Help! What’s wrong with my foot?

[Manchesterweekend]

Can anyone offer me any advice please? About 6 months ago, my heel and ankle hurt. It felt like I was wearing flat shoes (no support) when I walked and my ankle hurt each side. Being me, I decided it would just fix itself. But over summer it didn’t, so I googled and saw 80% of foot problems are plantar fasciitis. So I did the recommended exercises - rolling a ball under the arch, scrunching a towel with my toes - but that hasn’t helped.

I’m in pain everyday - increasing as the day goes on. I have bought numerous heel pads and plantar fasciitis insoles, which either haven’t helped or made my arches hurt so much, I almost forgot my heel/ankle pain. My leg and knee now hurt most days, which I presume is down to a change in the way I walk maybe?

So, can anyone offer any advice please? Who do I go to see - the doctor or other? I did think maybe a proper running shop, who can measure my gait (is that a thing? I’m not a runner)… but I’m clueless really. I wear New Balance trainers most days, which I have read offer good support.

Any advice very gratefully received!

Hi
Plantar Fasciitis is an extremely painful condition.
And it certainly sounds like it.
I wore supportive shoes and did the exercises but what really helped was a course of naproxen an anti inflammatory prescribed by dr.

@Maverick66 thanks so much. I’ll make an appointment then. I wasn’t sure what a dr could do and didn’t want to waste their time.

Podiatrist or physio would be a better call. GP can’t do a lot.

I was in agony and ordered orthopedic I soles for my shoes. Along with the exercises it’s now under control and I am pain free

I spoke to an NHS physio on the phone about mine (saw gp first who then referred but all very quick). He prescribed the naproxen (plus stomach liner tablets) via GP and its definitely helping. It works quite slowly so keep taking it twice a day. There's a clinical trial he's suggested I do as well.

I've had planter fasciitis three times and doctor told me it takes up to a year to stop hurting which in my case was true
I go to podiatrist every six weeks and she's really helped with it and I do have heel orthotics which did feel utterly awful for the first couple of weeks but I don't notice them now

Finally after suffering for two years and trying so many different things, I went to a private sports physio who did calf stretches (brace yourself 😬) and she taught me stretches to do at home too. If I feel it getting tight again I start the stretches. Defo recommend

I have had this before and sometimes it does seem to hang around for ever even when you try all the recommended stuff. I think it can come a bit differently each time/for different people, too, so my suspicion is that not every case necessarily benefits from the same approach...

That said, some things I think MAY have helped me this time round to finally shift it - and might be worth a try, as most are cheap or free:

• Brooks neutral trainers (recommendation from podiatrist), which I now wear with off-the-shelf (Scholl) plantar fasciitis insoles
• Gentle foot/calf stretches, which I did sitting down and in BOTH directions, usually with my leg crossed up on the other knee - first pointing toe and stretching my foot/calf DOWNWARDS (like standing on tiptoes), and I also then turn it to point my toe to each side in turn while still stretching it down to get a bit of side stretch in there too. Then stretch the other way, so pulling my toes up towards my knee, and again with a bit of side-to-side too - alternate between them for a few mins
• When I do the pointing-toe stretch, I can sometimes feel a very hard/tight bit in my calf, so I sometimes massage that a bit too while holding the stretch
• Massaging gently - not necessarily the painful bit, but around it, e.g. round the sides of my foot, or bottom of foot but not quite getting to the sore bit - trying to improve blood flow without "setting off" the bad bit
• Trying to avoid ANYTHING that would make the bad bit hurt properly, even just temporarily - as I had a theory that this was causing a sort of vicious cycle of inflammation-pain-more inflammation-more pain. So being extra careful when first getting up in the morning not to trigger it - maybe massaging a bit before standing up, having thick-soled slippers with insoles handy, or even taking the first couple of steps on my toes to avoid the initial "ouch" until my foot had loosened up a bit. Similarly, taking sliders with proper arch support to the swimming pool, so I wouldn't have to walk barefoot on the hard floor even if just for a few steps.
• Also tried to lose some weight, as I was pretty sure that would help, but didn't manage to lose much yet so it probably didn't make much difference...

I'm not sure which of those helped, or if indeed none of them did and it was just random, but for the moment (touch wood) it is gone! Someone else I know also swears by a vibrating gadget he bought online, forgot the name of it at the moment - but it didn't do much for me, so can't recommend it personally.

Avoid going barefoot ever, even from your bed to the bathroom. Always wear crocs instead.

Yay that PF can take a year or more to fix. I know from experience! Stretches, rolling, orthotics everyday.

You need a physio or podiatrist.

I had it for three years and the only thing that helped was losing weight through keto. The combination of weight loss and an anti inflammatory diet worked like magic. What didn’t help was my inability to move around freely made me put on weight, like about 3 stone. I also did a lot of Pilates which strengthens your feet along with everything else.

in the meantime only supportive trainers - my physio recommended ASICS

Also when it wa healing. I varied my shoes several times a day in terms of heel height. That is also important apparently

I meant "YYY" not yay!!

I am not celebrating how long it takes to recover from PF.

I wouldn't bother with a GP, I'd go to a podiatrist or physiotherapist. They will diagnose and give you the right type of stretches/treatment. I've had a lot of foot problems and my physio was very helpful.

Hrt cured mine.

Thanks all. My foot doesn’t hurt in the morning. It just hurts more as the day goes on. Is that plantar fasciitis? I keep reading it hurts especially in the morning.

I'm on HRT already,
so sadly that’s not an option @Kiuyni

Thanks for all the advice everyone.

Mine doesn't hurt in the morning either! I'm pretty sure it's still plantar fasciitis.

I'd go to a physio before you make any changes.

As it's affecting your leg and knee it may be another condition such as ankle instability.

You need a podiatrist. I saw an NHS one, who gave me some insoles which helped a bit, but eventually I went to see a private podiatrist who used whizzy technology to get the exact shape of my feet, ordered insoles specifically tailored to my personal problem and told me simple exercises to do. Magic - but pricey.