Way OT:So is there a connection between Plantar Fachitis and Disney World?

[MickeyP]

I think I see a pattern here. And someone even mentioned their PF was brought on by a Disney trip.

 

[PoohHappens]

I really do not think so, I do think that if you were already developing Plantar Fasciitis that spending all that time on your feet could cause it to flare up or get worse, but that would be true of any walking vacation (Europe etc)

 

[Carol Ann]

People go to Disney world.

People walk at Disney...and walk...and walk...and walk. Way more than their body is used to and often in shoes that are less than ideal for their feet and on hard asphalt. So this can definitely bring on a flair of plantar fasciitis.

But so can any other vacation associated with a lot of walking (a la that European vacation I can never quite afford as all my money goes to Disney)

 

[minkydog]

Well, since plantar fasciitis is largely an over-use injury, then I suppose you could make a connection. Most people don't walk 13miles a day anywhere else. But if you take off up the Appalachian Trail I bet you could also find folks nursing their PF.

 

[Lorikr65]

I laughed when I read this!! I do medical dictation for 2 podiatrists and hear about plantar fascistis all the time. Obviously I'm not a doctor but people who have it seem to have pain at first heel strike in the A.M. and it goes away when they are seated. I know when a patient is diagnosed with it I always type "patient should wear shoes with at least a 1-inch heel height and to not walk barefoot or in slippers." I know flat shoes aren't good for it.

I have a question though - are Tevas good for all that walking or just for the water parks. I want to get a pair to walk around in but I wasn't sure if they were good for walking all day in.

Thanks - Lori

 

[jennifer293]

I laughed when I read this!! I do medical dictation for 2 podiatrists and hear about plantar fascistis all the time. Obviously I'm not a doctor but people who have it seem to have pain at first heel strike in the A.M. and it goes away when they are seated. I know when a patient is diagnosed with it I always type "patient should wear shoes with at least a 1-inch heel height and to not walk barefoot or in slippers." I know flat shoes aren't good for it.

I have a question though - are Tevas good for all that walking or just for the water parks. I want to get a pair to walk around in but I wasn't sure if they were good for walking all day in.

Thanks - Lori

My DH has had PF for about 4 years now. He has had 2 cortisone shots in both feet so a total of 4 shots. The pain went away for a little while but soon came back when he began running with a 265 lb body frame..OUCH!!

I have had him at Disney twice now and both times he wore his Asics. While he had no problems really during the day walking, when he got up in the mornings out of the bed he would almost crumble to the floor in pain. He takes Naproxen for the inflammation and that seems to help some.

His foot Dr. has told him that the only thing left to do now is to have surgery which will keep him off his feet for up to 6 weeks and there is no guarantee it will even help. So of course he does not want to do it.

Do you have any advice of what to do next???



Oh and from someone who has no problems with her feet I don't advise you to wear Teva's. In my experience, when my feet got wet or sweaty the rubber would wear raw spots on the bottom of my feet and the pounding on the pavement all day made my heels hurt at the end of the day. I did this one day and I then switched to my asics gel nimbus which I LOOOOVVVVEEEE!!!!

 

[RoseNJ]

I am currently battling PF in my left foot... and 9 days away from a disney trip. My foot doctor has me doing ice for 15 minutes twice a day, 200mg of Aleve twice a day, a night splint for a few hours each evening, and a regime of stretches to keep the PF from tightning up and causing pain. I am walking about 3 miles a day at home and, because I am listening to my doctor, am dealing with it well. I had it in my right foot 2 years ago...I didn't listen and ended up suffering for over a year.
My advice- if you're going to Disney with PF- wear good supportive shoes, take stretching breaks and stop and ice when in pain. My foot doctor told me that if I follow directions on vacation I should be able to handle the walking with no problem. No flip flops or strappy sandals this trip!

