I've had pf a couple of times and one thing that really helped was to stretch before I took a single step when getting out of bed in the morning. I would just slide out of bed, turn around facing the bed, and lean forward keeping both heels on the floor. Also, you can find simple taping directions on the net if you can get someone to help you. It really does give support!

PF is the pits! After the last time I've managed to keep it at bay for awhile now - at least 5 years, but still I NEVER EVER go barefoot, I don't wear flat shoes, nor high heels. And yup, birkenstock, halflinger, dansko - all my friends. The ice helps as does the stretching. Once you're healed up, keep up the preventative stuff.

I'm with Becky on post #14 -- I highly recommend CROCS shoes too. I've had mine for about three months now and it's like walking on sponges!

The only time my feet don't hurt is when I'm wearing them. I'm so glad someone invented them!

I didn't know about CrocsRX - thanks for the tip - I'll definitely be getting a pair to try!

i also have pf...was just diagnosed back in may (right at the beginning of my weight loss journey). i had been doing a lot of walking/jogging...more than ever before in my life and that's when i developed it. it was so bad at first that my dr. had me on crutches to take some of the weight off my feet.

i agree with many who've already posted...always wear shoes. i've discovered crocs as well and swear by them. i wear crocs/birkenstocks/danskos/brooks and the occasional pair of cute flats if i'm getting dressed up and won't have to be on my feet much.

for working out, i went to a local athletic store where the clerk looked at my feet and how i walk and recommended the brooks addiction. i absolutely love them and wore them everywhere (until i discovered crocs for everyday).

i do most of my exercise on the eliptical or in the pool now. i still like to walk with my dog, but i save the multiple mile treks for once a month now, instead of several a week.

one thing my doctor did say was to give my feet a complete rest when i'm having a flare up. i find that i can still swim when this happens, but the eliptical or the beaten path...no way

good luck to all of you!
ella

I love my crocs don't care how ugly they are

i love mine too the more i wear them the less ugly they even seem! haha

Avoid the Good Feet store - they charge over $150 for a $20 arch support. Instead get a high quality OTC arch support like Superfeet. Should cost about $40.00.

A trick I use is rolling over a tennis ball - strange but it really works!
I'm also finding with less weight - it gets much better. It almost disappeared when I lost 60 pounds, it has come back a bit now though with my weight gain. At least I don't limp around anymore after sitting for too long!
I also wear arch supports

I've had plantar fasciitis for three years now. When I see people running in my neighborhood in the morning, I want to cry. I wish I could be like them. But I can only safely run maybe once a week. Sometimes not even then.

Instead, I use a stationary bike or an elliptical or row. Even using the elliptical sometimes can be too much. (Like this week.) I also intend to swim laps one day, but I've been taking a swimming class since last fall, trying to improve my form & endurance, because I just don't have it in me to swim as many laps as I want to. I've got good cardio endurance but breathing while swimming is another skill entirely.

Before my once-a-week run, I tape up my feet with sports tape, as my podiatrist showed me. Afterwards, I ice my foot & elevate it. Still, usually my arch feels a little questionable a few days afterward, and then I don't run at all for two or three weeks at a time.

I have expensive, custom-made orthotics which I got through my podiatrist. I never go barefoot. (Except in the tub & during yoga class.) I wear the green or blue Superfeet inserts inside my slides when walking around in the house.

Losing weight didn't really help, unfortunately.

I think it's just going to be a way of life for me.

I tend to get pf when the shoe season changes for instance switching from winter shoes to flipflops and backless shoes. Also after summer, returning to the shoes with backs makes it flare up for a few weeks.

I find that working on calf stretches and foot flexion/extension stretches help the problem resolve itself faster.

Also, arch supports can work wonders

I got prescription orthotics from my podiatrist. Insurance covered it for me, so it wasn't a very expensive option.

Anne

I have had PF for 3 months now and I just slowly starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel - but only if I am not active. It is a pain in the rectum but I there is no point to make it worse. I do all the exercises that were already described and I wear custom orthotics ($425 - ka chink!; and the insurance decided to refund me only $200 - oh well). I was told to completely lay off the elliptical so I do spinning instead (before PF, I did jogging and Zumba 3x times a week).
My heart is bleeding over the things I cannot do but right now I am just focusing on getting better. I wear sandals at home that have arch support and outdoors only sneakers with the custom orthotics - I will stuck in those the entire summer - great!
I also have a ton of gardening to do and that is hard too, because after a prolonged time on my feet my foot hurts (thank God I have PF in one foot only).

I had this really bad about 10 years ago. I did two things: 1) I wore very supportive footwear with heels (no sandals, except briefly if I was dressing up, and then they had to have a lot of support). 2) I had a cortisone injection. The first injection lasted almost a year. The second totally missed the mark and didn't do anything.

I am now completely healed and wear sandals all the time (I live in the Florida Keys) but I still make sure they are supportive sandals and not flip-flops etc.

I wore Crocs to work every day for months. They are called rx medical silver fox. At home I wore Fit Flops and the more casual Crocs. When I started dieting in January I decided to hold off on exercise until I got below 200 pounds and/or my feet started feeling better. It was the right decision for me and I just started on my treadmill 2 weeks ago. I am now wearing my old lady SAS shoes that I bought after back surgery almost 6 years ago. They are "slightly" more stylish than the Crocs and are the same shoe that my 100 year old grandmother wears! I am trying to hold off buying new shoes as long as possible since I am hoping to go back down to a size 7.