Shall a just be done with it and cut off my foot?

[TokyoSushi]

I have severe plantar fasciitis in one foot. I've had it for about 10 weeks. It is beyond painful and quite frankly every step makes me feel sick.

I have:

• been to the GP, 'it's plantar fasciitis, nothing you can do, hang your heels off a step a couple of times a day and eventually it'll go, could take up to 6 months though. Ooh it is painful isn't it, look you can hardly walk on that foot, hey ho, crack on with it... 🙄'
• taken ibuprofen, didn't do much, stopped
• done the exercise where you hang your heels off the back of a step
• done calf stretches, heel stretches, foot stretches, all the stretches
• rolled my foot on a frozen water bottle
• rolled my foot on a golf ball
• rolled my foot on a special spiky massage ball
• bought expensive recovery sliders and worn those without fail around the house
• worn Birkenstocks around the house
• worn trainers around the house
• gone to yoga
• completely rested, elevated and iced it for days
• carried on as normal
• done stretches before getting out of bed in the morning
• placed my foot very carefully on the floor when getting out of bed

NOTHING WORKS, it is hurting all the time and I can't bear it anymore. DS(13) says the way I walk looks like I have my foot in a bear trap!

Please help me!!!

I'm tempted, but scared! Maybe if the holiday doesn't sort it...

I had it and it was absolutely excruciating especially first thing in the morning, when I first got out of bed. Like you I did all the exercises and nothing worked. So I just tried to learn to live with it. I happened to stop eating sugar and also seed oils, what people call vegetable oils, for an unrelated reason.

The plantar facitus went away and has never come back. whether the two are connected I do not know. Sugar and seed oils cause inflammation in the body , if plantar facititis is also called by inflammation, this would explain why it has gone away.

Have you tried Volterol gel?

Fit Flops saw mine off, crocs also good. You need the most shock absorbent soles possible, neither trainers or Birkenstocks really cut it.

It’s horrific, isn’t it?

well done on the weight loss. Have you considered your food and nutrition as something that might play a part in the PF? Reducing inflammatory foods was really helpful for me. Lots of info online.

The inner soles worked wonders for me. First lot I got from Superdrug, next time I got it I bought inner soles from Amazon. I’m still using those ones as a preventative measure.

Cross-posted with this

I’d try wearing calf sleeves. I started getting painful calves and heels and the stretches off the step wouldn’t help. Funnily, wearing compression sleeves on my legs helps alleviate pain during and after exercise now.

I was fat when I got but al far again and it’s never returned. However….
never ever walk barefoot-not next week around the pool fur even a minute and buy Archie’s flip flops.
get rid or all of your completely flat shoes (including trainers unless you wear insoles, I wear valsole).I sweater by vionic slippers I but the shit patterns in the sale.
try stretching and strength exercises. 10 weeks is not even an isdye, if it goes in 6 months I’d be grateful.
it’s never come back despite me being an even bigger fatty again and I run half Marathons

I bought these and lived in them for a year or so.
They're the best. I highly recommend!

os1st.com/products/foot-compression-sleeve?srsltid=AfmBOoqN2oxLy_Q-v3sOYGWFg9EBMQcMy3M97NA5WqxdMU8ZHi2T4f-c

I had this come on during lockdown - wearing only slippers or flipflops probably the cause. I also find alternating heel heights helps when I feel a relapse coming on and last time I wore brand new Sketchers walk trainers even at work for a week and that really helped. My go to exercise is drawing the alphabet in the air with your foot before getting out of bed in the morning. But I agree with PP that time to heal is best. It really is a horrible thing.

I have plantar fascitis so feel your pain! It's not what you want to hear but my physio has told me that full blown plantar fascitis can take 12-18 months to heal, sorry! I've had it since October last year and it is improving slowly but it's definitely not fully better. As you have private medical insurance definitely get yourself to a physio, and any physio that says just rest leave again! If you're in west Yorkshire message me and I'll recommend a good physio haha. It's usually a load bearing issue, have you increased how much you're on your feet recently? A physio can give you various exercises to strengthen the muscles around your plantar and the plantar itself. If this doesn't improve things you can also then try shockwave therapy (some physios offer it) which is kind of like an intensive massage gun, it didn't help me but some people do find it quite effective. Good luck and feel free to private message me!

Wearing Crocs fixed mine, the original fugly clog type, the croslite ones, not cheap knockoffs, lite rides if you can get them. I lived in mine (luckily allowed at work) for about six months, there was some relief after around 3 weeks and now has been fixed completely for around 10 years. I still love my crocs but can wear the shoes I choose now and have been able to for around 12 years, first for part of the time but needed to use crocs round the house, now I just wear what I like. I should mention I have never been able to wear heels, not even as a teenager. Oh PS don't buy the lined crocs the linings wear out very quickly.

Also shoes! My physio suggested really supportive, hard backed trainers (ASICS are generally good, definitely not Skechers, too soft) with an insole to support the arch. In the early days I wore them even in the house and they REALLY helped and I still wear them nearly all the time

Trail running shoes with a thick sole work for me - super supportive arch, sturdy but light shoe, great cushioning. I like Montrail, I hear Hoka can work too. Plus the benefit of being super grippy on most surfaces, you'll never slip again!

For any other shoe I have to wear arch support insoles.

See a qualified podiatrist for advice.. they will probably be able to help by making insoles or similar

Don't get the hard insoles you can buy online get proper ones made for you

Also supportive shoes.. I wear ASICS

I haven't read all the replies.
Try a Cortisone shot if you haven't.

Could you try using a TENS machine? I've heard it can relieve it at least temporarily.

Might be starting a myth here but I worked somewhere we were on our feet a lot in flat shoes on hard floors and a strangely high number of people developed plantar fasciitis after moving to that new building, they thought it was the underfloor heating causing it? Just thought it worth mentioning in case you have that. Maybe the heat aggravated inflammation?

I had to wear a special boot splint for mine. I had it in both feet so wore the boots most of the day and at night. Verrrry uncomfortable but a few weeks after wearing them the pain went away. Never had the issue again even 8 years later

See a good physio - not all physios are created equal. I was in agony with my plantar fasciitis, struggling to walk at all. I tried a new physio, not expecting much as the previous one had been useless, but I was desperate. Within a 60 minute initial session he diagnosed the issue (muscle imbalance from an earlier sports injury, which had been years prior and as far as I was concerned, had totally healed), gave me a treatment plan and timeline to recovery, which was perfectly accurate. It was nearly two years ago now and I've never had the slightest pain since. But you do need to be 100% compliant with the exercises and other recommendations.

I tore my plantar fascia. Just walking around the side of the house and it went off with a bang. Went to work but come night time, couldn't weight bare.

Took about 18 months to stop hurting on uneven ground.

What helped:

• exercise physiologist to work on muscles and compensation
• TENS machine to work on calf muscles
• about 12 month is I got some Skechers go walk (changed jobs and had to walk further in commute). They have been great to ease the pain.

Very very slowly it healed and I can now step on a slight unevenness and not scream so I count that as a win.

As a side note, castor oil would work as it's an anti- inflammatory and fasciitis is inflammation of the fascia.

Crocs are the only things that worked for me. Even a steroid injection didn’t help.

Straight into Crocs when I got out of bed and didn’t take them off all day. Took three weeks and I was pretty much back to normal after six months of really not being able to walk. Has to be the really ugly clog ones though.