Plantar fascitis

[nicolewi]

You all diagnosed me with plantar fascitis a couple weeks ago, and I think you are right. I pretty much lived in flip-flops last summer. What kinds of flip-flops are good? Or, what kinds of sandals in general? I saw Vionic recommended earlier.

Also I was just going to start walking a lot or even doing couch to 5K. I am guessing running is out, but I still really want to walk. I need to do something! Do you think this is going to make it a lot worse?

It isn’t horrible, but my feet are sore every morning. I’ve been making much more of an effort to wear shoes around the house.

[keweenawlove]

In general anything with good arch support. I rotate between Birkenstocks and Chacos depending on if it's wet or not.

There's straps (google "plantar fasciitis strap") you can sleep in that help in the morning. It stretches you calf all night. Stretching your calves in general and also rolling a hard ball under your feet will help.

I'd be cautious to start running if it's flared up because running does just make it worse but if you can get it under control, you should be fine to start slowly. My H has been dealing with this on and off for years. He has custom orthotics now but there's some good off the shelf ones that can give you good arch support and you don't want to commit to custom.

[cricketwife]

I don't have plantar fasciitis but I've spent the last month on the hunt for a good, supportive sandal/flip flop. Taos have great support (for me, they run a tad short and a tad narrow, so consider that when ordering.) Vionics, Birkenstock, Keen...

But for Couch to 5k, I would definitely get a supportive sneaker. I can't tell from your post if you are planning to wear flip flops for walking.

In the end, I got these Taos sandals even though the price makes me want to cry!  The support is great.  I also got a pair of Keen flip flops and these Keen sandal-like sneakers.  Hideous, I know!  Usually I just live in a single pair of Clark flip flops all summer, but I also wanted more support and I felt like having a few options would be good for me.  Outside of an actual workout, I NEVER want to put sneakers on in the summer, or really anything closed, it's so hot.  

Good luck.  It was a PITA to figure out what fit, what felt good.  I think feet are all so different that what works for one doesn't work for another. 

[lolalolalola]

In addition to vionic I have a few pairs of Fit flops

Mephisto are better than birks per my podiatrist

[nicolewi]

Sorry, no, I would wear sneakers for walking.

I have never had foot problems before, and I’m pretty sure I got myself into this because I’ve basically gone barefoot, worn slippers, or worn flip-flops for the majority of the past 15 months. Oops. Sneakers when walking/hiking outside.

[felicity]

Vionics are great for sandals. I also use their insoles in running shoes and sneakers for better arch support. You just have to make sure you get shoes with removable insoles.

[Susie]

If you really want to do couch to 5k and get back or into running, then I wouldn't even do walking for your exercise right now, I'd ride a bike or something else.  PF is a stubborn thing to get healed up, and if you half ass the care, your feet will half ass the healing.  Supportive shoes all the time, icing, stretching, and resting.  Don't make the mistake of saying it feels fine to go walk or run.  With PF the paint doesn't come during the walking/running, it's afterwards.

[nicolewi]

Susie, ARRRRGGGHHHHHHH. Not good news.

[egishere]

May 21, 2021 9:17:22 GMT -5 Susie said:

If you really want to do couch to 5k and get back or into running, then I wouldn't even do walking for your exercise right now, I'd ride a bike or something else.  PF is a stubborn thing to get healed up, and if you half ass the care, your feet will half ass the healing.  Supportive shoes all the time, icing, stretching, and resting.  Don't make the mistake of saying it feels fine to go walk or run.  With PF the paint doesn't come during the walking/running, it's afterwards.

Totally agree with this!  I've been battling tendonitis in my Achilles and rest is the only thing that really helps it per my Dr.  I plan to take a full week off next week and see what that does.  I'm still working out but modifying a lot or just doing peleton-he said biking and swimming are good.  

I want to get some supportive ff/sandals too and keep seeing some called Archies on FB that look promising.  I might order a pair to try- the price isn't terrible.

[VillainV]

I wear Birkenstock’s (Mayaris), and crocs flip flops. I also have a pair of Crocs that I use exclusively as house shoes because we have hard flooring.

My husband has worse PF than me and loves his Vionic flip flops.

ETA: until you get the PF under control, I wouldn’t recommend walking in flip flops. A quick trip to the store is okay, but if you know you’re going to be walking a lot (I dunno, like at a farmers market or berry picking or whatever) I’d be sure to wear sneakers. You can get fit for sneakers at a good running store — most can fit you for walking or running. Once the PF is under control, running should be fine.

[nicolewi]

How long are you talking? It says online it can take like SIX MONTHS or more to fully resolve.

[VillainV]

May 21, 2021 10:32:57 GMT -5 nicolewi said:

How long are you talking? It says online it can take like SIX MONTHS or more to fully resolve.

