Has anyone on here got Plantar Fasciitis?

mazza245

I got this about five months ago whilst on a longish walk on a rocky path. Basically, it's pain in your heel and it's apparently caused by inflammation of the plantar fascia (the muscly bit which runs from your toes to your heel which you are not aware of until you get this). I just thought I had a small stone in my foot and it was very sore. I was diagnosed by the doctor who offered nothing but just said I should do these exercises. I have tried but they are too painful to do when your foot is sore! Anyway, I have tried physio, acupuncture, laser therapy and now am having soft tissue therapy - all of which is very painful (and expensive, I reckon my foot has cost us about £500 up to now!) and doesn't seem to do much. According to t'internet, it can take 18 months to 2 years and I so want to shorten this if I can! I know there is a steroid injection but even the GP doesn't want to do it as it is extremely painful and doesn't work (!) I am going back to the doctors for the first time this week to beg for something, even the injection which would at least give me hope that something might just work!

Our son's wedding was my goal and it was last Friday! I did wear nice strappy shoes and changed into [strike]hideous[/strike] more sensible ones after the ceremony and meal and I did dance at the night but I suffered for it for days afterwards! I was determined that I would look nice for that but I cannot bear to think that my walking and line dancing are put on hold for another year at least! Having never heard of it before, when you tell people, it's amazing how many people have had it, or still have it! I wondered if anyone had any solutions that have worked for them or can offer any help at all?

Thanks anyway for reading all this and my sympathies go to anyone else who is suffering with this (or anything else).

Mazza

donteatthat

My other half was treated for this after having a lot of pain for around 2 years. It was cured by physio and customised shoe inserts, however it was dealt with privately to some extent as we were covered with BUPA at the time.

mazza245

Oh yes, I forgot. I could get customised shoe inserts for around £300. The physio gave me some which I have in all my shoes (I had to buy bigger shoes as well to accommodate them) and she advised me not to fall for those. Apparently, this problem is different in each sufferer and my particular problem would not be made better by those. Although that is one of the things I am going to ask the GP about, as I might be able to get them on the NHS through the podiatrist. Can't afford to pay £300 for something which might not work anyway.

donteatthat

Do you do a lot of exercise? My OH was referred to an orthopaedic surgeon who specialised in feet who gave the diagnosis following an MRI scan which was normal. He then made the diagnosis and referred for physio etc but the said the cause of the problem was playing loads of football and not stretching enough. He still has his legs massaged on a pretty regular basis but we pay for that ourselves now. He did go to see a podiatrist initially and had some insoles made but- waste of time I'm afraid, as they weren't right.

mazza245

No, I don't do a lot of exercise. I did walk once a week or so (just a normal Sunday walk for up to an hour) and went line dancing once a week. All that has stopped now, of course, I did try just resting my foot. I do have to exercise though, I realise that. It certainly wasn't doing a lot of exercise that caused it. I did go on a bit longer walk than usual but apparently, it's just something that comes on in older people. I've learned that I have high insteps and it's the instep collapsing a bit and it could happen in the other foot just as easily. I can't bear the thought of that. Thanks for replying.

jenie_2

Hi Mazza, my hubby used to suffer from this (also known as Policemans Heel) and he tried the shoe inserts with no success. He happened to be talking to a friend about it and he recommended wearing air max trainers which have a sort of air cushion in the heel.

Hubby bought a couple of pairs of these trainers and he hasn't suffered with the heel pain for ages since he started wearing them. They aren't cheap though and hubby has since been made redundant so he'll have to save up for his next pair !!

Alibat

Hi Mazza. I've had this problem and I'm a line dancer too.

I solved it by wearing good arch supports in close fitting shoes during the day, and a most bizarre looking contraption I made out of some left over plastic cladding and a shelf bracket at night.

I read that the pain was worse when you first get up because the injured part of your foot relaxes when you're off it and standing stretches it out and causes the pain. I came across a night time foot splint that holds your foot in the same position it would be in if you were standing up, so stopping the injured part relaxing as you sleep. It was quite expensive so I set about making myself one from a shelf bracket (which was the only strong yet not bulky right angled thing I could think of) and some plastic cladding cut down to the size of my foot and up the back of my leg. I used carpet tape to fix it all together, then made some velcro straps to hold it in place on me. It took a bit of adjusting until I'd got it just right, but when I did, wow it was great. It took four or five months of wearing it every night until I was more or less pain free if I had left it off the night before, but I saw a huge improvement almost straight away. No more being all but reduced to tears by the pain when I stood after sitting down for a few minutes.

I know it sounds very Heath Robinsonish but if it works who cares what it looks like? And as I had the bits laying around it didn't cost me anything.

I think I'm always going to be prone to this sort of foot problem so I always make sure my arches are well supported, especially when dancing, and a year or so on it's so far so good.

I hope this helps and your foot gets better soon.

mazza245

Thanks for your replies. I will look for those trainers (togeher with arch supports) as they might help and it would be something halfway decent to wear in the day. None of my many shoes (!) were suitable as they didn't support my foot which is what is comforting or take an insole so I had to buy more quite hideous ones. They don't look as bad now but in the summer I desperately wanted to wear sandals, not 'gardening boots' as my daughter calls them! I know everyone is different and suffers this differently - I know a lady who can't sleep at night for it, whereas I feel more comfortable lying down. As I said, my goal was my son's wedding which is over now and I managed and actually wore some fancy shoes for some of it! I find it quite depressing when some of my friends have laughed and scoffed at my gardening boots and not understood that I would give my eye teeth to wear lovely fancy shoes. This all sounds superficial and unimportant in the grand scheme of things but it does get you down after almost six months and knowing you have at least another year to go.

I will try and find an example of the night time splint you describe, Alibat and get something cobbled together, thanks for the suggestion. You are right, you are reduced almost to tears by the pain. I find it when I stand up, get out of the car, all sorts of times when it takes you by surprise. Have you noticed how everyone describes being a bit better more than a year on? I have heard of a lady who is a lot stronger personality than me, who had the steroid injection a couple of times which made her cry and it didn't do any good at all. I am a soft 'un who would cry before they touched me but I am wondering about asking for it, just in case...........

Jasper27_2

Birkenstocks! The most comfortbale shoes ever although they take a bit of getting used to. Also you don't have to mind looking like an old hippy but if you want comfort you may have to sacrifice some style. My custom orthotics are rubbish but my £20 off the peg insoles are great. It's just a bit of trial and error I'm afraid. I sympathise.

Alibat

The only sandals I wear in the summer are the ones with scholl like soles - you know, the ones that support your arches well. I've found quite a few flat ones like that but you're out of luck if you want to wear heels.

If you Google plantar fasciitis you should come across examples of foot splints. It was the waiting time for treatment along with the high cost that led to me to try help myself as much as I could.

Yeah, it does take an age to get better. It certainly proves the old thing about soft tissue injuries taking longer to heal than broken bones. My dad had it a few years before me and I must admit to not fully appreciating at the time the amount of pain it caused him.

geri1965_2

I've had this in both feet (luckily not at the same time) because I have high arches, which can make me prone to it. It's usually worse in winter because I walk to work and back - about 5 miles a day.

I usually wear New Balance trainers or Merrell walking shoes, as they offer the most support.

I've tried various treatments but I'm not convinced any of them really work, I think it just takes time to heal.