Plantar Fascitis - Melrose,MA

Updated on September 20, 2012
J.M. asks from Melrose, MA
21 answers

Anyone have this terrible pain on the bottom of feet esp when wake up? What helped it? thx

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K.C.

answers from New London on

I had it ! I went to the best podiatrist I could find !
I followed everything he said, got some shots and wore the shoes he rec.
I kept socks on at night, too. That helped not to feel the pain so much!

1 mom found this helpful

B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

When I had it, I got myself a pair of Birkenstock sandals and wore them from the moment I got out of bed in the morning till I went back to bed in the evening again at might.
The only time I didn't wear them was in the shower.
It took about a month before I could walk barefoot again without pain, but it did clear up eventually.

1 mom found this helpful

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R.M.

answers from Cumberland on

My mother had it-she had the surgery-it helped. In the meantime-and you may not believe this-but if you apply castor oil to your feet and then cover them with socks-every night-it will help. Same with your hands-and they will look years younger after the first night.

2 moms found this helpful
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C.D.

answers from Atlanta on

Yes I did have it for quite some time. A band that fits around the arch helps, you can get at the drug store. Also always wear shoes, good shoes. They make a huge difference.
There are certain excerises you can do too. You can probably look them up. And rolling a ball with your foot helps too.

I had mine for a couple years but the thing that actually solved my problem was a good chiropractor and visiting him often enough starting w/3 days per week.

My sister had surgery and she was sorry she did because it did not solve the problem

The best to you for a complete Healing

1 mom found this helpful
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L.K.

answers from Kansas City on

ALWAYS wear shoes!! And I mean ALWAYS! I get up in the morning and slip on my Birkenstocks. I have an insert that I slip into some loafers that do not have a great arch support. I try every thing on, and know the brands that fit and offer support. And stretch! I'll stand at the sink in the morning brushing my teeth doing the 'runner's stretch' of my heels in the morning.

1 mom found this helpful
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L.F.

answers from Chicago on

If you are a runner, definitely cut back on the running until the pain subsides. I had plantar fascitis really bad after each of my pregnancies. Losing the baby weight definitely helped, as did comfy shoes (Dansko, Mephisto, Paul Green, Naot, Crocs, etc)

One thing you might want to try is adding core exercises to your fitness routine. I only recently started to rebuild my core after seven years of neglect. Started doing transverse ab work to minimize my diastatis recti. And oddly enough, a nagging knee injury that had been bothering me for more than a year went away!

There is a book called the Core Program by Peggy Brill that explains the benefits of core exercises to your overall health and fitness. I read the whole book, but only do some of the exercises every other day. I really feel like it has helped me stave off injuries now that I am running regularly.

Oh yeah. And calf stretches and foot stretches will help too. Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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M.L.

answers from Colorado Springs on

I have had plantar fascitis. I guess that makes me a plantar fascist.

My doctor recommended that I do some stretching exercises for my calves, ankles, and feet, even before I got out of bed, and to take it easy in the morning while I was getting over this (it takes some time before you stop feeling as if you're going to die first thing every morning!).

The best thing he did was to recommend wearing good shoes. I was walking around barefoot and in minimal sandals (on concrete). He said to start by getting some good walking shoes! I don't wear my athletic shoes all the time, but I do buy shoes with arch support, or I put arch support in them. They don't have to be ugly shoes. It's amazing what you can do yourself to shoes, even heels, to make them wearable.

Quality shoes aren't necessarily the most expensive ones, but they're not cheap, either. However, they are cheaper than a stack of doctor bills.

1 mom found this helpful
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J.C.

answers from Philadelphia on

Where shoes with arch support. In the winter I wear "Clark's" in the summer I wear "Fit Flops". Fit Flops are the only flip flop that I know of with arch support. Where them even to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Soaking in Epsom salt and warm water may help. Also google exercises for Plantar Fascitis. Stretch before you get out of bed. I had something similar and didn't get relief until I had a cortisone shot. Believe me, that is something you want to avoid. I don't even flinch when I get cortisone injections in my knee but it is absolutely wicked in the foot although I would do it again since it worked:). Feel better.

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B.F.

answers from Dallas on

My hubby has suffered for years. Many shots and expensive custom orthotics. New podiatrist, insoles for $35 and a boot he wares occasionally at night helped a lot. Still he Never walks barefooted even getting up at night. Streaches the back of his legs when he gets up in the morning. If you wear heels all the time the muscle at the back gets tight and causes pain. Oh and never let a doc that is not a podiatrist give you a steroid shot. My poor H was about crippled by several of them. He doesnt even flinch when a pod does it! Hope you get relief!

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V.P.

answers from Columbus on

Wear shoes with arches and/or a slight heel during the day! Mine flairs up when I go barefoot or wear flat shoes too often.

Also, arch supports -- you don't necessarily have to get them professionally made -- that's what I did 20 years ago, but now they make some pretty good ones (Dr. Scholl's makes some with adjustable strength).

M.M.

answers from Chicago on

Most people will suggest orthodics, rest, ice, stretches, etc...
But unless you correct the root cause of the problem, you're just going to keep getting it back.

PF - largely - develops due to our shoes, and feet not being strong enough to support posture. Regular gym shoes exacerbate the issue by taking pressure off of certain points, causing your feet not to have to function as theyt naturally would. As a result, you lose strength and use where they otherwise would.

So, the way that you fix this...wihch will make most cringe...is to GO BAREFOOT. Walk everywhere barefoot. Work out barefoot. As much as you can. You need to strenghten your feet to support the natural way that they work.

