Any advice? It's my right foot/ankle and I'm in an air cast. I'll be starting physical therapy next week (had to wait for an appointment because of a stupid insurance mix up). I'm feeling pretty stir crazy because I can't drive! The good thing is that I also can't go get junk food whenever I get the urge.

Frances

Oh, this is such a difficult thing to get through. Keep rolling your foot. I didn't find the night slings helped much, but rolling out the foot regularly made all the difference in the world.

Just as important - for a year afterwards - I wore only Danskos. Lots of people who work on their feet swear by them. When healing, wear the clog models or their Vedas (looks like tennis shoes with the same clog base). I cannot overstate how much that line of shoes supports the entire foot arch, allowing the poor tired foot tendon to heal.

I have no affiliation with Danskos! But, after a year in them, I could finally reintroduce other shoes into my life. My inflammation was very severe. I run my own manufacturing operation with concrete floors, and I really did a number on myself.

I iced my foot daily and also rolled and stretched foot every chance I got. I purchased some sneakers that had extra cushion on the heal and strong arch support so as not to aggravate the pain. I have had it on both feet, the icing and stretching worked for me. It took a few months though, but now I am pain free.

Ouch, you have my sympathies. I suffered for almost a year with it. I ended up basically wearing good running shoes all the time -- even when I got up in the middle of the night to visit the powder room I put my good shoes on (I used to go barefoot or in flip flops around the house alot).

I'm healed up now and can run, but I have kept the habit of wearing shoes pretty much all the time even around the house. No more barefoot on tile floors for me. I baby my feet alot more now than I ever did.

I actually had to have surgery on both my feet in 2009 after dealing with plantar fascitis since 2004. It's mostly better. One thing that helped me was special made orthotics. The other thing that seemed to help a lot was taking a 20 bottle of water, freezing it, and using that to roll under my feet. I tried pretty much everything before surgery. Iontophoresis, Phonophoresis, steroid injections 6 times... in each foot!, physical therapy, orthotics, night splints....
I really feel for you. Good luck!

Hi,

I so feel your pain. Several years ago I was laid up for months with this. I tried everything mentioned above without relief. Then in an online forum a lady recommended ViscoSpots which are very very soft silicone heel inserts for your shoes. At the time they were $35.00.

Having nothing to lose, I ordered from the manufacturer- Bauerfeind and they were a miracle for me. I have had little problems since They are different than silpats which someone else mentioned.

I have no connection to this company other than being a customer.It is worth a try . I will never be without these.
I also have custom orthotics but these are actually better for this condition.I put the visco's on top of the orthotics as I also need the arch support.My orthotics cost $565.00 so these are a bargain to me.

I don't know what the current cost is for the ViscoSpots as I stocked up years ago for fear the company would go out of business.

I hope you find something that helps you whatever it may be.

Sending good thoughts your way.

Sheridan

Thank you all for your replies. I've started physical therapy and that's making things worse, but I hope it's just for the short term! Ice bottles have definitely become my friend. I've got an appointment on 12/24 to be fit for custom orthotics. Hopefully, I'll make peace with the stationary bike at home, cause that seems to be the only viable exercise option at this point.

Hang in there and learn to love that bike. Your body dynamics will change as you lose weight as well and you may find you have less and less pain as you lose (this happened for me).

So think long-term, you can get there!

Rolling your foot with a tennis ball is good too if the frozen water bottle is too cold

Ouch! I was just telling my therapist about my foot/ankle problems last week. Same as yours. When I was 13 years old I really ripped my tendons and ligaments and did permanent damage. Prevented me from being the runner I always wanted to be (but I still did as much as I could and then let my foot blow up afterwards ). Anyway, my advice to you is to make sure you do all the PT exercises they give you, and if you don't have a stationery bike, you may want to invest in one. It's great for stretching the stiffness out. Also look into Traumeel. It's wonderful when you start getting pain.

Plantar fasciitis is a diagnosis with as many causes as there are feet! Everyone will tell you a different thing that works because everyone has different stresses that they impose on their feet.

I'll add my 2 cents because I had custom orthotics and got hip arthritis as a result.

1) follow up regularly--do not wait for them to call you to come in. Your feet will change and the orthotic prescription should be adapted to that change. Especially call and make an appointment when your feet are better!

2) do not ever let someone tell you that your legs are different lengths without properly measuring them--usually requires an xray and someone who knows the exact landmarks to measure. If they want to build up one orthotic due to perceived leg length difference, be to ask for this type of measurement first. Sometimes it looks uneven leg length because of hitching up the pelvis when walking, etc. Building up one orthotic when the legs are actually the same length will make everything worse.

3) do some research about the efficacy of orthotics. They are not always associated with good long term outcomes and there are alternatives.

I am trying therapeutic Iyengar yoga to try to undo the damage from my orthotics. Before this point, what helped my feet the most was to lose weight. My knees immediately felt better once I lost the first 15 lbs & feet felt great too. Unfortunately the damage to my hip stayed the same.

Hope your feet feel better soon!

The best thing I did for myself was to invest in Dansko clogs. I wore them daily for about a year until the pain finally went away. I now venture out to other shoes, but am partial to shoes with good arch support.

Oh this is a thread I need to be in. My feet hurt ALL THE TIME. I even have trouble sleeping. I've been diagnosed with PTTD and plantar factitious. I've seen over 7 doctors and I've had every foot devise there is. I'm really surprised no one has said I need surgery.

I'm glad to see someone has mentioned a good shoe to try because I've been trying to find something for my feet for years. I was wearing black new balance sneakers with an ASO brace, that didn't work. I've had shots, that didn't work, but the one thing I will say that has worked is work boots. Specifically Timberlands. They make my feet feel good because I need something to support my tendon. Right now I'm wearing a black work boot from Levi's. I'll be looking for something else soon. I may look into the Dansko because I'm on my feet at work. After 5 hours I'm in agony.

Thanks for the tips...

I have had chronic PF in both feet (though one does seem worse than the other) for EONS!!! Okay, it's been 7 years....but seriously, that is a really long time. I've tried every therapy except surgery (which I would be glad to try at this point except I have a 3.5 yr old and would rather wait til she is in school). I have had minimal and short lived improvement with everything I've tried. I do second the recommendations for Danskos, they are the only brand shoe with enough arch support for me. I have been unable to walk for exercise for many years and find that the bike is really the only thing that does not lead to increase in pain.

Hi, I had plantar fasciitis, I tried cortisone shots which helped somewhat. The shot in the sole of my foot helped the most versus the side of my foot but a big ouch!! That was SOOO painful!! I think over time my pain issues have improved.

Just my opinion here but I've found that seeing an orthopaedic surgeon instead of a podiatrist seemed to help me more. They seem to be more knowledgeable.

Take care.

Amy