Advice for Plantar Fasciitis

[strawberry]

Advice for Plantar Fasciitis. I got some good tips from the doctor, but please share whatever you’ve got. Thanks! My feet hurt.☹️

[dirtyred]

What tips did the doctor give you so we don't repeat the same things?

Buy a night splint and wear it religiously. Roll your foot on something hard every morning (I used a golf ball).  Buy some shoes/sandals designed for PF and don't go around barefoot.

[strawberry]

The doctor advised me :
*to always wear shoes
*do foot exercises/stretches. One where I sit on a chair w/ my legs outstretched over a 2nd chair. Pointing and flexing my toes. One where I put my toes on a ledge and bend them. One where I use a towel while Sitting on the floor and pulling my feet w/ the towel towards me.

I’ve also been wearing plantar fasciitis socks/sleeves. They seem to help, as do the exercises. But still, walking a mile causes severe foot pain afterwards. I just ordered shoes made for plantar fasciitis and hope those work too.

[Patsy Baloney]

Rest and not wearing my crappy work shoes (flats, booties, etc.) is the thing that helps me most.

I also really like the stretch where you let your heel hang off a stair and let your body weight stretch your foot down.

[katfco]

I replaced all my work shoes with Vionics. DSW has them for a decent price. Use a tennis ball and roll it under your foot as a massager. The goal is to slowly move toys smaller ball.

[3dogdays]

Wear supportive shoes at all times. I have a pair of Vionic flip flops I wear in the house at all times. I also changed all my shoes over to Vionics. I also try not to wear the same pair of shoes 2 days in a row. I read that somewhere and it does seem to help.Ditto others in rolling a ball under your foot and stretches. It takes time so don’t expect it to get better over night

[ProfessorArtNerd]

Freeze a bottle of water and use that for rolling. Hurts. So. Good.

[tennisgal]

Get some foot orthotics to support your arches. Superfeet, Powersteps, Arch Rivals and Taccos are pretty good off the shelf brands but you could get some custom orthotics as well.

[noodleoo]

I have dealt with PF for a few years, it started after DD1 was born. The first flare up was so bad I ended up getting a cortisone shot from a podiatrist. That resolved the worst of it, but I still have pain on and off since then. The thing that has helped the most was starting to wear Vionic Tide flip flops as slippers inside the house. I used to go barefoot so it was a tough transition, but it helped a LOT. I have since discovered these Vionic knock offs that are way cheaper but just as good.

www.amazon.com/dp/B07KRS432K/ref=twister_B0818Y4GVV?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I love the support of Vionic and I love their Tides, but their other shoes don't fit my feet well. But I'd find a good, supportive shoe brand and stick with it. I can't buy cheap shoes anymore unfortunately.

Stretching helps, I do a lot of yoga when it is flaring up. Icing as well. You can use a frozen water bottle but I bought a roller similar to this that you can put in the freezer and it works awesome.

www.amazon.com/Aduro-Massage-Fasciitis-Massager-Acupressure/dp/B07FPT17G2/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=ice+foot+roller&qid=1626355277&sr=8-5

I've heard other recommending to go to PT to try to get to the cause of the problem. I really want to do that someday when I have the time/energy since it is chronic problem for me now.

[raangoli]

I wear custom orthotics in shoes that don't have decent/good support. I find that helps me wear more shoes than what Vionic or other brands offer.

I do wear the Vionic flip flops as house shoes. In the winter I wear a pair of Oofos clogs as my house shoes.

But regular stretching is your friend.

[stemmie]

Prescription NSAIDs for a couple weeks to calm things down.

Supportive shoes in the house and out. Vionics are beloved by many but Birks work better for me; you may need to try different brands. Good athletic shoes may work well. New Balance is what my ortho and podiatrist suggest. Merrells are often suggested, too. I have semi-custom orthotics and some OTC ones in my other shoes. The ortho claims a 1 1/2 - 2" heel is optimal, but it was a while before I was comfortable in any heel.

Regular gentle stretches and rolling exercise helps.

[aprilsails]

If you are doing any high impact exercise use KT tape to tape up your arches. It works a charm and I find it is better for me than putting insoles into sports shoes (cleats and running shoes). This is what ultimately resolved my PF issues.

[letsgetweird]

My podiatrist recommended Airrosti (a form of chiropractic care) for mine.

[TheSeaward]

Mine was cured by changing my diet to reduce inflammation

[VillainV]

Shoes for sure, especially indoors if you have hard floors (I actually have a pair of crocs that I wear as house shoes).

My husband’s PF was so bad he tried PT and dry needling and that helped a little, but injections pretty much made all the pain go away. He has to get them every 12-18 months, but it’s so worth it.

[happyholiday]

Jul 15, 2021 9:10:59 GMT -5 TheSeaward said:

Mine was cured by changing my diet to reduce inflammation

Any advice on diet? Did you do AIP? I have Hashimotos and I’ve eliminated gluten and dairy, but that only helped a little with PF and pain in general.

[raangoli]

Jul 15, 2021 9:20:26 GMT -5 happyholiday said:

Jul 15, 2021 9:10:59 GMT -5 TheSeaward said:

Mine was cured by changing my diet to reduce inflammation

Any advice on diet? Did you do AIP? I have Hashimotos and I’ve eliminated gluten and dairy, but that only helped a little with PF and pain in general.