I had PF years ago, and researched a TON of medical briefs. I went the direction of barefoot, based on the research that I found, and it corrected the issue in 2 weeks. (I had 2 very sore - as in muscle sore - feet for that time period...using muscles that had lain dormant thanks to gym shoes for years.)
Haven't had a problem since. Today I work out in track shoes with no cushioning, just so I don't tear up my feet during my workouts.

V.W.

answers from Jacksonville on

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eAqJ4-oKTM

I had it years ago. My doctor recommended stretches like these, along with freezing a can of coke and using it to ice my foot (by wearing a sock and rolling the frozen can with the bottom of my foot).

I haven't had any problems with it since.

I.X.

answers from Los Angeles on

I don't have it, but I do need to wear arch supports at all times for other foot/knee problems and when I'm not wearing my custom orthotic, I wear rainbow sandals with arch support.

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D..

answers from Charlotte on

J., mine was so bad that I had shots in my feet to help. No kidding - those were long needles and it hurt so much to get that shot.

I didn't know what I was going to do, walking hurt so much. I would buy the best sneakers I could find (Easy Spirit) to give me support. And like the other poster, I wore inside shoes just for the house so I wouldn't be barefooted.

The doctor recommended stretches in the morning, and I did that. He recommended a wrap, and I bought that too. I even wore a brace in my sleep, but it affected my hip and I couldn't use it.

What helped me in the end was advice from two people who had gone through what I was going through. They told me to go to Nordstroms and buy some hard soled shoes like Munro, Nato or Jack Green. They were right.

Those shoes are over $100 a pair. I balked at that, and of course the "old lady" look of some of the shoes. But they fixed my feet, J.. Now, they are all I wear. I love Naot's and if you can find a Naot shop that has lots of choices (Nordstrom only has a few), your feet will treat you right!

Dawn

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S.Y.

answers from Chicago on

I had this for years...finally decided to deal with it...went to the doctor...he "prescribed" this foot brace "boot" to wear at night. I picked it up from the local pharmacy on the way home. I looked at it and thought no way is this thing going to work....I wore it for a several nights in a rown and to my utter shock the pain was GONE. I continued to wear it for several months straight - regardless if I had pain or not and it the pain it totally gone! Occassionaly now if I do a lot of walking around in flip flops it comes back...and then I get it out and wear it for a week or so. This thing worked great. You do not need a prescription to get the foot boot...here is the one that I have...it has been a godsend!

http://www.footsmart.com/P-HealWell-Night-Splint-10130.aspx

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E.S.

answers from Jacksonville on

Look up the stretches some of the other posters have recommended. Do them as often as you think of it. Whenever mine flairs up, I do them in the morning before work, during the day at work and at night. Arch supports, especially when you exercise is a must.

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A.L.

answers from Las Vegas on

Yes, but not for the reason you state .. Mine is due to bone spurs..... which can mimic Plantar Fascitis in the sense that the bottom of my feet hurt.. with the bone spurs, (in my case, three) as you can well imagine , the spurs pinch at the soft tissue in my foot.. (Have you gone to the Podiatrist) to confirm that PF is in fact the problem? I thought I had it too but come to find out, it was the spurs.. So far, I have tried a deep cut heel insert... this has helped somewhat in the sense my heel has a bigger space to relax into. Additionally, I do take Ibuprofen but don't like to use it too often.. However, on very active days, I definitely need one...

I also have to stretch my foot and warm it up before walking on it (esp when I first awaken in the morning) or having sat for a long period of time... Oh and I ALWAYS wear a spongy slipper with lots of foot support when around the house... going barefoot isn't much fun for me......

D.K.

answers from Sioux City on

I'm not sure what the doctor would think about this but mine gets better if I cut sugar and starch from my diet and drink lots of water. Taking fish oil also seems to make mine hurt less. All this may just be in my mind but either way it works.

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M.B.

answers from Austin on

I had problems with it for years, and went to a GOOD shoe store.... it is a private one where they also make shoe inserts. He suggested inserts, but also told me to wear shoes with a "stiff midsole" and good arch support.. I started buying expensive ($90-100) tennis shoes and wearing them almost exclusively. I ended up buying a new pair of shoes from him just about every year, but it really did help. At that point, I rarely wore sandals because of the pain. (Buying these shoes started in about 1999, I think.)

The shoes I buy now are by Brooks.....

By wearing the shoes for many years, I don't really have problems with it now.. at least not like I used to! I now go barefoot and wear sandals pretty much every day, although not flip-flops... the sandals I wear have a bit of an arch support, but not much.

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J.☯.

answers from Springfield on

I was never actually diagnosed, but I wore Crocs all the time. I kept them by my bedside to put on if I had to use the restroom in the middle of the night and to put on first thing in the morning. I think after a month or two it was better.

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M.M.

answers from Boston on

Yes....I had it for years.....stretched sort of helped.. Cortizone shots worked wondeers for a number of years...I too had "the boot" which drove me crazy because I sleep on my stomach and would wind uo taking the thing off in the middle of the night. Eventually I went for PT 3 years ago and have been, knock on wood, pain free (hope I didn't just jinx myself)...anyways, physical therapist also recommended heel cushions (Dr scholl gel things work well too) and a good pair of shoes/or sneakers (per phuycal therapist new ones every 6 months -- yes, an excuse to go shopping) ...I've had luck with New Balance(definitely needs heel cushion) and the LLBean comfort mocs(fine w/o heel cushion) and in the llBean snow sneakers

Good luck...I hope you feel better soon!

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