Plantar Fascitis?

[readyin07]

I am hoping that anyone who has had it can give me some ideas on what made it better. Were you able to get rid of it completely or just ameliorate it?
Especially interested in footwear ideas for the house. I am a sahm and always barefoot in the house. If I have to wear something I would prefer a slipper type shoe over a croc.

I have had minor heel pain here and there maybe over the past year. Just every once in a while a bracing pain when I stood up and then gone. In the past three weeks it seems as though it is here to stay. It’s painful, but not a bring tears to your eye pain, but it makes me stumble a bit. Almost always after I get up from sitting or laying and lasts for a minute or two and then is a little better. I have noticed I am walking on my tiptoes on the hardest surfaces at home like my garage floors.

[lolalolalola]

I’ve never gotten rid of mine completely, it still comes and goes.

I wear Birks in the house. I bought a special sock that I wear at night when it’s really bad. Otherwise I do the exercises commonly recommended and massage with a lacrosse ball as needed.

Sorry, PF sucks. I only wear ‘good’ shoes now, both in and outside the house.

[bears]

Mine is back again after a long hiatus. My mom gave me rock tape for my foot, which seems like woo based on the label, but actually seemed to help. She also recommended using a Straussburg sock at night.

[oregonpachey]

Skechers with memory foam are pretty much all I can wear. Which sucks but honestly, I will take ugly shoes over the pain I was in a few months ago. I could barely walk.

[raangoli]

I wear Vionic slippers. They have good arch support and are pretty comfortable.

[joenali]

I used a night splint for several weeks.

[jackie011]

I wear plastic (EVA?) Birks in my house all the time. I cannot walk around barefoot at home these days. I love these because they are very comfy, soft, yet kind of mold to my foot.

I bought a pack on amazon a few years back that included a brace, a ball (looks like a dryer ball) and some gel foot pads. It wasn’t very expensive, maybe $15? and while I don’t use it all the time, I typically get some relief when I do use it.

My (GP) doctor suggested rolling my foot over a can of peas and buying the Dr Scholls orthotics you get by standing on that machine at the store. I stood on the machine, but haven’t bought the orthotics yet. Most people I know who have orthotics think they are the best things ever, so I’m not sure why I’m hesitating.

[just]

Regular calf stretches made the biggest difference for me. I did them regularly during the day, but doing them in bed before getting up helped the most.

Its completely gone for me now. If it even tweaks, I start the stretching again.

[jackie011]

Dec 29, 2019 20:27:20 GMT -5 just said:

Regular calf stretches made the biggest difference for me. I did them regularly during the day, but doing them in bed before getting up helped the most.

Its completely gone for me now. If it even tweaks, I start the stretching again.

Yes, I write out the letters of the alphabet with my pointed toes every morning before getting out of bed. A PT suggested that once, and I do it religiously.

[Birdie]

I had awful PF for about two years in both feet. I could barely walk on my maternity leave because I was always barefoot in the house. Ultimately the things that helped the most were getting custom orthotics from a podiatrist and wearing them in New Balance shoes, wearing Vionics if I can’t wear the orthotics, stretching, and massage therapy. Once I addressed the root cause, which was tightness in my calves up to my hamstrings and had a massage therapist really work the adhesions out I felt a lot better.

[VillainV]

Rolling my heel around the floor over a lacrosse ball helped a lot. Eventually the pain went away but it took several months.

My husband had very bad PF and tried everything including dry needling and PT, to no relief. He ended up getting some kind of injection and it made the pain go away completely. This was several year ago and the PF hasn’t returned.

[RoxMonster]

Mine went away completely within a year and mostly within 6 months. Things I did:
-Foot stretches before getting out of bed in the morning
-Rolling my feet at night over a frozen water bottle (with sock on)
-Stretched before any physical exercise
-Wore better supporting shoes. Completely gave up my no-support ballet flats. The flats I have now are Clarks. My sandals are Vionics. I also found some PF shoe inserts at Target that I put in my knee-high boots and hiking shoes when I wear them. Doing these things have allowed me to keep it from coming back so far.

[toepick]

Yeah, you are going to have to give up going barefoot. I wore a pair of Vionic flip flops in the house at all times. Now I also have a pair of Vionic slippers. I also had a lot of success wearing a sleep splint.

[readyin07]

Dec 29, 2019 20:06:11 GMT -5 mofongo said:

Yes! Birkenstocks, vionics and chacos have been life savers for me. I can’t wear cheap little flip flops anymore. Boots and booties have to be a good brand, I’ve had luck with SoftWalk and Comfortiva. I had a really bad flare after a trip in May where all I wore were Haviana flip flops, it’s been a process, but I am pain free now. Good luck!

I’m so ashamed that since becoming a sahm 10 years ago my daily shoes have been old navy $1 flip flops. All day every day except when I am home and barefoot. No one to blame but myself!

[just]

Dec 29, 2019 21:01:52 GMT -5 readyin07 said:

Dec 29, 2019 20:06:11 GMT -5 mofongo said:

Yes! Birkenstocks, vionics and chacos have been life savers for me. I can’t wear cheap little flip flops anymore. Boots and booties have to be a good brand, I’ve had luck with SoftWalk and Comfortiva. I had a really bad flare after a trip in May where all I wore were Haviana flip flops, it’s been a process, but I am pain free now. Good luck!

I’m so ashamed that since becoming a sahm 10 years ago my daily shoes have been old navy $1 flip flops. All day every day except when I am home and barefoot. No one to blame but myself!