With this advice I am officially becoming my mother, but turmeric helps with inflammation. So if you like Indian food - you're good! 

[mcsangel2]

The only thing that helped mine was time and rest. Mine was brought on by excessive walking on our first Europe trip, when I wasn't conditioned for it. It took more than a year to resolve.

[bunnies]

Ugh, many things. One is I had to stop wearing shoes like Nikes (which now feel like old dead houseslippers) and get orthotic sneakers. The ones I'm using now are from this online shop. Most look like old lady shoes but I got the XLR8 in black/gray/white and they don't look too drastically different from my Nikes.

[sparkythelawyer]

Real shoes. Every day. All Day. No bullshit Old Navy flip flops. I wear my sneakers inside basically all the time now.

[TheSeaward]

Jul 15, 2021 9:20:26 GMT -5 happyholiday said:

Jul 15, 2021 9:10:59 GMT -5 TheSeaward said:

Mine was cured by changing my diet to reduce inflammation

Any advice on diet? Did you do AIP? I have Hashimotos and I’ve eliminated gluten and dairy, but that only helped a little with PF and pain in general.

I went keto and that did the trick.

[katiecj6]

I had it and tried so many exercises and such, but what made the biggest difference was to always wear shoes inside. I think it took about a year before it was totally better.

I got a pair of ugly (but on sale) slip on fuzzy Crocs. It did the trick and I just always wore them.

[RoxMonster]

What helped me was rolling my foot on a frozen ice bottle of water nightly (wearing a sock). I also did exercises in bed every morning before getting up that helped since right out of bed was always the most painful. I spelled the alphabet with my foot before getting up.

And definitely my shoes made a big difference. Vionics work well for me.

[cheeseplease]

Jul 15, 2021 8:39:11 GMT -5 aprilsails said:

If you are doing any high impact exercise use KT tape to tape up your arches. It works a charm and I find it is better for me than putting insoles into sports shoes (cleats and running shoes). This is what ultimately resolved my PF issues.

I've been very interested in trying KT tape. Did you just tape one piece down the middle of your foot?

I stand all day on a concrete floor and have been suffering for about 6 months. I bought those amazon flip flops, they are comfy. I don't have much luck with Vionics, the fit just doesn't feel right for the shape of my foot. I did a stretch this morning that helped so much! I have mainly pain in my right foot so I crossed my right foot over my left leg and pulled up on my toes and heel at the same time and it relived the pain right away. Rolling a ball or a frozen water bottle didn't do much for me. I've tried almost every insert you can buy over the counter and heel cups from Superfeet have been the best for me. It seems to take a LOT of trial and error to find what works for you.

What shoes did you buy? I bought some KURU sneakers and while not very attractive they were very comfortable. 

[aprilsails]

cheeseplease the KT Tape website has instructions that have you use 2.5 strips per foot. This is insane. I just use one from ankle to ankle right underneath my arch.

Most of the time when I run I’m actually wearing cleats which have generally had no arch support. I tried putting in arch support insoles but then I had to size up to get them to fit and then I got hammer toe. So the KT Tape has made playing Ultimate Frisbee possible.

When I initially had the injury I just wore the tape nonstop for a couple of weeks and that got me really far into the healing process. I could definitely see that being helpful when you’re on concrete all day.

[toepick]

Night splint was what saved me. Never going barefoot. Bought good Vionic slippers and flip flops.

[sunnysally]

I always see people recommending to always wear shoes but not wearing shoes and doing exercises like picking things up with my toes is what worked for me. My first flare happened about a month before a backpacking trip so I saw a podiatrist and got a cortisone shot. I bought Superfeet to put in my hiking boots and brought a golf ball to roll my feet on. I made it through the 60 mile trip with a 35 lb pack on my back with minimal pain. Now, I do foot stretches every time I brush my teeth and a few times throughout the day and continue to exercise my foot. If I slack on stretches I get some pain but as soon as I stop being lazy it goes away.

[silvercrayon]

My husband has it pretty bad. He wears Hoka's and they really help. He had PT and the thing that worked the best was dry needling. He still has it, but it's not as severe as it was.

[snapoutofit]

Stretching , icing, supportive shoes and doming exercises to strengthen your arch.

[sweetchix]

I bought these slippers from Amazon to wear in the house becuae going barefoot was painful. I LOVE them! They are so comfortable and supportive. I like that they can be adjusted too.

www.amazon.com/SOLLBEAM-Slippers-Support-Orthotic-Sandals/dp/B07Y6WY9QX?pd_rd_w=ktFlL&pf_rd_p=e0d46bc2-436f-4db3-a26e-323523040b19&pf_rd_r=EGKJNZ92T704ZWX3KVE1&pd_rd_r=3ca557bf-c409-469e-a64a-40561e0242a8&pd_rd_wg=zE5Fj&pd_rd_i=B07Y6WY9QX&psc=1&ref_=pd_bap_m_rp_8_sc

I also recently bought a massage roller, I’m fact I just opened it and am using it as I type. I’m hoping that will help ease it up a bit.