Plantar Fasciitis Surgery

I was a podiatrist in the UK for eleven years, so this is where my perspective comes from. I know you are asking for a friend, so some of this advice may be redundant. Surgery for pl fasciitis is very very rarely done. This is beacuse it very very rarely works! What is done is the removal of the bone spur that is deemed to be causing the problem. But the bone spur is attached to the fascia underneath the foot, so they reattach the fascia back on the calcaneus (heel) bone and all is well for just a little while. Then after the patient walks around again for a year or so the fascia pulls again on that attachment and hello new heel spur. So it is best treated by losing weight, correcting the over pronation or arch defect that originally caused the issue, steroid and antiinflammatories, and footwear. I always recommend crocs for my heel spur sufferers. Getting over the bone spur surgery will required at least two weeks of not walking on it, probably six of not standing for prolonged periods of time.

Edit - Just noticed she already had her surgery - so don't tell her what I said about it not working lol. That may not please her too much. The crocs will be awesome for her though

Her recovery time depends on what sort of surgery she's having - open surgery or endoscopic.
Many people take anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks before they can go back to work.
She should follow doctors instructions about recovery.

http://www.wikihow.com/Recover-From-Plantar-Fasciitis-Sur...

She might have to go back to work on crutches but maybe she could use a adult scooter crutch.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003VMAKVS/ref=pd_lpo_sb...

Crocks make my feet hurt after awhile - not enough support for me.
My feet are very happy with Birkenstocks - sandals and clogs.

I have the same injury... although I haven't had surgery and won't because in many cases, it doesn't help much.. it's an injury that can take months and even a year to heal.. go to youtube.... and on there, you ll dr ray mcclanahan of the portland based podiatry group.. he had about 20 different videos that discuss foot problems/injuries. additionally, you can find him on Facebook... the biggest foot complaints people have are about plantar's and heel pain, which often go hand in hand or foot and foot as it were :) anyway.. IF I didn't happen upon this guy's website, I don't know what I would have done..
in my case, went to two podiatrist TWICE for plantar's, heel spurs , neuromas and seisamodist... both only gave me shots of cortizone which did not help................. however, after listening to ALL of ray's free videos.. I finally found relief for my heel pain and neuromas.. the plantar's I am still working on, but now, since I know what exercises/stretches to do for it (something my two podiatrist NEVER even mentioned) and.... I switched to shoes that allow my toes to splay (spread apart) WOW WOW WOW.. what a different... tell your friend to check out the videos,esp on plantar's but also on proper show wear ... also... don't miss his website, he has articles about different foot problems. LOVE LOVE dr ray.. your friend will be so please to have found his website... also type in correct toes for which he invented.. either search works...
hats off no I mean shoes off to Dr. Ray !!!! your friend is gonna love this guy.... and he's so humble..

Not had surgery for it. Did have it several years ago, did doctor prescribed exercises, ice, etc and it healed within a few weeks. Not everyone is so lucky, from what I understand.

The type of shoe you wear can have a big impact on ongoing problems with this particular issue. Heels are the worst choice.

I understand that surgery for this particular problem does not have a success rate that would cause me to jump into surgery for the condition. She's done the surgery, so now, she needs to get follow up information from her doctor. Not the internet.

She needs to be extremely careful not to rush it. I thought my PF was all better (I thankfully didn't need surgery) and made the mistake of doing jumping jacks. BAD idea. PF came right back. It's one that will quickly go off-track if you get overconfident.

Tell her to look into Kuru and Vionic shoes. Both are made for people with PF and other foot conditions. Their shoes can make it much more comfortable to be on your feet with PF. Kurus allowed me to start going on walks again and even work out.

Had a friend with this that was in horrible pain. She went into have allergy testing for unrelated issues. Found she is allergic to lots of things. After those were taken from her diet the plantar fasciitis went away. I know it sounds crazy but it's true. If it's bad enough to have surgery I would recommend testing.

I have never heard of surgery for it. I hope she is well soon. Not a path I would have taken, especially reading Semolina's account.