Plantar Fasciitis sufferers, PLEASE HELP

beachgirl01 · 01-18-2005, 09:26 PM

Hi there,
I went to the doctor today and was diagnosed with Plantar Fasciitis. Can you guys help me out a bit and let me know what you do for relief and help me in understanding exactly what is the problem and why it causes so much pain. I know there's inflammation in the foot but I don't understand what is causing it. Thanks a bunch, I really appreciate it. Kristy.

dlh · 01-18-2005, 10:10 PM

Plantar is the bottom of your foot...fascitis is the muscle on the bottom of your foot. Thats how it was explained to me. I freeze bottles of water and roll my foot on them and I also do stretches. I have gotten shots but heard they can rupture the fascia so I qiut getting them. Try ibruprofin for pain. There is alot of info on the web, read all you can. Hope you find relief!
dlh

seashell1 · 01-19-2005, 02:17 AM

I know how your feeling, I was diagnosed about 3 yrs ago. It was a real pain for the first year then got slowly easier to live with. Never go without shoes, stretch your feet back & forth every morning before you get out of bed. Ice your foot, take ibruprofin about 3 times a day when having pain. If you are seeing the Dr. he may want to tape your foot, that was my only relief for 3 months, then I taped it myself until I could go without it. I read all I could on the subject, bought super feet arch supports... which I still wear in every shoe. I've tried all the products I could, and also wore a arch band to support the fascia. I still have heel pain on occasion but its nothing compared to what it statred at. What happens is the fascia stretchs & sometimes rips then there is PAIN. Don't do the shots, it can make it worse and only gives relief for a short time. Get some good support shoes & inserts or orthotics. New Balance is one of the best shoes for this problem, and you can also use birkenstock sandles. Good luck, it will get better with time if you take it easy on your feet.

beachgirl01 · 01-19-2005, 04:15 AM

Seashell1,
Hi, thank you very much for the very helpfull response. My other problem is that i suffer from 2 slipped disks, a fracture in my spine, a curved spine and scaitica. So I think my plantar fasciitis is really pronounced and causes my other problems to worsen. It's a viscous cycle. I did some research on PF this evening as was able to get a better understanding on it, your post kinda summed it all up for me and made sense. I saw my doctor today and he suggested taking ibruprofin 3 times a day. I also currently see a physiotherapist for my back so I have another refferal to incorporate therpay for my feet. I hope it helps. I am on disability right now and I must say I am concerned about working (once I am able to) because of this problem. My job involves me to pretty much be on my feet all day and it includes a lot of lifting and labour. Anyway, my main problems right now are my back so I will do what I can to try and get this straightened out and hope that it works. Can you ever fully recover from PF, what does it take? Am I suppose to be inactive or keep pushing myself? By pushing myself I mean, I do the treadmill everyday because of my back and I do a lot of excersices to strengthen my back and stomach muscles. I'm a little confused right now and am just not sure what I should be doing, obviously I don't want to make any of my problems worse.
Well, again, thank you for your response, it was very helpfull. If you can add anything else i would appreciate it. Take care. Kristy.

seashell1 · 01-19-2005, 02:34 PM

I really don't know if you can completly recover from PF. If its very bad you can have it operated on. There is a procedure called E.S.W.T, I don't know much about it. Is it possible to find work that isn't as hard on your back & feet? I don't think pushing yourself is a good idea, take it a bit easier on yourself. Do what the Dr. tells you to do, but listen to your body. Wear the support shoes and don't go barefoot at all. I hope you get some relief soon.