTED TO HURT LIKE BL**DY **** (BIG NEEDLE INTO HARD, SOLID MUSCLE) AND THE RESULTS CAN BE VARIED. SOME SPECIALISTS WILL SAY THAT ALTHOUGH THERE CAN BE SHORT TERM PAIN RELIEF, LONG TERM THEY MAY CONTRIBUTE TO WORSENING THE SITUATION.

And as Sian says above, rolling your foot over a rounded item can help stretch and relieve the plantar at the time you are suffering symptoms. But if it persists, I'd recommend the Podiatry shoe insert route. It really worked for me where other treatment were ineffective or short lived.

 

Hope this is of help.

 

Just to clear this little error up Its not a big needle and its not into solid muscle, Though most of us don't inject this condition as a first line treatment, podiatry and physio are the main stay of treatment

cheers Doc

Edited January 3, 2014 by docholiday

[Longchalk]

Thanks for the correction then Doc, I of course bow to your professional experience... Was well and truly warned off it by my GP at the time, who said she hated doing them because of discomfort & adverse patient reaction. Probably over-egging the pudding then!

[sitsinhedges]

I had the steroid injection after insoles and physio etc failed.

 

They inject a tiny amount of novocaine anaesthetic into the sole of the foot but from the side so it doesn't puncture or damage the sole itself. If this stops the pain it shows they are in the right place so they go back into the same area with the steroids. It does bruise for a few days then the inflammation is reduced and the pain goes away.

 

I found though that after a few weeks still doing what caused it in the first place it just came back as the steroids wore off.

 

I gave up running and it eased naturally and hasn't come back.

[CaptainBeaky]

Had it for most of summer 2011, sorted out by wearing supportive shoes, taking anti inflammatories and massaging the affected foot every morning.

Danged painful, and took about 4 months to sort out.

I also have the aggravating factors - on my feet most of the day, carrying a bit more weight than perhaps I should be, and training in bare feet on hard floors for quite a few hours every week.

 

@Kent: Tang Soo Do - Korean martial art, linked to Northern Chinese wushu styles.

Very energetic, as I recall!

[DOLLSEYES]

Thanks for all the replies.I think i'll go and see a podiatrist.