Plantar Fasciitis - has anyone had this?

[roisin]

After months of pain, trying new shoes, orthotics, pain killers, etc., finally went to the GP today.

She confirmed it is almost certainly PF and has done a referral to podiatrist. Recommended continued use of orthotics, supportive shoes, plus painkillers as necessary.

Has anyone had this and healed/recovered completely? Any tips/suggestions? I walk a lot and want to be able to do so pain-free.

my MIL has this. i read that FitFlops are good for it.

I had this this winter, lasted about 3 months. Only shoes I could wear and walk confortably was fitflop boots.

Am "cured" now and back in normal shoes

yes, had it after ds was born but in my case was easily fixed by wearing birkies round the house rather than bare feet / socks

the podiatrist should make you custom orthotics which will fix it very fast

also try yoga - sounds silly but a good class (iyengar if poss) will strengthen bits other sports can't reach

I've had it about 4 times (usually the result of a sporting injury). It gets better......eventually, but it can take months.

It's usually worse in the mornings. Try sleeping with the offending foot elelvated (if you can) and stretch and flex your foot before getting out of bed in the morning.

Custom orthotics are wonderful. I now have yearly appointments with the podiatrist at the local hospital and haven't had another attack since I started seeing her.

Roisin hobbles off to put some footwear on!

I have suffered this twice and I went to Acupunturist after five sessions it had gone and never returned ,thank goodness.

Well I have had it for 2 weeks short of a year. If you are lucky it will resolve quickly or you could be like me. Podiatry, custom orthotics, steroid injections, physiotherapy, acupuncture, crocs, stretches, birkenstocks.... Night splint and ice are good though! Get an appointment to see an orthopaedic consultant if it goes on for more than couple more months. There are other causes which should be ruled out. Hope you are one of the lucky ones!

Hi
I have (had?) plantar fasciitis for more than a year now. I think it is all very individual. As many people you will get to answer the question so will be the treatment recommendations. One has plantar fasciitis because of his high arch so he needs arch support. The other has plantar fasciitis because he is running too much and he needs cushioning. One has flat feet, one spends 10 hours a day on his feet, the other run too much ... and so on.
The point is that everyone should find his own cure. You should be active with your treatment trying to find the one that will give you comfort. Don?t give up as you can see most of the people find relief at the end.
Think about your gait and how do you keep injuring your foot.
Did you change your shoes to try a different type of shoe?
The best thing for me was taping. I have found it very useful. I am done with the heel pain and I am still taping my feet while running. Taping will keep your foot from getting injured again and will help you get through your daily routine. I have found this website to give me many good ideas at:
plantar-fasciitis-elrofeet.com
Take care

birkies were what gave me my plantar. Boots arch supports were what got rid, along with calf ctretches in bed

Has totally gone now-at its worst I couldnt even walk round the bed when I woke up

i developed it in 2008, after my feet finally sayin a big NO WAY to my ballet pumps and £2 flip flops. Both things i would never have thought would be a problem, and things i'd worn aswell as flat boots and trainers all my life.

I got thru that summer, painfully, then when autumn came i bought insoles with arch supports for the boots i wore most and for my adidas.

It started to gradually get better and then last summer i bought a pair of Fit flops, for the summer.

I also made sure a wore insoles in winter 2009, and realised about 6 months ago it had gone.

Thanks all. I will try various things and see what helps.

I have it at the moment. Just went to GP about in this week after putting up with it for more than a year. My mum had it too and had steriod injection which she swears by. My GP also suggested this so having it week after next. If this does not work, I will ask for a referal.

I have had it thre times. Once in my right foot some years ago and two years ago again in my right foot and it lasted more than twelve months. Unfortunately, as soon as it disappeared in my right foot it came in my left foot and lasted nine months.

Its a bugger and I could hardly walk two years ago.

If you don't want to fork out for expensive custom inserts try Dr. Scholls three quarter length insoles. They worked for me when I finally tried them.

Have hope, it mysteriously disappears just like it came and I am perfectly OK now.

I had it really badly for the whole of the summer about two years ago.

I was told by chiropodist to take Nurofen to reduce swelling, cold pack twice a day for 10 minutes each time and make sure I wear very soft soled shoes and never walk in bare feet on a hard floor.

This worked for me in about two weeks.

I do have another problem, in that my feet have a natural 1.5 inch heel and flat shoes are not good for me to wear and I found that they exacerbated it.