Heel pain/Plantar Fasciitis

[Pixiedust34]

Does anyone have this? I've been having some heel pain and my dh, an avid runner familiar with way too many foot troubles, thinks that I have plantar fascitis.

If you have any experience and/or advice, please chime in. I'm seeing the doctor tomorrow.

I hope I can still wear Tevas & Crocs.....

TIA!

 

[transparant]

Every summer I get this. I heard it's because of wearing flip flops (which I live in during the summer) and not having any arch support. It's only in my right foot - but it really is quite tender. I'm not willing to give up my flip flops though. I hope you get some good suggestions.

 

[parrothead365]

I had to go to wearing Berkies. It seems to have helped quite a bit.

 

[clutter]

I had problems for years. Years. I looked it up on the internet once and simply started stretching my feet in the morning. Just flex (pull your toes up) often. You can also stand on a step with your toes and push down. Worked really well for me. If I feel it coming back, I just do some more exercises. But I've gotten in the habit of flexing my feet often at work (right now!)

Good luck.

 

[declansdad]

My doctor told me to use a can of vegetables and roll it back and forth under my foot. It is suppose to stretch everything out.

 

[Amy]

Yep, I agree with all of the above suggestions. My heel pain is absolutely horrible when I first get out of bed in the morning or when I've been sitting for more than 15 or 20 minutes. I saw a podiatrist who said it was wearing flip flops - since there's no support, your foot muscles have to work in a weird way to try to keep them on your feet. He gave me cortisone shots (most painful thing I've ever had!), which helped for a while, but the pain kept coming back. (I've got some issues with medication that can cause bone pain, too.) I've found that doing the stretching exercises mentioned above help; I also use my toes to spell out the alphabet before I get out of bed in the morning - that seems to get my feet going through the whole range of motion.

Another thing that really helped was special inserts in my shoes. Go to Heel That Pain Inserts - they're only $25 and they're wonderful! I used to wear them all the time (easy in the winter), but now I just wear them in my sneakers. My pain isn't totally gone (probably won't be until I'm off my meds in another year or so), but it's a lot more manageable.

(Edited to add - someone from the DIS boards recommended Heel That Pain a couple of months ago and they're wonderful!)

 

[NAB]

I have this too. And like the others said you need to stretch before you get up. I also have to wear running shoes all the time even in the house. That helped the most. Doctor won't even let me wear sandals this year. I need heel support for a while.

 

[disykat]

I also use the heelthatpain inserts someone here recommended. Here are my tips: always wear good shoes (and I mean always - I keep crocs by my bed and put them on immediately upon rising. If it's really bad, I even wear them in the shower!), stretch first thing in the morning, ice your feet by rolling them back and forth on frozen water bottles.

 

[Disney Doll]

Stretching. I do a stretch where stand with my feet shoulder width apart, I point my toes in at about a 30-45 degree angle, then bend at the knees keeping my back straight. I can feel the "pull" up the back of my calf. Hold the position for a count of 10, then relax for a count of 10, then repeat. I repeat the sequences 10 times and I do it 3 times per day. It's sort of like a skiing position.

Wear good shoes with high arch support. I do Crocs and Birkenstocks mostly.

If it gets really bad, anti-inflammatories work, as does rolling a frozen water bottle under your foot. Rolling golf balls under your foot helps too. My DH got me a foot massager one year for Christmas that has a sibrating action and a Shiatsu ball. Let me tell you, when it is acting up and you put your foot over that Shiatsu ball, at first it nearly sends you through the roof with the pain, but after about 2-3 minutes, the relief is amazing.

I had my PF treated for a while by a podiatrist. He would inject my foot (which hurts like heck!!!!!!!!!!!) with a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and then strap my arch by padding the arch really well with gauze and then taping it up around my foot and also taping the foot in a slightly flexed position. It's a pain, but does really help the discomfort.

PF is no fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[wheeler1]

It took nine solid months before my heel felt normal the first time it happened to me. The one true thing that will help keep it at bay (once you've got it back under control) is to stretch and flex those feet before getting out of bed in the morning.

Its a habit for me now, regardless if its acting up or not. And it still will act up on occasion but the constants flexing truly will help.

Just a suggestion for your most painful moments with this. I would sit on the couch, put my foot in hubby's lap and he would first massage that spot on the bottom of my foot really really hard and then flex my foot for me. He could do it with his hands much harder than I could on my own. My Dr. told me this one and it really does feel sooo much better after he has man handled me!!

Good luck with this!

 

[MorganLeFey]

welcome to my world.

try those gel insoles ... my podiatrist toel me to try those first. when they didn't work for me, he ordered special orthotics for my shoes.

in my physical therapy sessions I do stretching exercizes and then I roll a tennis ball under my feet. try this one -- while your foot is flat on the floor, put your toes up against the wall so that they're at a 90 degree angle from the rest of your foot. it's a good stretch.

my physical therapist ordered a splint for me to wear at night.

and I got my first cortisone shot today.

