Plantar Fasciitis

[Mikewazowskismrs]

Has anyone had this whilst pregnant?

My right heel has been agony the last 2 days and google shows it may be this.

Any remedies/treatments anyone can share if any experience of thos?

*this sorry

Yes I have had this on and off. Unfortunately it's quite difficult to get rid of and can come back quite easily. When it's bad, it's unbearable, as I am sure you know!

People will come on here with different advice. Personally I've not found insoles that help but I have found that some shoes do help and some make it a lot worse.

I have found that wearing birkenstocks in the summer completely gets rid of it, as they act as a kind of cast to keep the foot in place.

I personally haven't yet found a winter shoe that completely works. I have some merrill boots that have a similar interior design to the birkenstocks and they do work but aren't really practical to wear all the time. I'm looking into birkenstock boots....

Also - sports massage on the back of the calves really helps.

Thanks balloons. Did you go to your GP at all? Just incase it’s something different and I’ve diagnosed myself wrongly!

I’m really hoping it passes soon as I’m pretty active and I’m only coming up for 15 weeks - couldn’t hack this for another 25 weeks or so!

I’ll definite look into proper shoes/boots and the sports message.

No I didn't go to the GP.

It's an absolute bastard, I do feel for you. The relaxin in your system from your pregnancy could be causing over pronation. It might even be related to changes in the pelvis area and knock on effects.

Pilates could help too.

Sorry, but Gp's aren't foot specialists, a good foot health specialist will help you better. The first rule is to make sure you do not walk around bare footed and you always have a small amount of elevation on your shoe. A flat shoe will actually agitate the issue, so never wear flip flops or completely flat shoes.

I got it in my last pregnancy baby is now 4 months old and it's only getting worse. I did go to my gp and he is referring me for ultrasound therapy.

Fit flops have completely changed my life!!

I have 5 pairs of various types.

Helps my plantar fasciitis no end.

Try rolling a can under the arch of your foot, this seemed to work for me. Wear supportive shoes, i got it after spending a full year in flip floos and Birkenstocks whilst travelling - not ideal for your feet.Good luck.

Yes use a spiky ball on the arch of your foot and heel.

Walk so that you don’t heel strike when your foot hits the ground. Aim for a flat foot on the ground with legs lifting behind.

Sometimes it relates to being flat footed. In which case arch support off amazon will help. Arch support might be positive anyway

Thanks for all your replies !

Fitflops are the way forwards. When I had my plantar I couldn’t physically walk in anything else. The bouncy cushion heel really helped.

Also. I bought some supports from Amazon. That seemed to help. Like a toeless sock with a floppy heel and supportive foot and ankle.

I had this a few years ago and it was awful! Someone told me to roll a tennis ball around under my foot quite firmly - did this a few times a day and it really helped!

If it is plantar fasciitis then it's tendon damage basically. If it doesn't go away in a couple of weeks, see the GP. I ignored mine for too long and it went chronic. (When that happens recovery can be a very slow process - I've had it for a year now).

Regular ibuprofen will help in the meantime as it's an anti-inflammatory.

My physio has recommended:
Insoles with gel heels and a bit of arch support.
Gel soled walking shoes to protect the damaged tissue while it heals
Lots of calf stretches - tight calf muscles are also often an issue
Rolling foot on frozen water bottle and/or golf ball/spiky massage ball

These things have all helped me manage my symptoms but as it's now chronic, only deep tissue massage (painful but amazing) and shockwave therapy have really made me feel the underlying problem is actually getting better.

Not sure if you can take ibuprofen in pregnancy though!

Yes!!! Only in the right foot and it started about 5 months pregnant with second baby. Thought I was doing the right thing wearing birkis all summer, but actually made it worse. Trainers with arch support insoles are the way to go. I'm five months pp and still not over it. Footwear is helping, but I think I'll be another year before it's fixed. Weight gain is apparently the culprit. My sister had it too and losing weight helped.

Right I’ve olrdered fitflops trainers (£80 down to £25 in sale )

Going to try the ball thing and I’ll see how that goes.

Thanks so much for all your replies

I developed this about 4 months into the pregnancy, DS is now 4 weeks old and it’s getting worse rather than better . I was hoping birth would be some miraculous cure. It’s absolute agony. I’ve found soaking my feet in hot water helps a little and never ever walking barefoot around the house, I always have my slippers/sliders on. It’s a nightmare.