plantar Fasciitis

15 years ago

I have strong heel pain for a few months. My podiatrist diagnosed plantar fasciitis.

He recommended stretching, ice and pain killers.

Is it all what it takes? How long will it take till I will be cured?

Does anyone have plantar fasciitis tips coming from experience?

Thank you for any comment.

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Comments (8)

ezri
15 years ago
Hi
I have plantar fasciitis myself for a few months now. My podiatrist prescribed me with Custom made orthotics which did not work at all. I understood that treatment efficiency is very individual. If something works for one maybe it will not work for the other. I have found Taping very useful.
Today as I am feeling much better with the pain I am doing a combination of stretching and strengthening exercises. I have found a good website summary explaining the subject of these exercises in:
http://www.plantar-fasciitis-elrofeet.com/plantar_fasciitis_exercises.html
Take care & Good luck

Here is a link that might be useful: elrofeet
earthygal52
15 years ago
I also have Plantar fasciitis, in my left heel. I think it comes from being overweight, it also seems that it developed after entering Menopause, I'm not sure if there's a correlation, at least in my case, plus from not stretching enough. I do wear insoles and they help me extremely well. Google insoles for plantar fasciitis. There is a catalog that I received, which has some great products, it's called FeelGoodStore.com. Check it out!!

Good Luck!!!
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Bigbaby, this is just my opinion, but I would like to suggest that you do wear your Birkies to get to the bathroom from the bed and perhaps buy some crocs to wear to the pool. Water can't hurt them. About the exercises: Before you get out of bed every morning, sit on the side of the bed and move your feet in circles, then write the alphabet with your toes. The doctor didn't tell me this, but before doing that while I was sitting up in the bed I bent my leg so I could easily reach my foot. I massaged the arch of my feet ( I had it in both feet )with my thumb and then just gave my feet a general all over massage. Once I got out of bed or when I stood up after sitting in a chair I stood about two feet from a wall. I put both hands on the wall. I can't remember if you have it in one foot or both. If it is one foot, put that leg behind you. Keep it straight and stretch til you can feel the back of your calf stretching. While doing this you will need to slightly bend the knee on the leg in front. You don't want to stretch that one. I cannot remember how long to hold that stretch, but I would say maybe 20 to 30 seconds. Do not bounce while stretching. Just do it slowlly. It will help alleviate some of the pain you normally feel when you first get up. You can do that stretch several times a day. I still do it occasionally. When I had PF I found a message board , but that was a few years ago and I have no idea what it was or where it was.Sorry I can't help you there. Linda
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User
15 years ago
ezri is right. It is individual.
I've had it since early August. I got it from walking in flip flops which I never used to wear. I have inflammation not only on my heel, but in the ball of my foot, so can't do some of the exercises.
I am getting better in very slow steps. If I overdo it, it gets worse.
Here is what I have done:
-bought heel spur orthotic for my shoe
-got a gel pad for the ball of my foot
-got a night splint ( http://walking.about.com/od/medfoot/tp/heel.htm ) (to prevent pain on first steps in the morning)
-got a topical anti-inflammatory from doctor
-ice 3x/day for 20 minutes
-rest, rest, rest (if you can-I am lucky to be retired and can do that)
-massage. I have one of those Homedics chair massagers. I lay it on the floor and let it massage the bottoms of my feet. It gets blood to the area for better healing.

I really recommend the night splint and heel spur orthotic for your shoe. I thought the splint would be really cumbersome to sleep with, but it wasn't and my heel didn't hurt so much in the morning. Wear supportive shoes. I bought a pair from 'Walking on a Cloud' with a good arch and in a size larger so that there was room for the orthotics.
There is a lot of information on the internet. A lot of people have experienced this at one time or another. Some people can get relief after a couple of months, others-it may take a year. It does take a long time to heal.
Check out the links.
Good luck limorda

Here is a link that might be useful: Plantars Fasciitis message boards
socks
15 years ago
It takes a long time to go away. Try everything, and never go barefoot. Even put a soft towel under your foot if you stand on a hard surface in the shower. What really made the difference for me was a couple trips to a massage therapist. I highly recommend it.
User
15 years ago
socks12345..
A massage therapist! What a great idea. I know massage helps and a registered massage therapist can do a better job than me.
Thanks for the idea.
User
15 years ago
I got mine about 10 yrs ago, it took several years before it was better. I still wear orthotics now, no pain for some time unless I over do.

The best tip I has is to stretch your feet, back & forth before getting out of bed. Do it just a few min. Always wear shoes, and they should be supportive. There is a great heelspur website you can google it. I spent alot of time there.
catherinet
15 years ago
I had it really bad in my 30's. Custom orthotics and NSAIDS helped alot (although the NSAIDS injured my GI tract forever).
But.......it did require an injection of steroids. Sometimes it just needs that, if the other things don't help.
Stretches are real important. I stretch out my calf and then my Achilles tendon. I think the best way to do that is to get a piece of wood that you can put at an angle (like they have at physical therapy places).
But like I said, if these things don't help, get a steroid injection. Be sure to take it easy for the rest of the day after the shot.
catherinet
15 years ago
P.S.
I recently developed a Morton's neuroma. The very expensive custom orthotics didn't work this time. I discovered that the Walk Fit orthotics that they sell at Target are just as good. They are very firm and come with 3 different types of metatarsal pads.......low, medium and high.
I would think they would be very good for plantar fasciitis, since its usually good arch support that you need to take the stretch off the plantar tendon.

plantar Fasciitis

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ezri

earthygal52

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