Plantar fascillitis AARRGGHH!!!

[ssd]

Please tell me anything that helped you

I think mine was caused by switching to wearing flats most of the time rather than heels like when I was a youngster, so yeah possibly a middle age thing .

I had it for about 2 years, but a summer of wearing nothing but Birkenstock’s cured it and it hasn’t come back since.

That's weird @Eminybob, I've been wearing flats since the turn of the year after 25 years of heels and it's come on exactly since I switched

I've only bought charity shoes boots and trainers due to budget and I'm not sure if this has caused it for me, I didn't want to spend a lot of money on shoes for work so I looked on the charity shops and got a pair of hotter shoes, sketchers and a pair of trainers that are a decent make too, I used to buy 12.99 shoes for work and thought second hand good shoes would be better for my feet but I've ended up with really sore feet and as I work as a waitress I think I'll need to take time off work on sick pay ☹️☹️☹️

Wearing slippers with a small heel when indoors helped my PF, along with many of the other suggested treatments above. I put thick spongy insoles in any shoes that would take them, it reduced the pain. Some footwear still seems to provoke it, eg Ecco sandals, stability running shoes.

This is what's confusing me here, some people swear by ecco shoes some people say its made them worse. I've got a limited budget and I can't spend 20 plus quid on boots pf insoles or 60 quid shoes if they just don't help
Am waiting for an NHS podiatrist appt but it's a bloody 5 week wait...
I'm pulling my hair out here, I've had boots orthotics for a while but I'm not good at remembering to put them in shoes or boots that I'm wearing, I only have 1 pair, I've put them in my second hand trainers but they are hurting me now
I just don't know what to do

Conversely I'm finding walking with just socks on feels better than shoes with boots orthotic insoles in

I had Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy on mine and it cured it 95%.

The steroid injections worked brilliantly but always wore off.

Both of these were done though my Bupa work cover so not sure if available on NHS.

I would say the single thing that helped mine most was rolling a ball firmly underfoot (ideally a spiky physio one, can get on Amazon) but a golf ball is good too.

Are the boots orthotics the fairly stiff kind? I found them unhelpful. The gel heels are softer and more cushioning and v cheap on ebay

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Soft-Gel-Insert-Heel-Pain-Relief-Plantar-Insole-Support-Orthotic-Pads-Cup-N7/264090795854?hash=item3d7d09bf4e:m:mGZfFRH8Yqlf4_CZzkmDmHQ&frcectupt=true

This kind of sports strapping tape is cheap and works - have look on youtube for how to tape your feet.

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Firstaid4sport-Zinc-Oxide-Sports-Tape-Rigid-adhesive-white-tape/232011579442?epid=1577228285&hash=item3604f7c032:m:mZgebm4FvPax0vYFolR0dwQ&frcectupt=true

Trouble is different things work for different people and buying stuff to experiment with can get expensive.

@shaggyrug how long ago did you have the shockwave therapy? And do you run?

@sleepwhenidie I don’t run but I had the shockwave therapy about 8-10 years ago (roughly worked out from age of DD lol).

At the time my doctor had to fight for bupa to pay for its use for PF as think it was only just coming into use back then but it really did work wonders. After about 6 weeks it was pretty much gone despite me being super sceptic at the time.

Thanks Shaggyrug, a friend also recommended it and I’m considering it after trying loads of different things with no great effect

I’m very glad I agreed to it. I’d already had 4 injections and multiple physio over years so was getting fed up. At first I thought it wasn’t going to work but within a few weeks it was 95% better so I was amazed.

I used to drop my heels on a stair every night before I went to bed. Alternate heels for a minute each x 3.

It seemed to lessen the morning misery of PF.

I also spend all day either standing or walking and now have PF in one foot.

Things I've found that have helped -

Never walking in bare feet - I wear fit flops around the house.
No completely flat shoes
I bought some arch supports on Amazon - literally some elastic pads with a cushioned bits under the arch. They helped.
Not wearing the same shoes every day. Wearing heels when I can makes a difference.

Exercises didn't seem to help that much.
I paid for lots of physio sessions. They only helped a little.

But the thing that has made most difference is rest.....

Good luck. It's awful!

I have tried many of the things recommended here.

I found exercises and a spiky roller has helped enormously. I also won a pair of Fitflops on MN last year I picked a trainer style and they have helped massively too.

I do take multivitamins and also a B complex (for other reasons), which includes B12 - I've since found out B12 can help with this kind of problem.

I do still were flats, but I mix up my shoes and don't wear the same shoes two days running. I mix up heel heights too.

I massage my feet every other night at bedtime, which has helped (as well as made my skin feel great).

Thank you so much everyone that's replied to me here, let's hope some of the suggestions here will help some of us.