 

[firsttimemom]

Oh, how I remember the days of crawling to the bathroom in the AM bcs I couldn't walk due to PF in my right foot. My running shoe store recommended this little guy and it was a lifesaver!

http://www.countrforce.com/archbrace.html

Fortunately, my feet don't bother me at WDW. My back, however, is a different story.

Liz

 

[boomersmom]

I had endoscopic surgery for PF. The recovery period is a lot shorter. My podiatrist says the results are better also.

 

[zumbergc]

Besides doing your regular stretches for your foot.

If you have a tennis ball, put it on the floor. Then rub your arch over teh ball. It makes it feel a little bit better. I do this first thing in the morning and at night.

I also have one of the those massage balls, that has little spike on it.
Put it on the floor, and roll along the bottom of foot. With the little spikey points, you need to where socks with them.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000A3WHSK/104-4542135-6468731?v=glance&n=3375251

Here is a pick of one, not recommending you buy them from this place, just a quick picture I found.

Keep stretching.
Connie

 

[kldmom2000]

I was diagnosed with Plantaar Fasciitis about 8 yrs ago while working for an orthopedic surgeon (I was a clinical asst) The long hours on my feet from my previous retail management career and then my clinical jobs just exacerbated the problem..... now that I'm not on my feet as much as I used to be (it used to be 10+ hours a day), I find if I go to a place like Disney where I'm standing/walking much of the time, it does flare up again.... I just continue to do the exercises recommended to me and muddle along I can't take anything like Motrin/Advil due to the Inderal I'm on for migraines.... so I just do the best I can

 

[rkandmjsmommy]

Jennifer293,

Has your DH tried orthodics??? They have been a LIFESAVER for me, my podiatrist took a mold of my foot and made them, they fit into my shoes perfectly and since my flare up in 2002 ( I was first diagnosed in 1997) I have been relatively pain free, even with 5 trips to disney. I cant wear cute shoes all the time but I just became a nurse (lots of nurses have PF) and so far so good, I HIGHLY recommend them. I have NEVER had the cortisone and no mention of surgery for me

 

[cgcw]

I remember all too well the pain first thing in the morning from PF. Ouch!


Mine didn't flare up during a trip to WDW and I've been lucky that I haven't had a reoccurance in several trips since. But, it did happen when I was walking around bare foot at the start of the summer. No more bare feet for me. I need to wear shoes all the time. Easy Spriit level 3's work well for me and just recently I purchased a pair of the Croc Athen flip flops. Never in a million years would I believe that flip flops would be okay on my feet but at the end of the day, my feet actually feet better if I've worn them all day over the Easy Spirits.

Taping my foot diminished the pain considerably. Cordisone, I felt, didn't help much and the pain from the shots was bad (at least with the one doctor, the others didn't hurt as much afterwards). The summer of my episode was also the summer I walked around the beach with my foot taped and gym shoes on. I certainly was a sight but I knew I couldn't walk in just sandels.

My doctor recommended freezing a bottle with water in it, laying it sideways on the floor, and then rolling my foot over the water bottle. Doing this several times a day seemed to help a lot.

 

[MrsPete]

I developed this problem in my right foot at the end of last school year -- I had no idea it was so common. In my case, the doctor blames it on two things:
1) I'm a teacher, so I stand all day; some days I literally stand all day except for my 26 minute lunch break. I also have to park my car 1/4 a mile from my classroom. I just can't sit while I teach -- I'm way too animated -- but when school starts again I'm going to make more of an effort to sit during my planning period.
2) I started running with my daughter, who wants to go out for track next year, and I didn't bother with running shoes. Apparently Keds aren't good for running. In fact, I think the doctor's head spun around in circles when I told her what I was using.

I was confused about the pain: I didn't understand why it would be painful first thing in the morning, but less painful after I'd walked a while. The doctor explained to me that the muscle hurts when it contracts, but once it "limbers up" a bit, the pain goes away.

