plantar fasciitis

[BigEarBob]

Hi,

my husband is currently suffering from plantar fasciitis and it is really getting him down and he can hardly walk.

All the doctors have said is to be patient and it should get better eventually on its own. Anyone else had this or can recommend anything which might help?

Looking at specialist shoes but don’t know where to start.

Thanks!

I went to a physio for a few months and eventually had shock wave therapy as it was so severe and going nowhere and it healed it!

I first had Plantar Fasciitis years ago, when I did a lot of driving with my job. I tried special insoles, from a Podiatrist. I did the exercises she recommended. I also had all types of painkillers/anti-inflammatories, I wore trainers all the time. None of those things worked. The ONLY thing that sorted it out was a steroid injection from the doctor.

Never go barefoot or wear shoes with no heel to toe drop (totally flat shoes, in other words) and wear runners recovery shoes whenever possible, best brands are Oofos or Hoka (Ora range). (You can often get last seasons colours reduced on sportsshoes.com as they aren't cheap )

Resent research has shown that Plantar Fascittis isn't an inflammation of the fascia and therefore the RICE guidance isn't going to be effective at curing it, similarly rolling under the foot doesn't treat it at all (although it does feel nice!)

There is one clinicially proven exercise to treat it and another to prevent it reoccurring. There is a good YouTube video that discusses the science and shows the exercises

Avoid a steroid injection if you possibly can by trying the above first because although the injection can work like magic, there is a small risk that the injection softens the heel pad which makes walking painful afterwards, or of the fascia rupturing which you really don't want to happen.

This probably isn't the cause of your DH's problem, but I'll say it just in case. I had plantar fasciitis about 5 years ago and the cause was bamboo socks.

I tend to have a lot of pairs of the same socks so that pairing them up is easy. One year they had really pretty bamboo socks in M&S and my old socks were getting pretty worn out. So I bought the socks and threw out the old cotton ones. That winter I got plantar fasciitis that kept getting worse and worse. I did exercises got supportive insoles but it got really painful. Then in the summer I was wearing sandals with bare feet and it got much better very quickly. Back to autumn when I was wearing socks again the pain started to come back. So I guessed it might be the socks and changed back to cotton. I haven't had any pain since. I think because bamboo is very smooth that I was having a lot of micro movement when walking that was triggering the problem.

GP no good. You need a podiatrist or physio - they will be able to give better advice. There are a couple of other threads on this - do an advanced search.

My husband suffered for around half a year. Was in absolute agony, he tried everything that all the other posters have suggested. The only thing that worked for him was going to a physio and getting shockwave therapy. They suggest 3 sessions but for him it was around 6.

As he's a runner he continues with all the strength exercises and has been pain free for a good few years now.

I suffer from this and the best thing for me was acupuncture performed by a podiatrist . Instant relief . From now on , never barefoot or flat shoes .

I got this at the end of pregnancy / the early months of my (huge) Ds! It was painful. I did as a few others suggested - rolling a spiky ball underfoot etc., but what helped the most was buying some arch support slippers for home (I don’t wear shoes in the house) and getting some arch support fitted into my trainers by a podiatrist (I didn’t buy specialist shoes). In the summer I wear Birkenstocks as they have built in arch support.

I still have plantar fasciitis but very mildly now, not nearly as painful as it was all those years ago. I have continued to wear arch support in my regular trainers and buy the same kind of sandals in the summer, but I’ve ditched the slippers. I can go barefoot at home now too, even with wooden floors. But I can’t wear hard flat shoes - I sometimes see them in shops and wince at the thought!

I suffered from this. I recommend:

• wearing a strassburg sock overnight. You'll have to spend a couple of nights getting the tension correct, so that it's comfortable to wear but still does the job. It really helped with the excruciating first steps in the morning.

• wearing shoes with a slight heel.

• strengthening calves and massaging them to loosen them.

Calf stretches
Never walk barefoot
Gel inserts
Rest

It does get better

I used to suffer them badly, I thought it was from running. Now I do a lot of stretching at calves and hip level and I have been injury free for 2 years.

Thank you so much everyone! I am going to go through all your suggestions with DH now.

Oofos flip flops as 'house shoes' and definitely worth trying Sketchers arch fit trainers. These have been a game changer for me

I found compression socks alleviated the pain almost immediately, and I also bought this.

www.amazon.co.uk/Massage-Forearms-Exercise-Massager-Fasciitis/dp/B078X5N2K1/ref=mp_s_a_1_2_sspa?crid=3NSRMV1O3ESDX&keywords=plantar+fasciitis+massager&qid=1669407871&sprefix=plantar+%2Caps%2C128&sr=8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRm&psc=1

Soft and supportive shoes with a slight heel. Ugly as heck but worked for me.

You can get Shockwave therapy on the NHS. Works a treat

I've tried:

• wearing a support boot at night
• shockwave therapy
• massage
• stretching
• gel inserts
• sketchers trainers ALL the time

18m+ and nothing has helped.

It's a horrendous condition

I agree with advice to see a private podiatrist. There's a long long wait to do so on nhs and in the meantime lots of pain and inability to walk properly. My analysis and insoles cost 300 pounds but it was money well spent.

BlackAmericano* That is so interesting!! I've recently had plantar faciitis for the first time ever (I'm just recovering) and coincidentally have recently started wearing bamboo socks, indeed I am wearing a pair now. I shall try going back to my usual cotton socks. Many thanks for posting.

I struggled with this for nearly a year before seeing a podiatrist, best £40 spent + steroid injection, pain subsided within days!

I've had this on and off for 10 years although it has been mostly cured for the last 4.

I've been in various hospital and doctor appointments, physio, shockwave and 3 different diagnoses including PF.

Anytime I have a flare up now it's because I haven't been wearing shoes around the house or shoes that are too flat. I take action immediately with insoles, icing and stretches which does help.

Agree. I tried loads of insoles etc and other stretches - this one simple stretch got rid of my PF in a couple of weeks

Using Oofos sliders as slippers seemed to do the trick for me too, though it took quite a while.

www.oofos.co.uk/pages/plantar-fasciitis

Compression socks really helped me as well - not sure if it accelerated healing (it took forever!) but it did make an almost immediate improvement in comfort.

stretching helps over time, as does targeted strengthening exercises.

I'd second the support for yoga mentioned upthread. I've had PF twice. The first time lasted 18 months of sheer misery. The second time I started doing daily yoga - more in a desperate attempt to feel healthier than in any expectation it would help the PF - and within a month it was gone. I think the endless downward dogs did very helpful stretching.