Eh. Since my PF has gone I’ve moved back to my shitty ballet shoes and bare feet. I know many are not that lucky but there is a chance you’ll be able to be in your bare feet again.

[alleinesein]

My podiatrist put me in a cast for 3 weeks to fix my PF. It worked and I've been pain-free for 10 years. I live in my Olukai Ohana flip flops. I am barefoot 99% of the time at home but I try to wear shoes/slippers if I am walking around. This is easier to do in the winter when my feet get cold.

[redheadbaker]

I saw a doctor for my PF, and I had to wear sneakers with supportive insoles (I got SuperFeet ones from Amazon -- as a bonus, I'm able to request an HSA reimbursement) nearly 24/7 for months. If that didn't work, she was going to recommend a steroid injection, which I've heard HURTS.

Even now, I try to never go barefoot. My podiatrist said that supportive shoes with a low heel are good for PF. In the summer, I wear these Crocs flipflops.

There are also stretches you can do, and a splint you can wear to bed to keep tendon stretched. 

[joy]

Yes, I got rid of it completely.

I saw a podatrist who outfitted me with appropriate heel braces, foot brace for sleeping, shoe inserts. and - most importantly - an injection in my foot to remove the pain. It came back slightly a few weeks later but regular stretching and shoe inserts took care of the rest.

So, my advice? See a podiatrist.

[ladyk]

Freeze some 20 oz water bottles and roll your feet over them. I use either crocs or thong/flip flop style oofahs (don't wear those outside as the footbeds are super slick when wet.

[winecat]

Dec 29, 2019 20:46:53 GMT -5 toepick said:

Yeah, you are going to have to give up going barefoot. I wore a pair of Vionic flip flops in the house at all times. Now I also have a pair of Vionic slippers. I also had a lot of success wearing a sleep splint.

Yup.  I have a pair of Vionic flip flps for the summer and slippers for the winter.  I can't go barefoot very much.  (I used to not be able to go barefoot at all.)  Yoga (both flow and yin) helped me stretch what needed to be stretched.  I used to not be able to walk when I got out of bed in the morning.  Good shoes and yoga helped so much.  

[katiecj6]

I wore shoes all the time. I bought a pair of crocs to wear all the time.

It took about a year to be pain free shoesless.

Then I had weight loss surgery and haven't had issues since then.

[cleo29]

I will look for C's exercises. you need a towel or one of those exercise bands. you can also freeze a water bottle and roll that along your arch.

[sunnysally]

I do PF stretches every time I brush my teeth. Since I have an electric toothbrush I know when 30 seconds are up and it is easy to fit into the day.I also write the alphabet with my toes, pick things up with my toes, and do a lot of balance work. When I first had a PF flare I was seeing a personal trainer who also had PF. He recommended strengthening my foot instead of always supporting it. This is not what the podiatrist suggested but I gave it a try and it worked for me. I do wear Superfeet insoles when walking long distances and especially when backpacking. Other than that I wear normal shoes.

I did have a cortisone injection with my flare because I was going to New Zealand in a month and planned to do tons of backpacking. It's been a year and as long as I keep up with stretches and exercise I am fine. If I slack I start to have a little heel pain in the morning and that is enough to get me back into my good habits.

[mcsangel2]

That actually sounds more like heel spurs than plantar fasciitis. If it is, it won't go away without medical intervention.

[winecat]

Dec 29, 2019 21:54:13 GMT -5 mcsangel2 said:

That actually sounds more like heel spurs than plantar fasciitis. If it is, it won't go away without medical intervention.

And they can get you out of anything.  Just ask Trump.

[court26]

I did acupuncture to get rid of mine! And I credit losing weight for it not coming back (at least that seemed to help me a lot).

[lavender444]

I had a wicked case after stupidly deciding to complete a half marathon after it flared up for the first time. I never saw a doctor and it took a long time of stretching, ice, rolling and wearing the sock before I felt better. I find I can manage it well now with wearing good arch and heel support. I mainly stick to Vionic shoes and slippers. I also have a pair of their insoles to use when I want to wear another brand of shoes. I also find New Balance shoes the best for working out. And I have to be careful about replacing shoes/in soles more frequently.

[aprilsails]

I have insanely high arches and developed it while pregnant with DD. I tried orthopaedic arch supports, special socks and exercises for a year with no improvement. Using one strip of KT tape to hold up my arch no matter what shoes I was wearing or what activity I was doing completely fixed the problem. I used it for about 4 months continually in the winter under my socks, but it works just fine with bare feet and flip flops.

Now I only use it if I am playing Ultimate Frisbee (insoles do not work well for me with cleats because of my high arch) or if I know I am going to be walking long distances in a day. I made it through my second pregnancy with DS without issue, although I did wear Crocs flip flops most, and I gained 15 lbs less this time. I think I’ve applied the tape a handful of times other past year (while pregnant) and it’s been purely for prevention, not because I was in pain.

[Velar Fricative]

All of my shoes are now Vionics after they cured my PF. I have high arches so going barefoot is the absolute worst thing for my feet, so I wear Vionic house slippers too when I'm home.

[firedancer10288]

I had it really bad for 2 years. I got rid of all my cheap/non supportive shoes, did PT, dry needling, cortisone shots...everything that’s been mentioned. It just would not go away. I finally opted for surgery in fall of 2016 and have no regrets. It took a full year for it to completely heal (I’m also a teacher, so rest is hard to come by once I went back to work), but I haven’t had any issues since.