Plantar fasciitis pain-please help!

[Alexandra84]

Hello,
Ive had PF for about 4 weeks. Have been to see GP who advised stretches/physio. Have persevered with these, and tried to rest where I can, but with 2 small children, it is near impossible.
Bought specialist insoles and have tried a variety of shoes to determine which has best support though struggling to get the existing insoles out from some of my shoes.
Despite continued stretches, I’m currently in so much pain.
Very worried about up coming holidays with 2 small children. One involves a huge amount of walking.
Planning on booking private podiatrist appt for when we return from trip away next week.
Can anyone advise what they did to help?
Thank you.

I bought a boot thing from Amazon that you wear at night and it stops the muscle in your foot from tensing up when you sleep which means you then stretch it out again every morning which causes the pain - I’ve not explained it very well but it was recommended on YouTube by a physio and it worked! It was a bit cumbersome and weird to wear but I had suffered for 6 months and it solved it within 7-10 days.
The other thing is always to put shoes with insoles on before you get out of bed in the morning- never walk round barefoot! Even for one step.

Hope you can solve it OP, it’s so painful and really impacts day to day life.

Vionics slippers. Life changing.

I did the same as you and a couple of weeks ago went to see about getting a cortisone injection (I did go private as I couldn’t wait)
it has helped - the excruciating pain first thing in the morning has lessened and now it ‘just’ feels like I am walking on a bad bruise but I am still limping
The dr did say (politely) re my BMI so I have also started swimming / eating healthily
Even when I took my granddaughter swimming this week and so I was just standing in the pool helping her but I did alot of calf stretches at the same time.

I had this for over a year in both feet. Saw a physio for shockwave therapy. I had 3 rounds of it over a year and a year of physio exercises alongside it and orthotics from a podiatrist. It was hard work but it eventually healed and 4 years later it's still all good. In the early days I was advised to wear trainers with good cushioning as much as possible and I found sliders with arch support helped to wear around the house.

I used to suffer badly from PF and now have bespoke prosthetic insoles from the podiatrist which have helped. I also went for some gait analysis at a sport shoe shop and mainly wear trainers that they recommended to help. A recommended stretch that worked for me is to fill up a plastic litre bottle with water, freeze it and then roll your foot arch over it. Gives relief and stretches at the same time.

Oofos worked for me, though it took some time.

I have had it for 4 years and tried lots of different things. Best for me have been stretching calves out every day and after walking and wearing arch fit Skechers trainers and a support sock.
i started with it after I broke my other foot…

A pair of £20 orthotics to wear in my shoes gave instant relief as they forced my foot into the right position to “unwind” the muscle & tendons causing the pain. I was told not to even go to the loo in the night without using my slippers with them in. It’s never come back. Our local sports shop sold them.

I got a pair of Scholl inserts that worked wonders. I also did the stretch where you stand on a stair with the front half of your foot, and raise / lower yourself. Also put a tennis ball on the floor while sitting down on your sofa, and runi it under your foot. All these help.

Oofos sliders really helped. I wear them all the time at home and am never barefoot.

I had it in both feet and one ankle. Pain was awful. Never go barefoot now. Fit flops are great - I have FitFlop sandals and boots. Really helped.

I have had this on the past - I had it for about a year at least - it was so annoying and painful! Then one day I woke up and it was totally gone and hasn’t returned!

I went to a private podiatrist just once (£50) and she gave me some exercises to do twice a day (you can find them on YouTube). She told me I must not walk bare foot AT ALL and to wear good trainers around the house and everywhere. Wear nothing but shoes with an arch support and good shock absorbing soles. Hoka trainers are great, also Brookes which is what I have.

The other thing I did was buy a pair of croc style shoes to wear from a company called Oofos - the company appeared on a lot of forums about PF and honestly I think wearing them cured me!

Oh I just wore the oofos shoes around the house as they’re not the most flattering things 😂 then trainers out.

After a year of pain , and having tried all recommendations, I went to a private podiatrist.
i had 5 sessions of shockwave treatment. It really worked and I am now pain free

Using a foam roller (with spikes) on my foot and calf every evening and after long walks.

Some good suggestions here, I was on the verge of buying a mini shockwave device recently (with good reviews, I think it was around £45), but this bout got better

An additional thing that helped me was freezing a small bottle of water and rolling it under my foot! It seemed to ease the pain

I did all the exercises as instructed but no cure . My podiatrist asked if I'd consider acupuncture. Four large needles in my foot . Incredibly painful but immediately felt tingling . Next morning it was completely gone .

Try the spikey ball. I do it whilst brushing my teeth. instant relief and sorts every flare up in no time.

I had a steroid injection in my foot, which was very painful. The relief it gave was short-lived. I have heard the sonic treatment is good, but I am unable to afford private treatment. never go barefoot in the house, something I am guilty of, and never wear flats like flip-flops

I’ve had this twice. What worked for me was orthotics which gave immediate relief, a spiked ball to roll my foot on, ibuprofen gel, never ever going barefoot and always wearing my crocs round the house. It’s a horrible condition and in both cases, I woke up to it having disappeared overnight. I still wear orthotics in everything and it has not come back.

Another vote for spiked massage ball. Bloody agony but it worked.

Following as I currently have this. I do have a spiked massage ball so I will get that out!

I had one of these a few years ago and it helped.I also got a foot roller which I bought for about £10 from Amazon. Both of these things helped to keep it at bay.

What has really cured me out is a monthly deep tissue or sports massage. The therapist always massages the soles of my feet. (Obviously also my calves - if they're tight, that will make PF worse or more likely).

I have no pain at all now.

It has a number of causes. Go and get a proper diagnosis from the podiatrist who can tell you what triggered yours and what will help. You can spend a fortune on shoes but if they are not right for your feet they won't help. Fitflops made mine worse as the support was not enough.

Mine was caused by over pronation so insoles helped but calf stretches didn't. Mine was finally cured by a steroid shot into the heel. Very uncomfortable but an almost instant cure. 2 years on I'm still pain free but very careful with what shoes I wear.