Hello, I'm usually on the back boards, so I'm new to the foot problems. :wave:
I'm 26 and have been having foot pain on/off for about a year now. The problem began when I hurt my back and couldn't sit down for long periods of time. I began to stand a lot (only way not to have my back hurt!) and I mean a LOT, at home to use the computer, at work to use the computer, etc.

My right foot is now killing me and has been since Nov of last year. The arch has fallen and the pain is literally all over my foot. It's on the arch, the outside, the ball, etc. I've been in and out of PT for my back so I had a therapist work on my foot as well (once I got insurance) She told me she thinks I have PF, but I don't have much pain in my heel and I don't have the tell tale first thing in the morning pain.

I finally went to see a poditrist and he made me orthotics. I've had them about a week now and they seem to have made the pain worse!!! ACK! Does anyone know if this is normal? The nurse did mention it may take 2-4 weeks to have my body mechanics go back to "normal", but I'm not sure if increased pain is part of this or not. I should also add I have Scoloios (mild) and my right hip points outwards a bit, sort of turning my foot.

The foot dr I've been to is a bit strange at best, though my primary care dr says he's the best around, just has a horrible bed side manner. He seemed to think there is not much else he can do for me, which of course I don't want to hear!! I'm wondering if I should possibly find another one to go to (I have PPO insurance so that's not a problem)

Meanwhile, I've tried *everything* to help my foot. My therapist showed me stretches, icing, taping, rolling them over a tennis ball, over the counter inserts, etc. Nothing helps for more than a day or two. I should add I have *very* tight calfes, not sure why or how it's connected.

I'm getting very frustrated because my back still isn't 100% yet and I have to stand at work to some degree, so staying off it isn't much of an option really. The pain is so bad it sometimes wakes me up at night and staying off it doesn't help much. Now my shin is getting a tingly feeling in it, I guess from being so tight. I'm getting really scared.

Thanks everyone for listening, I know this was long! I would appreciate any advice anyone can give me. Thanks :)
Katt

Katt,
The only thing I can say is deffinetly get a second opinion if you are not happy with your Doctor.I made a BIG mistake by just going with my first Doctor.

Sue

For sure get a second opinion, but I also want to throw out the possibility of Post Tibial Tendonitis. To correctly diagnose it, you would need an MRI. If torn, this can result in flat arches and pain. Sounds like you may have to fight to get an answer. Best wishes - eko

Thanks for your advice everyone! I am going to give it a few more weeks with the orthitics because I've noticed if I stay off them a bit at work and ice them at home, the pain is going away for the first time in months!! I guess maybe it might take some time for the orthotics to work. We'll see!

If they don't, I am going to go to another foot dr though. I'm lucky in that my insurance is a PPO and no referal is required so I can pretty much see any dr I want :) I know that waiting too long can make things worse, I had that problem with my back pain. It took me over a year for a dr finally to tell me what was wrong, so my presistance paid off.

Thanks again for all the replies! I really apprecaite it.
Katt

Katt,
I love my orthotics. However, when I began wearing them I was told to only do so a bit at a time. The first day I only wore them for an hour and each day after that I increased about half an hour. Wearing orthodics does more than effect your feet. My back feels so much better now that I wear orthotics.
I would definitly suggest you get a second opinion. I had two surgeries with a poditrist. My third and hopefully last surgery was done with an orthopedist who specializes in feet and ankles.
Good luck to you!
jdm

Katt,

I suffered badly from PF for six months a few years ago (reduced to almost no walkign for 2 months!). The one thing I learnt from my experience was that there are many contradictory opinions amonst the experts as to how to deal with it (exercise vs rest, hard arche support vs soft arch support etc). Eventually I had start using common sense and using the advice given to me that worked and ignoring that which didnt. Although rest, ultra-sound therapy and acupuncture did a lot to reduce the inflamation, the cherry on the cake were insoles with a soft arch support but VERY importantly a wedge that tilted my heel a few degrees outwards.

What no-one else had noticed was that ligaments in my leg were tight and were making my foot naturally tilt inwards. The result of this was that the weight of my body pushed the heel flat when I walked, putting strain on the ligaments which tore in the weakest place i.e. the plantar facia. The wedge effectively put a crutch in the insole to allow for this. Without the wedge the arch support would only dig in more making the pain greater. In my experience, most pysiotherapists seem unaware of this and only a biomechanical podiatrist seems to know what theyre talking about on the subject of orthotics.

May Be some help to you? If not keep trying, but definitely try different people, youll get there eventually!