Plantar Fasciitis Sufferers

JennieR

JennieR

Cathlete
When you were dealing with your PF, besides it being painful and hard to walk, did you notice any numbness/tingling/burning in your feet?

I started taking an anti-inflammatory last month for my PF, but my symptoms have come back within the last week. I'll be calling the Dr. Monday. I really hope I don't need a cortisone shot. I hear they really hurt. And of course I can't have PF in one foot, it has to be in both feet. :rolleyes:
 
Yes, I had that feeling. It's hard to explain but I felt it under my whole foot ( except toes). I joined a gym for cycling classes and bought a pair of Birkenstocks. My PF is much much better but I still get that feeling from time to time.
 
My PF has lasted for well over a year. It has improved of course but my feet are still stiff in the morning especially after a step workout. I have found that stretching and good shoes are the only thing that has worked for me. I stretch my feet and calves every morning right when I get out of bed. I had a cortisone shot in one heel, not too painful by the way but it lasted for about two days. The pain was back in no time so I didn't bother with the other foot. My Dansko shoes are wonderful.
 
OH, we all feel your pain! It's not pretty, is it.

Fortunately for me, my pain is pretty much contained to my heal. I do have a lot of tightness in the outside of my ankle on that foot; I'm sure that's due to the way I walk when the pain is bad. I've been stretching my foot, calf, heal, etc in bed before I even step on the floor and that helps for that first step in the AM. I've also been wearing my good (and expensive) running shoes around the house. I'm a barefoot walker, but I've been trying to eliminate that. Also, I've started going to the gym to use their ellip in order to do my extra cardio without impact and that helps too.

As for anti-inflammatory, what do you take? Advil, Aleve, Motrin??? And does it help? I haven't even thought of taking something to try to keep it in check.

Gayle
 
Be sure to ice it also. As Gayle said always wear shoes. I like to write the alphabet out with my feet before I get out of bed. It seems to loosen things up before I walk. Good luck.
 
Finally after NO running since September I have absolutely no twinges of PF. One thing that helped me quite a bit is taping it before I ran, and then if it was the long run day. I retaped it after I showered and had it taped all day. This enabled me to walk the next day!

I am going to start running again, waiting for more decent weather, and if I start getting any twinges, I will start taping right away.
 
I'm afraid to jinx myself, but my PF seems pretty much gone now. (I had it all last summer and into the fall.) What helped was wearing good shoes all the time, never walking barefoot, stretching (although not the stretches the doctor gave me; I did some of my own), and icing it. I think what helps each person will vary, so try different things. Good luck!!
 
banslug said:
As for anti-inflammatory, what do you take? Advil, Aleve, Motrin??? And does it help? I haven't even thought of taking something to try to keep it in check.

Gayle
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I'm taking a prescription drug called Meloxicam. My Dr. prescribed it. Being that it's a prescriped med, I figured it would work better then OTC stuff.


dorothyrd said:
I am going to start running again, waiting for more decent weather, and if I start getting any twinges, I will start taping right away.
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Dorothy, my Dr. mentioned taping of my foot, but I take showers everyday. So how would that work? I'm not able to take a bath because I don't have a bathtub.
 
Shoe inserts

Do any of you use shoe inserts? I had orthotics made for my PF last year, it was supposed to be the ultimate cure. They never could get the orthotics right and I went back to have them adjusted 6 times before I finally gave up. What works best for me is Spenco shoe inserts. I have them in all of my shoes and never go without shoes. My left foot is now symptom free and my right foot is 80% better. I can live with that.

Shayne
 
I had it 5 or 6 years ago and finally got a shot in the heel. It was not that bad and as soon as I got off the table it was better and in a day or so the pain was gone and has not come back. Now I have pain in the ball of the other foot and can't seem to find anything that helps. Sometimes I get a burning feeling in the ends of my toes and that is the nerve acting up according to the foot doctor. Spent over 250 dollars on the right shoes and inserts, pads etc and still giving me problems. Been wearing the New Balance tennis shoes he recommended to work with my office attire and can't wear any of my dress heels or boots. It looks so bad but have no choice as I can't stand even a low heel style. I have another appt with the foot doctor in a few weeks and will see what he has me do next. Probably custom inserts.

