Before we start, I have seen my doctor and confirmed that I have PF. We’ve taken X-Rays to rule out a bone spur, and he gave me a sheet of info about treatment, but he said different things work for different people and that I should find out the best stretches/treatment for me.
So, I’m looking for what has worked for people with PF. So far I am doing the following:
[ul]
[li]Rest - I’m trying to cut back on walking and won’t go hiking this weekend[/li][li]Supportive shoes - I switched out my old cross trainers for my new running shoes[/li][li]Ice - Twice a day I’m icing my feet (I have it in both feet)[/li][li]Ibuprofin - Occasionally when they hurt[/li][li]Stretches - Not sure which ones to use just yet[/li][/ul]
So, what has worked for you? Orthotics? Heel cups? Insoles? What stetches do you use?
I got a case of it after a lot of hiking in old boots for a week.
I stayed away from any real walking or running for a few weeks, and never did anything else in those shoes. I eased back into running, when I felt the time was right.
It seems to be harder for some people to shake than it was for me, though.
I had it in both feet, too. As I recall, supportive shoes didn’t help me at all. The little heel-risers the doc gave me aggravated it, so i stopped using those right away.
Ice helped a lot. Ibrofen too.
The best stretch that I found was the ‘stair stretch’. Basically, find you a step, and stand facing the stairway with only your toes & the balls of your feet on the step & your heels hanging off the edge. (It helps if there’s a hand-rail to hold on to!) Then, let your heels sink downward until you get a good stretch. Here’s a picture
What worked for me was wearing a brace at night that kept my foot at a 90 degree angle. Took a number of months, but it cleared it up. I’ve been free of it for a few years.
Had it once and it was pretty persistent, took custom orthotics to beat, now it’s back and I’m doin the same. Also, since your calves tend to tighten overnight don’t spring out of bed in the morning, take your time and loosen them up. Stretching is good, again, not when the muscles are cold you can worsen the injury if your too aggressive. Since there are 2 muscle groups in the calve, you need to stretch with the knee both locked and bent. Any decent running book will have examples. Try massaging the soles of you feet too, good luck.
One exercise that seemed to work for me was to lay out a lightweight towel (like a dish towel, not a bath towel) on a non-carpeted floor, and then use my toes to gather it up by grabbing it and scrunching it up. (Does that make any sense? It’s kind of hard to describe.)
I’m a big fan of prescription NSAIDs. The trick is finding the one that works for you and then taking enough of it consistently enough to really work on the inflammation. Once the inflammation is under control, you don’t need to keep taking it. I had exercise-induced bursitis last summer and the Rx NSAID made a HUGE difference.
Custom-made orthotic inserts, ibuprofen and the step exercise. When first treated, I did all of the exercises and used night splints but the step one is the only one I can remember to do regularly and the splints disturbed my sleep. It’s rather a recurrent thing with me, but I do have bone spurs as well, am overweight and work on my feet for long hours.
I think the inserts make the most difference in how I feel. I usually leave them in my work shoes, but if I’m doing a lot of walking on a weekend and forget to switch them to the other shoes my feet wind up killing me after a few hours.
There’re also corticosteroid shots to combat inflammation, that’s a good last resort for me when I forget to do all the other preventative stuff.
Done all of the above. They helped, especially the arch support inserts. But what has really helped was a cortisone shot in the foot. Not in the slightest bit pleasant while it was happening, but well worth it for the overall relief. Now instead of feeling like there is a nail being driven into my heel, it feels like I bruised it a week ago and the bruise is going away.
I’ll probably have a second shot next Monday, and that should do the trick.
As a somewhat related matter, I ruptured the plantar fascia on my left foot in May and I still can’t run (or even do a brisk walk) without problems. I saw a doctor and a PT about it over the summer but they have apparently done all they can do for me. Has anyone else had any experience with something like this?
(I hope this isn’t seen as a hijack of this thread. It seems to me that similar things might help both problems- inflamation or a tear.)
I had some ultrasound stretching from a physical therapist for a while, which relieved a lot of the pain at the time but it seemed to come back the next time I spent a long hard day on my feet.
Last week I had an iontophoresis treatment with dexamethasone, which is an alternative to the injection, and it seemed to do me some good; I’ll probably continue those for a while.
I’ve heard great things about the Strassberg Sock, but I haven’t tried them myself or for any patients yet.
The real key is finding the right shoes. I find that as long as I’m wearing my Doc Martens (which I wear 5 days a week), I don’t have much trouble at all, but a few hours in the wrong shoes and I’m hobbling for a while. I need to break down and spring for the custom orthotics.
Oh man. I’ve been dealing with this problem off and on for about five years. For several years, over-the-counter orthotics and shoes without heels helped alleviate the problem. Then I had a severe flair-up about a year ago that has plagued me since. I tried $50 shoes, $100 shoes, $150 shoes. I got $400 custom orthotics from the podiatrist and had cortisone injections which provided little relief. I even considered the surgery. The best advice he gave me was to stop trying to find the perfect pair of shoes.
In the end, Qadgop is correct. Stretching exercises work best. It’s also VERY important that you don’t go barefoot in the house. I found a pair of relatively cheap Topsider deck shoes that have about an inch of foam in them. They look dorky, but are comfortable, and I keep one pair for home wear and the other for outside wear. If you are overweight, try shedding some pounds.
Exercises:
Towel stretch: roll up a bath towel; grasp both ends and place the sling under the ball of your foot. Pull back until your calf stretches and hold for 30 seconds.
Wall stretch: stand near a doorway; place your affected foot against the wall at about a 45 degree angle, the other foot slightly back. Grab the door frame with the opposing hand and gently pull your upper body towards the wall until your calf stretches. Hold for 30 seconds.
Whatever exercises you do, try to do them at least six times a day unless it’s causing you pain.
I’ve found custom orthotics to be a Godsend. But then plantar fascitis isn’t my usual problem as much as post-traumatic arthritis in one ankle. On the rare occasions I have issues with plantar fascitis (usually when I’ve bene spending too long on my feet), I find staying off my feet for a couple of days, combined with ibuprofen and topical analgesic ointment application (recommended by a doc in the UK - the stuff here is along the lines of Icy-Hot, which you can find in the OTC arthritis drug section) to be very helpful. Sometimes icing it is good, too. But then whenever I’ve had issues, they’ve been gone within a couple of days.
I’ve had my most improvement with taping. I like the ball to heel tape method better than the around the heel tape. I would estimate I had a 90 percent impovement with the tape.
I had improvement with the tape and would then quit using it, only to lose the improvemnt. I finally agreed with myself to tape for 6 weeks and have managed to stay ahead of the pain very well since then. I had to poke around and try different tapes to find one I liked.
I was taping because I was waiting for my insurace to come through. Now that I’m uninsured, I have visited the ortho. I’m having orthotics made but haven’t tried them yet. It is true that the spurs are a result of facia injury and not the cause.