Mine usually resolves in a week or so when I rest and wear proper footwear. My husband needs periodic injections to keep his PF under control (but wearing proper shoes helps lengthen the time between injections). He feels relief in a day or so after each injection.

[savan]

May 21, 2021 10:32:57 GMT -5 nicolewi said:

How long are you talking? It says online it can take like SIX MONTHS or more to fully resolve.

I'm a good 6 months into my PF flare.  It started after I spent all last summer walking the dog in flip flops.  I switched to supportive sneakers 100% of the time.  No cute winter boots or shoes.  It is significantly better now but I still feel some initial pain when I get out of bed in the morning.  Sneakers aren't realistic summer shoes for me because I wear dresses almost exclusively.  I purchased vionic flip flops with the hope that I won't make it worse and then I can go back to sneakers in the fall.

[egishere]

Another thing you can do is order a night splint on amazon to wear at night. It does help!

[redheadbaker]

I had (still have? Does it ever really go away?) pretty bad plantar fasciitis. I wore these Skechers flip flops all last summer, and never had a bit of pain: amzn.to/3bKhg7Y

[expectantsteelerfan]

May 21, 2021 10:32:57 GMT -5 nicolewi said:

How long are you talking? It says online it can take like SIX MONTHS or more to fully resolve.

I can say that I've been dealing with it for years.  When it got so bad that I had to go to the orthopedist and get cortisone shots and have custom arch supports made, I did rest and 800mg ibuprofen for 2 weeks (as in, she told me to sit any time I possibly could and no exercise).  I took a month off exercising, and when I went back to exercising, I didn't try running again (I had also been doing couch to 5k), but I joined a boot-camp style gym.  I continued icing my feet nightly and stretching daily, wearing supportive tennis shoes with arch supports pretty much all day and supportive sandals or slippers if I took them off, and I had significant improvement, but it never fully went away.  I would still have flares where I needed to wear the boot overnight for a few nights.  When covid hit, I was almost to my 3 year anniversary at the gym.  I didn't exercise for most of last summer, and I still had occasional pain.  In sept. I bought a treadmill and started walking/jogging again regularly, and it's gotten worse again.  I've kinda resigned myself to just dealing with it and managing it as best I can.

[Susie]

I would say it was 1.5 year for MH, although full resolution was complicated by other factors. He had vein ablations on both legs, for example, because he had bad veins that were reducing blood flow, which was slowing healing. He has custom orthotics now too.

I see PF a lot in running and triathlon friends. Many of them deal with it chronically, for very long periods of time. From watching them, I'd say take 110% of the healing time you need, do it right, do it once, rather than "90%/good enough" because the friends who are itching to come back too fast are always the ones laid up again and again and again, and have trouble really ever getting back into it.

[mcppalmbeach]

I dealt with this a year or so ago. I’m bad about my footwear—always barefoot or on sandals/flops. What helped me was a sleeve that I slept in and wore during the day and for stretches I did the abc’s with my feet and rolled my help with a frozen water bottle/

[Deleted]

Definitely invest in good, supportuve footwear and always wesr it. Your days of cheap flip flops are over. Never go barefoot. Never wear the same pair of shoes 2 days in a row.

Stretch the hell out of your calves, and also do yhe ABCs with your feet a few times a day like another poster mentioned, especially before getting out of bed.

There are 3 main trigger points in your calves-2 up high on either side of the head of your calf muscle and one down low in the center, near your AT. Google them or just foam roll/roll a tennis ball under your calves until you find them. Trust me, you will know when you find them. Roll those out slowly at least once a day. This and acupuncture helped more than anything.

Rolling a frozen water bottle under foot helps with pain relief and helps break up scar tissue as you heal. I also ordered some Heel That Pain orthotics from Amazon that were amazing for immediate pain relief. I still use them if i feel the signs of a flare-up coming on.

I struggled with this for years. It got so bad i could barely walk. It rarely bothers me now as long as i wear good shoes, never go barefoot, and avoid the things that trigger it for me (running, jumping, being barefoot, wearing shitty shoes).

[RoxMonster]

I had PF about three years ago and it took about 4-5 months for it to feel completely healed. I agree with Vionics. I also bought some PF insoles from Target that I put in my knee-high boots that I wear a lot in the winter and that helped immensely. I basically stopped going barefoot around the house and wore supportive flip flops instead (I liked a pair of Skechers).

What I also found helped me a lot was stretching and rolling the foot on a frozen water bottle. I'd put a sock on and for about 10-15 minutes, sit on the couch and roll it on the frozen bottle every night. You can Google for stretches that are good for PF.

I'm sorry. PF really sucks Mine was the worst in the morning or after I had been sitting for awhile. I know there are things you can wear while you sleep at night but I never tried those. What I DID do was lay in bed for about 2 minutes after my alarm every morning stretching, flexing, and rolling my feet before getting out of bed and that helped somewhat.

