Plantar fasciitis is kicking my ample ass. Anyone else?

[Bertha Venation]

I mean, is it kicking anyone else's ass? Not, does anyone else want to kick my ass . . .

OUCH

[Scout]

1. been there ... it sucks

do you have good shoes? do you stretch enough before working out?

i found out after years of cramps in my arches and bouts of plantar fasciitis that i was not stretching properly ... my calf muscles specifically were not getting stretched. once i learned that and made sure i had good cross-training type athletic shoes, it helped a lot.

it hurts A LOT though, i know what you mean.

hang in there.

[foxfeet]

2. I feel for you.

It took prescription orthotics to cure mine. On the bright side, I haven't suffered from it for years now.

[CreekDog]

3. My buddy is just getting over his and it took shoe inserts to help it

but he says that his new work boots, i forget which brand, have made it almost completely go away.

[raccoon]

4. Me too! Thanks for posting. I was considering this myself.

I'm close to 60's, and in February my left heel got REAL sore.

I used to walk for exercise. Not any more. I wear comfortable shoes, have for years.

My heel is better but if I walk very much it comes right back. I've tried exercises, ice, anti-inflammatories. The last 2 help--don't know about the exercises but I guess they can't hurt.

[malta blue]

5. it is a horrible feeling

:hug:

I have been there. I got a series of cortisone shots and it helped - plus I lost some weight and that helped as well.

[schmuls]

6. UUF! Mine is acting up again after healing a few years ago!

[S n o w b a l l]

7. YES!

I feel your pain...it hurts like hell! I can barely walk in the mornings but it hurts all day. I think mine is from wearing heels 5 days/week to going barefoot every day when I got laid off.

I know the only real cure is shoe inserts but I hate wearing shoes at home. I don't know what else to do about it. :(

[Tommy_Carcetti]

8. I had a bad spell a couple of years ago.....

.....and it was at its worst when I went to Las Vegas, and my in-laws were having me walk up and down the Strip for 4 days straight. It was killing me!

Fortunately, it does go away. It just seems like it never does.

[noamnety]

9. Last year I thought I was just going to be a cripple for life.

It hasn't totally fixed itself, but it's better, tolerable now.

The best shoes for me - and the ONLY ones I could walk in for a while there - was the RX line of crocs, which aren't sold in retail stores, you have to go to a foot doctor's office to buy them, but you don't need an appointment to see a doctor. The aren't quite as frightful looking as regular crocs - they don't have the giant trademark holes all over the tops. They have a softer different heel bed than regular ones, and I will never bad mouth crocs again because they did save me.

I ended up replacing all my shoes last year because of this. Now I basically wear those, redwing boots (I researched the model online), and dansko clogs (also after researching online). Stretching helps, I tried the boot thing for sleeping in but I toss and turn a lot and it interfered with my sleep because of that. Plus my partner snores and I spend a lot of time kicking him vigorously each night, and the boot interfered with that so I had to retire it.

I was working out for a short time and the weight loss helped a lot, but then grad school swung into gear again and I couldn't fit it in my schedule, I've put on a few pounds again, and I feel it in that foot as a result. It sucks that dropping weight is the most effective fix! This is my last week of my degree program though, so I'm thinking I will give myself a week of well-earned laziness then get back to working out again since it did make a difference. I'm not a go-to-the-gym-and-jump-around-in-public kind of person, I was just doing stuff in my living room in private. I incorporated standing on the edge of the stairs and slowly going up on my toes and then down so my heels went below the steps, 3 sets of 10 reps, that's supposed to be a good stretch for it.

[DeepBlueC]

10. A low-tech treatment for the inflammation

is to roll your foot back and forth over a frozen bottle of water. The good thing about that is that you can easily do it while you are doing something else. Do it at least twice a day for 10-15 minutes , 20 if you can stand it, and more often if you can manage it. It exercises the foot and reduces inflammation and gives you some welcome numbness.

[Moondog]

24. This works pretty well.

The relief is almost immediate. I was taught to do it with a can of something - soup, chili, whatever, just as long as it rolls. The frozen water bit is a new one on me, but I'm going to try it the next time around.

What also works pretty well longer term, if you have the script, is a NSAID. Used to use Vioxx, when it was still around. Now I use Celebrex, which is almost as good. Ibuprofen (Motrin or other over-the-counters) will do in a pinch.

