With plantar fasciitis and gallstones, it doesn’t help to be fat, forty, female and fertile, either (no offense intended to anyone, I didn’t invent the mnemonic).
Never got a name for it, but I had terrible pain in the heel. For years. I had to keep stretching to be able to walk on it. I got cortisone shot that did nothing. Ibuprofen did nothing.
Finally saw a different podiatrist. He got me a specially made insert for my shoes. I had zero hopes that this would work. But it did. After walking with the inserts for 2 weeks, the pain disappeared.
Another PF’er here - just this year in fact. I just got a Strassburg Sock (torture device) and it’s helping.
I was told mine was bone spurs and arthritis. I’ve been a runner for years, and until the last couple decades, just ran in regular tennies and on pavement, which they now tell us is a big no-no. I’ve got a few issues as a result. Mine isn’t terribly bad so I’ve changed my running shoes to a model with more cushioning (kind of like a shock absorber for one’s feet) and I got an orthotic for my regular shoes. My foot doesn’t bother me constantly…just when a weather change is coming in, for example.
It wouldn’t hurt to see a podiatrist. It was a podiatrist who fixed me up with my orthotic and helped me find a better shoe. My regular doctor was essentially clueless on foot issues.
You know how it’s never lupus? Well, it’s always plantar fasciitis.
I’d concur with plantar fasciitis. I have this myself, and I never wear shoes with high heels (OK, “never” meaning I do about once every 3 years, and the heal is about 1.5 inches).
It flares up when I’m doing a lot of walking. And the first few steps after I’ve been sitting for a bit can be pretty agonizing.
Prevention: supportive shoes with orthotics. Stretching exercises (flex ankle versus the normal default slight-extended angle). Never go barefoot (that one is hard for me, I hate wearing shoes)
If it gets bad, I can do any or all of the following:
- Ice massage (bit of ice in a paper cup, frozen, massage the heel with ice, being careful not to go too far and give myself frostbit)
- Ice massage using a water bottle, mostly full, frozen, rolled under the foot. Stretches AND ices.
- Night split which helps hold the foot in a flexed position.
- Antiinflammatories (NSAIDs)
- Steroid injections (which hurt like a motherf*er but work miracles until I reinjure it a week later)
Try the home stuff (ice, stretching, wearing shoes); they won’t do any harm at least.
I had similar symptoms and thought it was plantar fasciitis but actually had a stress fracture in my heel bone (calcaneous). The difference in symptoms according to my orthopedist is that my pain increased through the day and decreased when wearing at least a slight heel while plantar fasciitis is worst when waking or after inactivity and when wearing totally flat shoes.
I had horrible plantar fasciitis a few years ago that would not go away no matter what I did. Stretching, ice bottles, different shoes, rest, not rest, toe stretchers…you name it, I tried it.
I finally went to a physical therapist and he fixed me up and it hasn’t come back. The key was that he treated it like a full body problem. He would massage my feet, for relief, but focused his treatment on my legs, hips and lower back. A gifted PT is worth their weight in gold.
I know this thread is a few months old but I sent away for some Vionic shoes, and there are some additional relevant details. I think the shoes would have been good except that I have wide feet, and the ones I sent for were too narrow; also they don’t have any wide sizes except for the walking shoe, which would have been fine except that they were out of my size in that shoe.
Also, note that although you can get a refund pretty easily and they give you a pre-paid return, they don’t refund the original shipping charge.