[aprilsails]

I have super high arches to begin with and couldn’t really get orthotics to work for me. For a year and a half every time I went for a long walk or played a sport I wore KT Tape on my arches. I wore it with sandals in the summer and everything. It was amazing and I really have no issues anymore.

@@@
When I play high impact sports or go for runs I still tape up my arches. I haven’t had a problem since and made it through two pregnancies.

[just]

Like @liftandskate mentioned, don’t forget your calves. All the muscles in you feet and legs compensate for each other and stretching your calves is an important step to dealing with PF.

I clearly had a milder case than most here - but that means you might too. I was seeing a PT at the time for something else and he recommended all the exercises covered here. It took4-6 weeks of daily calf and foot exercises and stretching throughout the day for me to feel back to normal. Now I still do most of those exercise a few times a week to keep it at bay, and up it if I feel things are tightening up again.

[yuityfroghurt]

I went through this last summer and it was miserable. My podiatrist recommended Spenco, Vionic or Oofos brand sandals/flip flops. The Oofos are not the cutest, but I wear them around the house instead of going barefoot which I give credit to helping my pain/keeping it tolerable. They are cushion-y to absorb the shock of walking on hard floors but also supportive. I have Spenco and Vionic flip flops to wear outside of the house.

ETA: I also tried PT (3x a week for three months), wearing a boot for four weeks, using a splint at night when sleeping, and anti-inflammatories which didn't seem to help much. I ended up doing MLS laser therapy through my podiatrist and that was the answer to completely getting rid of my pain. There is a link below to my podiatrist's website that explains more. The laser treatment wasn't covered by insurance and cost $200 per session (three sessions are recommended with the possibility of a fourth if needed) but it was completely worth the money I spent because I no longer have any pain.

www.footandankle-usa.com/specialty/laser-therapy/

[katiecj6]

It took a solid year before mine went away.

The biggest difference was wearing shoes all the time. I bought a pair of slip on Crocs to wear inside all the time and it was the only thing that helped.

[lilles]

No running until it heals.
Go to a running shoe store and get fitted for walking shoes now and then go back when you are healed and get fitted for running shoes. This will be the best investment you make for your feet. Expect to pay $100+ for a good pair. Then remember to replace them as needed but before the PF flares up again. I get new ones every four months and it has kept the pf away.

[nicolewi]

katiecj6, I hate wearing shoes all the time. I'm a big bare feet/sock person (hence my problem, argh). I've been wearing crocs and tennis shoes all the time since this started. It's annoying but I'm hoping it will help it heal!

[katiecj6]

May 27, 2021 20:55:12 GMT -5 nicolewi said:

katiecj6, I hate wearing shoes all the time. I'm a big bare feet/sock person (hence my problem, argh). I've been wearing crocs and tennis shoes all the time since this started. It's annoying but I'm hoping it will help it heal!

I hated it too, but eventually I got used to it. And if I forgot, the pain reminded me quickly.

[aprilsails]

May 27, 2021 20:55:12 GMT -5 nicolewi said:

katiecj6, I hate wearing shoes all the time. I'm a big bare feet/sock person (hence my problem, argh). I've been wearing crocs and tennis shoes all the time since this started. It's annoying but I'm hoping it will help it heal!

This is me. Like I said above, invest in some KT tape and strap up your arch. They show it taking two or three straps per foot but that is a total waste of tape, just one long strip with a bit of tension under the arch and then taped up to my ankles made a world of difference for me when I was struggling with PF.

[aprilsails]

May 28, 2021 8:55:23 GMT -5 spearmintleaf said:

May 21, 2021 19:22:25 GMT -5 aprilsails said:

I have super high arches to begin with and couldn’t really get orthotics to work for me. For a year and a half every time I went for a long walk or played a sport I wore KT Tape on my arches. I wore it with sandals in the summer and everything. It was amazing and I really have no issues anymore.

@@@
When I play high impact sports or go for runs I still tape up my arches. I haven’t had a problem since and made it through two pregnancies.

I have crazy high arches and I needed custom orthotics. Nothing OTC even touches my arches. Vionics don’t. Nothing with “great arch support” for regular people even comes close. Pl

I wear custom footbed Birkenstocks from Foot Dynamics in Idaho. They mail you a foam box and you make an imprint of your footbed, and they make a custom shoe for you. They are very expensive but they last for years and I wear them all summer, exclusively. They also make me custom orthotics for my shoes for way cheaper than the podiatrist (though I’ve been checked out by the podiatrist many times and maybe that should be your first step). Podiatrist’s lab charges $400 or so; Foot Dynamics charges $150.

Thanks for the suggestion. At this point, I wear the KT tape like 10 times a year so that’s about a $12 investment annually. They have started to fall now but in university I could roll a standard marble under my foot without it touching my arch while standing flat. Quite a party trick!