[Moondog]

25. A rolling pin works too.

[AwakeAtLast]

11. It did for about a year or so

I bought some Crocs that were made for that condition and it is now gone. A lot cheaper than show inserts, let me tell ya.

Hope you find some relief! :pals:

[Lyric]

12. I have L5-S1 sciatica.

OUCH.

And nobody really cares.

:(

:hug:

[kwassa]

13. Spenco inserts

I spent a lot of money on custom podiatrist inserts.

The $20 Spencos work better.

[XemaSab]

14. Try a broken tailbone

THAT will be kicking your ass. x(

[Juche]

15. I used to have a problem with it

Two things cured it and I haven't had problems in a year.

1. Powerstep pinnacle insoles

http://strabell-llc.amazonwebstore.com/Powerstep-Pinnacle-Insole/M/B000RZL90I.htm?traffic_src=froogle&utm_medium=organic&utm_source=froogle

2. Stretching in the morning. The best time to stretch the plantar fascia is in the morning before you get out of bed. Put one foot on your opposing knee, grab your toes and pull back your foot back to stretch the bottom of it, and hold the stretch for about 2 seconds. Do that about 10 times, then do the same with the other foot. Make sure you do it before you get out of bed and start walking.


Doing that made it go away within a month. However I had only had problems with it for a couple of months before that (started a new job that required a good deal of standing) so the damage at that point was probably minimal.

[underpants]

16. You have fascist plants?

I luckily have never had that. Rolling it on a golf ball or a coke bottle is supposed to work.

[dgibby]

17. Stretch before getting out of bed in am.

I used to have pf in both feet. This is what finally cured it for me. Hope these suggestions help you. I'd rather take a bullet to my heart than go through that again!


Use a towel or somethng similar. Loop it around your foot, slowly pull toes toward you, hold for a count of 20 (if you can stand it), release, then repeat several times.

Another good stretch technique is to stand with ball of your foot on a stair, then slowly lower your heel as far as possible. Just be sure you're holding on to something for support.

If you wear high heels, switch to a lower heel.

Only use cortisone as a last resort. It can cause a great deal of tendon damage if overused. My sister had to have her Achilles tendon reattached after it ruptured and completely separated from her heel. Anti-inflammatories can help, but they should be prescribed by a physician due to danger of gastrointestional bleeding associated with long term use.

[Kitty Herder]

18. I feel your pain. Have you tried any of these foot stretches?

http://physicaltherapy.about.com/od/flexibilityexercises/a/footstretch.htm

They helped me when I had bad plantar fasciitis.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

19. skittles? do your duty.

[Jimbo S]

20. I had it on-off for 15 years.

Did the PT, Spenco inserts and all that.

Finally decided to get fitted with custom orthodics three years ago and I haven't had an issue since!!

:)

[kedrys]

21. Ow ow ow ow ow

I had it for a more than a year before it sort of went away on its own. Stretching really helps. I still reflexively stretch my feet 10-12 time a day 3 years later.

[Bertha Venation]

22. THANK YOU, EVERYONE

You've given me some great tips, and I appreciate everyone's input.

[ccinamon]

23. I used exercises

from Pain Free by Pete Egoscue...also paid for a one on one session with a therapist from the nearest Egoscue Clinic...some of the best money ever spent!

[datasuspect]

26. better than necrotizing fasciitis

[Gormy Cuss]

27. Plantar fasciitis makes it impossible to kick one's own ass.

:hide:

But seriously --it hurts like hell.

[marzipanni]

28. Several years ago I read an interesting article about hot peppers (capsaicin)

being very effective for chronic foot pain. The other DUers gave the best advice about exercise, etc., to help stop the cause of your PF , but if you want faster relief of the pain you might consider this since it seems to be sold at many drug and natural food stores, so you could try it soon. (BTW-you have to click on the 'Where to buy' button twice)
http://www.belllifestyleproducts.com/02a-peppercream-rollon.htm

[DeepBlueC]

30. I have used capsaicin plasters

As far as I could tell it's just a matter of using one kind of pain (pepper burning) to distract you from another. I wasn't sufficiently distracted and it inflamed my skin.

[NJmaverick]

29. I thought that involved the foot, not the ass

:hi:

[cwydro]

31. Try wearing crocs.

A lot of people have told me that helps.

I run a lot and have noticed that if I put my crocs on first thing in the morning to walk around the house, a lot of the leg/foot pain (I'm getting older) immediately disappears.