I was diagnosed a couple years ago. I wore something on my foot that stretched it out at night. It drove me crazy but worked. I also took anti inflammatory meds at the start of my treatment. I also wear special shoes. I did these things and still had lots of pain.

I recently went on a grain free , low sugar diet for health reasons. My plantars fasciitis has totally healed as well as all of my joint pain. I have had foot pain for over five years since my last pregnancy. I'm so happy that I don't have that pain anymore. It only took a week for me to notice that it was way better. I'm 6 or 7 weeks in now and am pain free. I did have a couple bread items last week and my foot hurt for a couple days.

I'll chime in, even thought this thread is a bit old.

I had lots of foot pain, and self-diagnosed as having fallen arches. I bought some inserts for my shoes and was ever so happy!

I have a wide array of various shoe inserts. Each shoe has a different level of support, so I kike to have a variety. I have a good solid one for my slippers, and more mellow ones for my well supported running shoes.

But inserts are more preventative (IMO).

It was only about 3 months ago that I was jogging and felt a physical pull in my arch, and then had lost of pain for days and days. I did some investigating and then I learned that this condition has a name.

Best of all, I learned about stretching. The stretching seems like I might hurt more, so I would have never thought to do it, but man-oh-man does it really help! Even on those days when I have some pain for no apparent reason, a little stretch before my feet hit the floor and I can hop away instead of hobble!

There are so many complications with flat feet, I had no idea! And being overweight is one of them. Good foot health is certainly a motivation (for me) to loose weight!

This is rather anecdotal evidence but I too experienced something similar. I switched to a healthier diet that greatly reduced the amount of grains and starches I was ingesting and switched to mostly sugar free. I have had only 1 or 2 extremely short flare-ups and that's it. I have no idea if they are connected but it'd be pretty neat if they were!

Interesting...I typically avoid bread and pasta because when I eat it my psoriasis gets really inflamed. I had significant flare ups because of Christmas cookies, and went strictly off flour to heal my skin (and re-double my weight-loss efforts).

Perhaps it's not a coincidence - my feet have been noticeably and consistently [nearly] pain free for the past 2 weeks!!

I had a terrible case of this 10 years ago and went to PT for it. I don't know that the PT was too helpful - mostly just the exercises people have mentioned above + an ultrasonic massage that felt nice.

They had me sleep with my feet strapped into cloth braces with velcro that kept my feet from pointing during the night, in order to keep the muscle extended. I still use the braces occasionally but I hate them (rip them off in my sleep, etc).

The pain comes and goes. Mostly I'm barely aware of it, but it's there in the background and is a constant reminder to stretch it, do the exercises, etc.