Plantar faciitis (heel spur)

[Anniegirl]

OUCH!
Any recommendations for best footwear for a summer trip to WDW? Have Birks and Tevas and am in tons of pain. An y suggestion to help make my trip less painful will be hugely appreciated!

 

[Tina]

Do you wear Orthodics in your shoes? I don't have any pain since I got mine.

 

[RumpleMom]

Have you been given stretching exercises? These exercises are a lifesaver. Call your doctor for them and do them diligently. Good luck

 

[joyjoy]

My daughter had this BAD when she was a gymnast and working out 24 hrs per week.

Buy those gel inserts for your sneakers. Take two cans of soup (or whatever) and roll them under the arches of your feet for 10 mins before you set out in the morning and again when you get back at night. Hold the bottom of each foot up against the jet in the hottub as long as you can stand it. Plantar fascitis is an inflamed tendon along the arch of your foot. It's like a rubber band stretched too tight so you want to loosen it the best you can. The can rolling works best. Good luck.

 

[LibertyLover]

Orthotics!!! They have made my life with heel spurs so much less painful. I use them with a good quality pair of walking shoes.

 

[Anniegirl]

Can orthotics be used in sandals? Any sandal suggestions? I hate the thought of a closed shoe in the summer down there. I am generally barefoot and wear the least amount of footwar possilbe (probably part of my problem). I can't seem to get over the initial injury. I'll try the can rolling idea though, and check with my doc about the rest. Thanks!

 

[daisax]

Sandals are essentially the same as going barefoot which is a big no no with plantar fascitis

Dr. Scholl's arch supports will probably do the trick, too, but obviously you need shoes for them.

 

[lagunaseca]

I can't help you with what shoes to wear but I had a heal spur when we went on one of our WDW trips and my heart goes out to you. I still would rather have a heal spur in WDW than be at home without one lol. The jet from the jacuzzi by the pool is where you found me in the evenings on that trip.

 

[katedrew94]

Some of the ecco sandals have removable bottoms so you can put orthotics in.

 

[3MouseMom]

Start wearing the orthotics in your shoes now....sneakers or closed shoes, not sandels. The key for me was a heel insert, lifting the heel and lessening the stress. I don't know when your trip is, but you may get some relief before you go.
The exercises mentioned are good, too.
GL!

 

[KAMommy]

I don't want to completly dispute previous advice, but my mom and I both have this problem. For us, the trick is to wear a shoe with a bit of a heel, like a good pair of Clarks. In the parks, I live in a pair of Teva walking sandals that have a slightly raised heel.

As to the orthotics, my mom went to the doc and got fitted for custom made inserts and they did help her heel. Unfortunately, they threw her back so far out of alignment that it took about a year to completely heal. In other words, if you aren't really careful (and sometimes even if you are) these can cause a bigger problem. Mom now uses my "Clarks are the best shoes ever" theory and both her heel and her back are fine.

 

[MrsToad]

I suffered for months before finally going to the foot doctor. He gave me a shot of cortisone, which helped the immediate problem, and then he recommended Spenco inserts and stretching exercises, which prevented the pain from coming back. I don't really do the stretches much anymore...the inserts work on their own now.

PS...we are all different...in my case, I had very high arches which, as I got older, needed more support...you are wise to check with your doctor on which advice will work for you .

 

[Cinderella822]

I just got back from the podiatrist a few hours ago and was diagnosed with the same thing. I'm leaving in four weeks for my trip and have to have this fixed so I'm not suffering (a point which I made clear to the doctor!). He gave me an arch support for my shoe and also said DO NOT wear sandals to the parks, wear a good fitting pair of sneakers with good arch supports in them. He also suggested stretching exericses and icing it at the end of the day. He said if its not better before my trip to come in for a cortisone injection. We'll see how it goes!

 

[Tina]

The cortisone injections are AMAZING! I highly recommend one a day before your trip if you are still feeling any pain at all.

 

[eeyore45]

Powerstep or WalkFit are great inserts ( and cheaper than the orthotics, but orthotics are worth it!) I also have this and went to our family podiatrist (dh and ds have orthotics!) I did NOT want a SHOT, so I avoided the podiatrist... shame on me, my podiatrist does not believe in shots, she believes in healing the problem, definately do the exercises (one is to flex and point BEFORE you get out of bed, roll your foot around and point and flex is another, the soup can one is great too...) lets see... oh

FInd a pair of CROCS shoes!! yep, they are ugly, but the heel bed is great for this problem, my podiatrist said these were better for me than birks because birks have the solid, firm sole, where Crocs have the softer, yet firm bed for my foot, it molds to my foot...

(oh I think its www.powerstep.com and www.WalkFit.com)

 

[Pinnie]

I am going to suggest you head to a podiatrist. It's much better to have the problem PROPERLY diagnosed and treated by a professional. I "thought" I had plantar's fascitis but when I went to the Dr. he diagosed something ELSE and the treatment was different.

pinnie

 

[babar41]

Strongly suggest you go to your doctor and discuss the problem with him/her. Tell the doctor when you are planning on going to Disney, then listen to every bit of advice you are given and follow it religiously!

2 years ago I came down with this problem about 1 1/2 months before our scheduled trip. When I saw my doctor I told him he had that long to fix me. I would do whatever he said to do, but I had to be well in time for my trip. He suggested the arch support inserts, not the gel type because they really don't have the same support as the hard ones. From say one I never walked anywhere without them. I even put them in my houseslippers! I did the stretching exercises. By following his advice I was able to go to WDW pain free.