 

[lynetteSC]

yes ... my dr said i could keep my crocs

any particular style of birkenstocks you guys get???

 

[damo]

The night brace really helps too. That was the first thing that really made a difference for me.

 

[LittleMissMickey]

I freeze plastic or paper cups of water then roll them under my feet. Frozen golf balls also feel quite nice -- it's a great stretch and massage whether your foot is ailing you or not!

 

[robinb]

I injured myself by carrying my DD in a baby backpack when she was a toddler. A lot of women get it when they are pregnant due to rapid weight gain. I had it more in one foot and not the other so my podiatrist gave me a special foot wrap that supported my arch. I wore it with my Birkies and with my Tevas at WDW. I also stretched and iced my arch with a frozen bottle of water. I am mostly over it now, but sometimes at WDW I have to ice my arches to reduce the swelling when I return to the room or I will be in pain. My DH was great last August ... he would be out the door for ice as soon as we arrived!

 

[hockeymomoftwo]

I had terrible foot pain especially first thing in the morning for several years. It is actually pretty good now very little discomfort. I wear crocs alot but did notice it was worse in my birk days (which I don't wear too often anymore). I took naprosyn faithfully for about 6 months, did stretching, ice and night splint. Now I'm not doing anything but trying to keep it stretched.

 

[DisneyRoys]

I am so glad I found this thread. I have been suffering with this pain in my right foot for a couple of months. I hadn't gone to the Dr. because at first it was not that bad (but continues to get worse) and then DH switched jobs so we are without insurance for 3 months.

I thought I had some kind of fracture because the pain keeps getting worse. But that didn't make sense because it hurts more in the morning or after sitting for 15 mins or so in the evening. I am now constantly wearing tennis shoes because that seems to be the only thing that helps.

I am going to try all of the stretching exercises that were mentioned. That should get me through until I can see the Dr.

 

[irishbosoxfan]

I also suffer from PF--In Dec of 2001 I twisted my foot wrong and it hurt like the dickens but kind of put it out of my mind as my DD was born 11/01 and already had enough on my plate--But then one morning I got up with her and was headed downstairs with her in my arms when I went down the stairs like a ton of bricks she wasn't hurt at all but when I told the doc about it he had no idea because for me the pain had pretty much gone away but that morning when I hit the first step is was like there was no foot attached to my ankle-----My foot was sore after my fall but we assumed it was from the fall and not anything else-----Well the pain continued for months and when they finally figured out what was causing the pain they also found that I had completely snapped the tendon

I was told to wear New Balance sneakers to support the area and I have to say it hurt something fierce to get used to wearing good sneakers,I was given Naprosyn and had to go in for physical therapy once a week--during this time they did some type of ultrasound machine where they would set it to vibrate at a certain level then they would increase the vibrations to help loosen it up and I have to say the first few times was painful but it really helped

I still to this day lose my foot every once in a while but the constant pain is gone--My doc said if it gets worse I will need to have surgery to correct it but I've managed to avoid that so far

One exercise I do like is when sitting down in a chair putting my feet onto the brace under it and pushing my toes down almost like I'm trying to wrap my feet completely around the brace it works really well for those who have to sit alot

 

[Pixiedust34]

Thank you, everyone, for your responses!

I saw the doctor today. To complicate matters, I have an infection on the sole of the same foot with PF. I am on antibiotics and am hoping that will clear up soon. I know that I'm not doing the PF issues any favors with the way I am walking until this infection clears up. You know those plastic looms that kids use to make potholders? My dd left hers on the floor right in front of the sofa and I stepped full force onto it, which injured my foot enough for an infection.

Anyway.....the doctor gave me a list of exercises to do, similar to the ones posted here. She didn't give me insoles. I showed her my Tevas that I usually wear, and she said that I should consider a shoe with more of a heel. I always thought that my Tevas were good walking shoes because they are made for "outdoors" activities. I have worn them for years without problems.

I read that Earth shoes might be good for PF. I've never heard of Earth shoes. Are they really good for PF? I'd rather wear a sandal than running shoes, if possible. Does Birks have a shoe style that is OK for PF? I'm trying to avoid socks if possible. Crocs do not seem to have much heel support. For those who mentioned Crocs, are they OK for you when your PF flares up?

If it gets any worse after I do all of the exercises/stretching on a regular basis and after I am careful about which shoes I wear, I will return to the doctor to see if I can get insoles and/or the night sock/sling.

Thank you very much! I didn't know that PF was this common until now. I go to WDW in 84 days with my kids. I hope that I'm in tip-top shape for the trip! I also hope that I can wear shoes w/o socks, as I'm not a fan of socks in hot weather.

 

[brerrabbit]

Ahh, Earth Shoes, havn't heard them mentioned in years. They were a favorite in the seventies and are shoes with the front of your foot being higher than the heel. I have had PF and when I think about they might help because your always stretching the tendons along the bottom of your foot because of the way you walk when wearing them.

I just remembered that they were pretty ugly though and I don't think you would want to be seen in them.