Plantar's fasciatis (sp?)

kathryn

kathryn

Cathlete
A friend of mine just got diagnosed with this by her regular doc (won't be seeing a foot doc until next week) and I wonder what words of wisdom those of you who have this can give her. She walks a lot (on her hilly, woodsy property) and this is putting a cramp in her style.

Any suggestions would be welcome.

TIA!
 
Kathryn,

I suffered from this condition for quite sometime. I tried everything from cortizone (sp?) shots to orthotics to anti-inflammatories to ice. They all worked to a certain degree but never fully cured the problem. What finally did work for me was wearing a night splint for about a month or so. I haven't looked back since...

You can find information regarding night splints by doing a search on Google.

If you need any additional information, please don't hesitate to ask.

This condition is curable...you just have to be patient. I wish your friend the very best...


~Marietta
FITXME
http://www.picturetrail.com/fitxme
 
Kathryn, words of wisdom...patience! A good friend of mine suffers with this periodically and she just has to let it run it's course so to speak and then ease back into walking. At times she's gone 6 weeks to 2 months unable to continue with her walking. For her it's never completely gone. When she's having problems with it she swims for exercise.

Jo
 
Kathryn, my younger son gets this periodically. Here's the regimen that puts him back into shape every time:

Ice every few hours for 20 minutes, for a total of 4 - 7 days
Advil twice daily
Calf and Achilles stretches, standing and sitting, holding each stretch for 10 seconds
Arch exercises (he sits and rolls a tennis ball in and out under the ball of his foot)

And orthotics, sad to say. Expensive but they made a huge difference.

Of the exercises, the most important for him are the stretches.

Hope your friend feels better soon!

http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0304/sport/sport-smiley-003.gif Kathy S. http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0304/sport/sport-smiley-001.gif
 
words of wisdom.

DO NOT go barefoot. Get a good pair of mephisto to wear around the house, but try never to do barefoot, especially in the morning.

If it is really bothering you, you can buy a "boot" or a sock that will pull your toe back during the night, it is kind of hard to explain but you can find probably find something like it at a foot store or local running store. Wear it for a couple weeks and things should feel a little better.

TRYYYYY to wear shoes that have good arch support. But good luck with this because most shoes that are "good" for your feet are uuuuuugggllly and out of style in my opinion.

If you are really lucky you'll find someone to rub your foot, right where it hurts, really good in the evening, right in the plantar area. I have a really nice husband..heheheh.

Don't think it will go away because it probably never will. Well that has been my experience anyhow.

Good luck, it's not that bad, you can live with it.
 
Oh Katheryn, one more VERY important thing. When she is walking or doing her workouts she needs shoes that are right for her feet. Have her go to a good running shoe store, have them look at her arches while she is walking and recommend a good shoe for her, depending on the type of activity she does. Make sure she tells them she has plantar fasciatis. This is very very important because she may need a higher arch shoe or a more supportive shoe while she is walking up those hills etc. If they look at her feet they can probably tell. Like I said before if she has this problem, wearing a good shoe for her foot ALL the time would be ideal but it's hard to find shoes like that, in my opinion, that are cute and in fashion. SO at the least have her wear a good shoe when she is doing her workouts or any long walks.

Ok ill shut up now.
 
I HIGHLY recommend a foot massage or even a series of massages to loosen the tendon and muscles. This works wonders for me each time I have had it flare up.
 
My daughter (who played soccer in high school) had this same problem. One of the things I didn't see mentioned above was a heel cup (or I don't think I saw as I scrolled down!). She had to wear those in her shoes during the day. It helped tremendously. You can buy heel cups at Walgreens or Walmart.
 
I have suffered from this on and off. When I start to feel even a little pang of pain, I ease off the high impact exercise and pick up with a sport with less impact. I will swim or use the cardio machines at my gym (stair climber, bike). I also found replacing my sneakers every 3 months and putting in an orthodic insole helps prevent it. When I was doing Hi/Low every day years ago, there were day when I got out of bed and couldn't even put my heals on the ground. It was terrible. Cross training for me was the best solution. I hope your friend feels better. :)
 
This was an ongoing problem for me for years, very hard to deal with, compounded by flat feet. I tried everything - ice, stretching, rolling my feet on a frozen water bottle, anti-inflammatories, massage, cortisone shots,laser treatments, physical therapy, orthotics - none of them had a lasting effect.The thing that finally ended the problem for me was losing a lot of weight. It's really frustrating, I know, because a lot of really skinny people have plantar fasciitis, so losing weight may not even help a lot of people. I will say that, of everything I tried when I was overweight,the cortisone shots lasted at least six months each time.
 
Kathern,

I had the same thing happen to me. I also live on property that I just love to walk, and rome around for hours. And I am so flatfooted it is not funny. I mean flat!

My doctor (podietist) told me to purchase Burkenstock shoes. It took care of it right away. I can't believe how wonderful I feel now. Burkenstock also makes insoles for your shoes. That is very helpful, because you can wear your favorite shoe (even sports shoes) with the Burkenstock insoles. You can't with an open shoe though...sandles, thongs etc.

Remember, you need to wear them all the time.

I use to have all these expensive inserts, had casts made just for my feet, but burkenstock is the way to go.

Sincerely,
Janie
 
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