It's been 2 years since then, but I still use the arch supports in my shoes. In summer I sometimes wear sandles or clogs, so no arch support on those times, but I try not to do that more than a couple of times a week. Have had no futher difficulty, but since I have the supports might as well use them and ward off any further problem.

While the cortizone shot can be a miracle, you should know that there are a limited number of times you can have that shot in one area. I believe it is 2 or 3, then it does more damage then good.

Best advice? Go see your doctor. Without treatment it just gets worse. Good luck.

 

[roxwithears]

I have the same condition in both of my feet. I was lucky to have gone to a good podiatrist who knew alot about the condition. He made a pair of orthotics. If he/she knows what they are doing it shouldn't throw your back out or cause other health problems. The condition is not actually a spur - it is your ligament inflamed and pulling from the bone. People with flat feet or high arches are prone to the condition because your body's weight is not evenly distributed on your foot. Store bought inserts may provide some relief temporarily but it won't correct your condition that caused the pain.

In addition to the orthotic, stretching the ligament frequently, applying ice and a cream such as myoflex will give you relief as it reduces the swelling. I used to freeze water in a small pop/watetr bottle and then roll my foot over it. The podiatrist recommended taking a belt and pulling/flexing your foot toward your body. Do this before going to bed and lots before getting out of bed.

It has been about 18 months now and I am about 98%. I still have discomfort every now and then. I do wear sandals in the summer - I bought a pair of NAOTS. The insole can remove and my orthotic fits right in.

Sorry if I am rambling. I was dealing with this on my last trip. I just made sure I iced my feet every night. Ibuprofen also kept down the inflamation if it was really bad. Babar41 is right - it will get progressively worse unless corrected.

Hope this helps.

 

[dmslush]

FInd a pair of CROCS shoes!! yep, they are ugly, but the heel bed is great for this problem, my podiatrist said these were better for me than birks because birks have the solid, firm sole, where Crocs have the softer, yet firm bed for my foot, it molds to my foot...

(oh I think its www.powerstep.com and www.WalkFit.com)

I agree 100% My crocs have eliminated ALL of my foot and leg pain!!

 

[nuzmom]

Ok, so last year I struggled with PF for 6 months before going to dr. You know, too busy to take care of it Well, anyway, I went to my podiatrist and she was SOMEWHAT helpful. She said to wear ONLY sneakers (which I did already), do some stretching excersizes, and rest my foot. After that didn't help, she gave me a shot of cortizone in mid-summer (WDW trip in Sept). Well, that was WONDERFUL, but it only lasted about 3 weeks or so. I figured, no problem, just get another one right before the trip. Well, guess what - the second one did NOTHING. My podiatrist had said that this happens - it's less effective with each additional shot. She basically said that this was something I would have to live with and actually even talked surgery with me.

Well, I finnally brought it up with my chiropractor (I had been a very recent convert to the wonderfull aspects of a chiropractor). Well, he went to work right away. He said that the cortizone shot is a terrible shot - it breaks up the inflammation because it is a jagged little compound and it literally "tears" up the inflammation. (that's why it hurts so much if they don't numb the area first). Ok, the chiropractor "massaged" the heel with a "drill" - hurt like the dickens, but it would feel GREAT afterwards (no inflammation - no pain). He taught me some really good stretches and it started to feel better - not good, but better. Rolling the arch on a can is good, but a frozen bottle of water is what he recommended and gave me the most relief. Definitely had to ice the heel at night and vigoruosly stretch FIRST thing in the morning BEFORE getting out of bed. Oh, something to ask your doctor about - I didn't just stretch the heel, I needed to stretch my calf muscle, too. My chiropractor also had some sort of deep heat ultrasonic "thing", it would make my heel feel good, but only for a day or so.

I have to admit, at first I was pretty inconsistent with the stretches, but by the "end" I did them even a bit more than directed.

So besides being treated by the chiropractor, I found something else that helped. I got a pair of these inserts:
www.heel-that-pain.com

They didn't cure it 100%, but after wearing them for a few days to get used to them, they really did cut the pain in about half for me.

The last and BEST thing I did was to excersize on a "gazelle". I know it sounds crazy, but we got one to just get some excersize and it worked like a miracle. I would wear sneakers with my "heelthatpain" inserts and work out on the gazelle. At first, I could only do about 5 minutes because my feet would become sore, but after about 2 weeks, I suddenly realized that my heel didn't hurt AT ALL!!!!! And it has stayed that way. I think the gazelle allowed my heel to be stretch and also built up the muscle in my arch, but I'm just guessing at that.

Anyway, the last two summers I played softball in pain - could barely walk after resting 5 minutes. Could NEVER walk barefoot in our house - we have hardwood floors. And was constantly "limping" every evening or after resting my foot. Oh yeah, NO sandles or flipflos for me - NO WAY. I battled this for about 2 years in total. This summer - NO PAIN AT ALL. It's WONDERFUL. I can wear ANY shoe (but still wear my sneaker and inserts 75% of the time) and can even go barefoot!!!

IMHO:
For your WDW trip, see your dr. for some stretching excersizes ASAP and DO THEM!!!! Don't forget to ask about the calf muscle, too. Check into supports, either "custom" ones, "heel that pain" ones, or something else you find. Ice the heel EVERY night before bed and stretch before heading to the parks and after any type of rest. Wear sneakers ONLY - sorry Oh, something else you can try for your trip, ask your dr. about "taping" your arch - I found something on-line after doing a google search and taped my arch before softball tournaments - it helped somewhat, too. My chiropractor also had taped my foot RIGHT before our trip last year.

WOW - I'm sorry this is so long - it's a subject near to my heart - I really FEEL for you!!!! Sending some pixie dust your way!!!!!