Susandean
 
I seem to always notice PF pain after doing a step workout the day before. Since I've started STS, I've limited my step to one day a week, with my other cardio either being a long walk (I have many hills near my house luckily), and/or a floor workout (most some of Amy Bento's non-step cardio). This has helped me tremendously. Good luck - as someone else said "we all feel your pain"!
Paula
 
Had to start this thread, didn't ya? Mine was cleared up til about 2 wks ago when my heel started hurting and now its the whole bottom of my foot again. I use ice and roll it over the foam roller, which hurts like crazy, but makes it feels better in the end. Dr prev advised aleve/advil/motrin - an ungodly amount per day. Yes, it makes my foot feel better, but makes the rest of me feel craptacular. Tired, headachey, crabby, mean, achey - yuck!!! I can't take that stuff for extended periods of time. So I ice and roll. What also feels good are socks that have an arch support, they comfortably hug just the right spot. Flat shoes are terrible - ballet flats would have me in tears by the end of the day. I've never had a cortisone shot in the foot. I had one in my knee and it didn't do didly squat, so I probably wouldn't do one in the foot.

Hope everyone's feet start to feel better soon!
Nan
 
I had PF a few years ago. An podiatrist taped my foot once a week for 6 weeks. I had to leave the tape on as long as I could (usually lasted about 5 days). That cleared it up completely and have not had a problem since. My pain was contained in my heel and was worse when I got up in the morning. Once I started moving around it was fine. If I sat and relaxed then got up that is when it bothered me.

chrissy
 
I've tried using ice and stretching my foot, but none of that seems to work. :( I'm hoping when I do get an appointment that taping will be the answer. I don't do well with shots. I'm askeered of em. :D
 
I searched the internet to see how to tape. Found some sites, and did it myself. It really worked well and it got better with taping, but the thing that finally made it go away was to stop training for the half and rest, which I did after the half was over. Also, my massage therapist had techniques for it as well. Mine took a long time to heal, so I may have been dealing with a stress fracture, don't know.
 
I haven't had my PF pain in a while. I stopped doing step as much and that seemed to be the ticket for me. I now only do step about 1 or 2 times per week and have not had problems. The elliptical and STS fill most of my workout time now. I also wear sneakers around the house all the time as well, which helps keep my feet warm too.;)

Best of luck in dealing with your PF......it's really a PIA isn't it??

Angie
 
have you ever tried a straussburg sock? I had pf a few years ago and I started sleeping in the sock regularly and the pain went away. Its come back (i think after a while of inactivity) so now I'm going to go back to wearing it. I also need to make a point of doing some foot exercises in the morning before I get out of bed, but sometimes I'm so quick to jump up to get the alarm that I forget.
 
angie_nrs said:
Best of luck in dealing with your PF......it's really a PIA isn't it??

Angie
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Yes, it is a PIA. Besides being painful, it's annoying too.

ladysaraii said:
have you ever tried a straussburg sock? I had pf a few years ago and I started sleeping in the sock regularly and the pain went away. Its come back (i think after a while of inactivity) so now I'm going to go back to wearing it. I also need to make a point of doing some foot exercises in the morning before I get out of bed, but sometimes I'm so quick to jump up to get the alarm that I forget.
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I've never heard of those. I'll have to google it and see what I can find. Thanks for the tip.
 
I have suffered in the past with PF, it is so not fun. I can relate to your pain and discomfort. When I had it I iced my foot before working out and after. I also took over the counter anti-inflamatory, Motrin etc... that seemed to help temporarily . I had PF twice and each time it lasted like six months. I think what has helped me the most was to get some Dr. Schol's gel arch support insoles. These are great because they offer some cushion for your heel and mold to the shape of your foot for maximum comfort. Its been about two years now that I've been PF free. I'd recommend trying those or trying Birkenstock athletic inserts for workout shoes. THey are very expensive about $40-$50 but will also mold to the shape of your foot and give support just where you need it. I know that alot of doctors will recommend Birkenstocks and the inserts are great. I can't afford that so I use the Dr. Schol's gel Arch support insoles. Dr. Schols' also make just a gel heel cup cushion insert just for the heel. I first tried those and they worked for me. Then, just recently I tried the arch support gel insoles from them and I loved those even better $10 a pair, definitely in my budget.

I hope all these suggestions will help lead you to which one will work and offer you relief from PF. I hope you'll be PF free ASAP!!;)


Hugs,:)
Nora
 
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