Plantars Fasciitis - How can I fix it?

Question

I have a pretty severe case in both feet. The pain goes all the way up to my mid thighs on bad days. What are my options? (I have not yet seen a podiatrist) Is there surgery that can correct it? THANK YOU for any advice!

Answer 1

Hi...I have it, although much less severe than it once was.

I would not recommend surgery or only as last resort, even my podiatrist said this.

For me, here is what worked:
1) New shoes with heel support - this helped the most. Also get insoles made for your shoes. Your podiatrist can do this by taking a mold of your foot.
2) Stretching exercises for foot and heel first thing in the morning.
3) I was overweight (30 lbs) and lost weight, as a result was putting more pressure on my heel before I lost weight.
4) Night time splint to wear while sleeping. Also wear this while taking first step in the morning. Do not try to walk normally until you have done your stretching exercises. I read somewhere that if you land hard on your heel first thing in morning, it causes further injuries. A podiatrist can order one for you.
5) Podiatrist may try ultrasound therapy and cortisone injections. Both give mild short term relief.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

check out this site, it has description and some self-help options, including stretches to do before getting out of bed:
http://walking.about.com/cs/heelpain/f/heelpain.htm
Treatment
1. Rest: Once you have plantar fasciitis, you should back off of your walking distance and not walk or run through the pain.
2. Icing: Use an ice pack on the foot for 15 minutes after walking.
3. Self-Massage: Massage the foot before getting out of bed in the morning. Use long strokes from the ball down to the heel.
4. Night splint: This device holds your foot flexed at night so that the plantar fascia doesn't tighten up and cause that horrible pain as you stretch it first thing in the morning, which can in fact re-injure it.

Answer 4

There is surgery for plantar fasciitis. Usually conservatiove options work, however. Go see a podiatrist as how are you even sure it is plantar fasciitis and not signs of back problems?

Answer 5

It depends on how long you have had it. If you have had it for less than a month, you are "acute" and tend to respond better to ultrasound and interferential. After about a month the response to this goes down and you have to look at orthotics, stretching, and rolling of the foot with an frozen bottle.
A pedorthist or podiatrist can help you with the orthotics. A properly fitted custom fit orthotic has been shown to be as good as a custom made orthotic and are a lot less cost.
A pedorthist can help you find shoes that are appropriate for you and your orthotics.
If orthotics, shoes, stretching and exercises do not help, then a night splint is the next thing to try.
Surgery is a choice of last resort. Many people who have surgery report that it has increased their pain.

Best wishes on getting this sorted out.

Answer 6

This is a lot easier than you think. Sit in a long sitting position. Keep the knees straight. Make the muscles of the feet pull the front of the feet up towards the knees. As this is being done there will be a stretching of the muscles of the calf. Hold that stretch for a count of ten. Relax and do that routine four more times. Do this sequence before getting out of bed in the morning and right before going to sleep. Do this immediately after running as it will stretch the bottom of the feet. Also learn to sit on your feet with the heels on the floor not in the air. This may take some time to do but it will help significantly. Also make sure that the running shoes are fitted correctly and that they have no more than five hundred miles on them before getting new ones.

Answer 7

If you want to cure plantar fasciitis completely in one month check out this site: http://treatmyplantarfasciitis.uk.to- I did it, it works! Pain was gone in only a few days. Good luck!

Answer 8

Hi, I have it too. I found out what it was by going to my chiropractor. He used a diffuser on my foot and I filled a little bottle about 3/4 full of water and put it in the freezer. I had to roll my foot over it for about 15 - 20 minutes a day and that helped. It doesn't bother me as much anymore. A diffuser is similar to a vibrator, but is more concentrated and helps release the adhesions in the foot. Good luck to you.

Oh, another thing he instructed me to do was to make sure when I walked to have the heel strike down first and have the outside of the bottom of your foot next ending up with the toes pushing you off into the next step. (I was walking on my toes because it hurt so much) It stretches it out which is needed, otherwise, it will cause the adhesions to shrink and causes more pain.

Answer 9

A good friend has PF and there is no surgery to actually correct it that I know of. She went to a podiatrist and had orthotics made to put into her shoes which helped some. She also uses a frozen bottle of water as a massager on her feet. That helps too. I'd go to a podiatrist as soon as you're able and get things checked out. Good luck.

Answer 10

Hurt like h*ll, don't they?!!

I have "heel spurs" in both feet too. I went to a podiatrist and he told me to try some custom made shoe inserts .... the cost? $400.00!!

I asked if there were any alternatives ... yup ... I could have surgery, to file the spurs down ... the cost? $800.00 ... PER FOOT!! *puts eyes back in head*

Sorry ... those are the only things, other than anti-inflamatories, that may or may not help. I've heard from numerous people that the inserts don't help ... and since I don't have $400.00 to "throw into the wind", I just take my pills ... like a good girl, and suffer it out. I know, sucks big time!!