Edumakate me Plantar Fasciitis

[scottmandue]

My wife has severe heal pain (and no, it is not me)...

I have suggested she see her doc and get a referral from a podiatrist...

However she has looked on the internet and the symptoms point at Plantar Fasciitis.

Big problem in that we are not sporty folks and walking is our primary form of exercise.

A quick search on the internet by me shows shoes and braces designed to alive the (Plantar Fasciitis) pain.

Do they work or snake oil?

Thanks in advance

PS, she does buy high quality walking shoes (Nike) however she is still driven more by fashion than fit.

[livi]

I think this is something Tobra would know about.

[Amail]

There is a brace that can be worn while sleeping that pulls the toes upwards, basically stretching the bottom of the foot. It has been very helpful to my wife, who also suffered from this. So was a cortizone shot at the Dr.'s office.

[URY914]

Arch supports. Not the cheap soft kind. I get mine at the Birkenstock store. They are made of a cork-like material and hold thier shape.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

My wife has severe heal pain (and no, it is not me)...

Of course it's not. You said it was in her heel. If it was you, it would have been someplace a bit higher, right?

[madmmac]

The night splints do help.

Is the pain worse in the morning when she first tries to walk on it? Does it then get better?

Rolling the arch on a plastic bottle of ice on the floor can help.

If it is PF, get custom orthodics fitted and formed from a Podiatrist, not the over the counter type.

[Dueller]

I had it. Bothered me for months. Finally went to poditrist and they put me in very hard arch xupports that also cuped my heels. Gave me stretching exercises for foot. Brief stint with antiinflamatories and it cleared up in a matter of 3 weeks.

[mudman]

I don't wear shoes unless I have to go to a store or work or some other inconvenience, and spend all summer outside, working walking dirt roads mowing lawn etc. I seem to get PF symptoms when sore/tight, especially after an activity like wake boarding or slalom skiing, but it seems to strike while walking up a big hill to my house from the lake. Pain for me can be pretty bad and sometimes lasts for over a week, intense toe/foot/ankle streching helps me.

[gshase]

Have it and almost done with it after 6 months. First does she want to tip toe and stay off of her heal when getting out of bed? If so good arch supports help. The boot helps but hard to sleep in. Advil helps. But what I found out that helps the most is standing on a step with only the toe 1/3 of your foot on the step and letting your heal 2/3 stretch downward for as long and as often as you can. My Doctor buddy told me about this. I try 6 times a day for 30-90 seconds at a shot. After a while 7-10 days, after each stretching period do an up and down motion. Heal down then stretch heal up 3 or 4 times.

[scottmandue]

I sent her an email asking if it bothers her in the morning...

She has been touring universities with her daughter = on her feet all day.

Then we went to the county fair = on our feet all day.

Before all that she was doing the treadmill at the gym.

She has been gimping around since (over a week) says her heals are killing her.

[s_morrison57]

Some of you will laugh and some will be skeptical but I had pain in one foot that had me limping, I went to my Chiropractor and he fixed it. He practices using the philosophy of the American Upper Cervical Society and they are not the twist and snap type of Chiro, pressure makes his adjustments and x-rays confirm the work he does. They only adjust the top 7 vertabrae and this man, over the years he has fixed my heel, elbow and hip by adjusting those top 7 vertabrae. Find a Doc that belongs to the AUCS and your problems will go away.
Finn

[scottmandue]

This just in:

Her feet DO NOT hurt in the morning (unless we have been doing a lot of walking the day before)

But extreme pain in the heals after a long day of standing/walking.

[mudman]

Sounds more like (?) stone bruises. Or something like that.

[gshase]

PF is a killer 1st thing out of bed.

[strupgolf]

I've had the same problem for over 25 years. I kept saying it would go away, but it never did. I got some leather/metal inserts first, helped some. I can walk 18 holes of golf, but sometimes the next day they hurt bad. It depends on the shoes I wear. I bought some of the soft inserts at a store, but they seemed to work for awhile, just put them in the shoes your're going to wear that day. Yet, my feet are bad. When I wake up and walk, my right foot is serious sore. So, I was on vacation last week and came upon a foot store that has been around for 35 years. They did a evaluation of my feet and said yea, it was PF. Ok, what do I need? I now have some hard inserts that have been fitted to many PGA golfers and others, not cheap, but if they work, I'll be amazed. So far, after a week, so good. When you put them on, it feels like there is a golf ball under your feet, which was explained. The feeling goes away after a few minutes. It all comes down to making your foot plant itself in the right position and direction. I'll let you know how it works in (hopefully) 6 months.

[scottmandue]

Like I said her choices in footwear run more to looks and what is on sale... so step one is getting her something that fits properly... also has back pain that could be stemming from poor choice in shoes.

[Baz]

I've had PF for almost 1 year now and have followed ALL the recommended treatments and therapy. The one thing that has helped me deal with it the most - CROCS! Crocs

If you Google PF - you can pretty much find everything there is as far as therapy and treatment.

I did initially go to a podiatrist even though I already diagnosed it myself, just to get his take. He concurred and administered a cortisone shot - but didn't get it in the right spot so I never returned and have been dealing with it on my own since.

Here's a helpful link: Treatment of Plantar Fasciitis - How to Prevent Heel Pain and Plantar Fasciitis

But if the foot does not hurt in the morning...it is not PF so maybe a trip to the podiatrist is warranted or you could try a Dr Scholl's insert.

For anyone who has PF though....go get some CROCS!

[jcommin]

PM Tobra. I have had it. It's painful. It can be cured. Tobra knows.

[Tobra]

Verily, I do. Here is the deal on plantar fasciitis. Your body does its repair work at night. If you do more damage during day than you can fix while you sleep, it gets worse. You tend to tighten up in the calf and arch overnight, hence it tends to hurt in mornings. If you do nothing but the calf stretches, it probably gets better and goes away.

Originally Posted by Tobra

replace your shoes more often, stretch your calves EVERY DAY with knee straight and bent, toes pointed straight ahead. In AM, prior to getting out of bed or after period of rest, roll a tennis ball or soda bottle in your arch to loosen it up, ice every day even if it does not hurt, stretch before and after sporty activities

Replace your, with her in above quote.

Supports that I like are the Superfeet brand, with respect to the support they give you
green>blue>black, for the ladies I think they have purple ones. If you need to trim them to fit the shoe, use insole that came with shoe as a template, also, better to cut too long than to short on initial trimming, you can't cut them longer.

Do stretches three times a day, anti-inflammatories will help, ibuprofen 600-800 mg three times a day, alleve 2x220 mg tabs twice a day. Take anti-inflammatories with food.

Do not go to "The Good Feet Store" not so much that they have bad stuff, more that they charge obscenely high prices and will sell you a ton of crap you don't want or need.

It does not always hurt first thing in the morning, but that is typical. I don't like Nike products that much. Fairly certain I could find you someone local to you in Portland or Pedro, wherever you are now.

[m110]

Stretching program, religiously
Night splints, either hard type or Strassburg sock, nightly
Amazon.com: strassburg sock
Anti-inflammatories
Soft heel cup
Shoes that are comfortable, not flimsy
Accomodative orthotics off the shelf (not super rigid)
can try Skecher shape-ups

It is a partial degenerative tear of the plantar fascia. Usually goes away with time. Avoid surgery.