So, she assigned me some exercises: the golf ball on the floor thing has been doing me some good, but a frozen juice is better -- she said that the cold helps, and I"m supposed to keep rolling it as long as I can stand the cold. I keep one certain frozen juice in the freezer now, which is for my foot; we don't plan to drink that one! I usually do this while I'm sitting at the computer. She also gave me some stretching exercises and told me to buy better running shoes.

I've been following her instructions all summer, and my foot rarely hurts anymore.

 

[jennifer293]

Jennifer293,

Has your DH tried orthodics??? They have been a LIFESAVER for me, my podiatrist took a mold of my foot and made them, they fit into my shoes perfectly and since my flare up in 2002 ( I was first diagnosed in 1997) I have been relatively pain free, even with 5 trips to disney. I cant wear cute shoes all the time but I just became a nurse (lots of nurses have PF) and so far so good, I HIGHLY recommend them. I have NEVER had the cortisone and no mention of surgery for me

Yep, he has those and 350.00 later still no help!! He got those about 3 months after the first cortisone shot. I dunno what to do. I tease him all the time and tell him that by our next trip to Disney he will be in a wheelchair and we will get to go to the front of the line and board the buses first...

 

[jennifer293]

2) I started running with my daughter, who wants to go out for track next year, and I didn't bother with running shoes. Apparently Keds aren't good for running. In fact, I think the doctor's head spun around in circles when I told her what I was using.

.

DH is a cross country and a track coach at the high school here. He would FLIP OUT if someone showed up at practice in Keds so I can imagine when you told the dr. what the reaction was. If you continue to keep running a good shoe I recommend is the Asics Gel Nimbus. It is WONDERFUL!!!! A bunch of the girls on his team wear these as well and they love them.

 

[Hedy]

I developed this problem in my right foot at the end of last school year -- I had no idea it was so common. In my case, the doctor blames it on two things:
1) I'm a teacher, so I stand all day; some days I literally stand all day except for my 26 minute lunch break. I also have to park my car 1/4 a mile from my classroom. I just can't sit while I teach -- I'm way too animated -- but when school starts again I'm going to make more of an effort to sit during my planning period.
2) I started running with my daughter, who wants to go out for track next year, and I didn't bother with running shoes. Apparently Keds aren't good for running. In fact, I think the doctor's head spun around in circles when I told her what I was using.

I was confused about the pain: I didn't understand why it would be painful first thing in the morning, but less painful after I'd walked a while. The doctor explained to me that the muscle hurts when it contracts, but once it "limbers up" a bit, the pain goes away.

So, she assigned me some exercises: the golf ball on the floor thing has been doing me some good, but a frozen juice is better -- she said that the cold helps, and I"m supposed to keep rolling it as long as I can stand the cold. I keep one certain frozen juice in the freezer now, which is for my foot; we don't plan to drink that one! I usually do this while I'm sitting at the computer. She also gave me some stretching exercises and told me to buy better running shoes.

I've been following her instructions all summer, and my foot rarely hurts anymore.

My mom wore an Easy Spirit shoe that helped her bunions when se was teaching.

 

[elaine and the boys]

I self-diagnosed my morning heel pain...and after about a year of discomfort in both feet, I donated all but two pairs of good shoes and one good pair of sneakers to the Salvation Army. Goodbye flat shoes (always wore flats and keds...and walked around barefoot in the house, too!) I only purchase shoes with a bit of a heel and good arch support now . And only quality sneakers. The pain subsided quickly, and it hasn't returned in over 6 years. I'm a large woman on her feet for work, and now I find I can wear slippers or flat shoes occasionally without any trouble.

 

[DaisyD]

Mine was brought on a by a combo US/ WDW trip. I did so much walking and standing for 20 days straight that it injured both of my feet. I remember by day 16 I got out of bed while staying at the HRH and couldn't walk. I didn't know what that pain was. It was horrible. That was 5 years ago and I still suffer with it on occasion. I have found the custom orthotics do work for me.

 

[rapunzal]

getting my first cortizone shot on Tuesday...mine probably came on from standing all day being a teacher.