# Plantar fasciitis, what worked for you?



## doozie (May 21, 2005)

Looking for ideas to relieve pain and get over it, or do I just have to wait it out.

So far I've tried the heel inserts, changed shoes, and while they feel good, the pain is back every morning or if I sit too long. 3 or 4 weeks in on this.

Since I am walking funny, my hips joints hurt and by the end of the day I'm having lower back pain too now. OTC pain relievers work to some extent for the joints and back.


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## mzgarden (Mar 16, 2012)

I tried everything for many years, got to the point where the podiatrist said my only option was surgery and that surgery is typically only 50% successful. Um, nope. I contacted a chiropractor in the area trained in acupuncture - figured what could it hurt. OMG!!!! 3 maybe 4 sessions and it was gone. That was several years ago with no re-occurrence.


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## Tom Petty (Aug 8, 2012)

When you find something that works let me know. I've been struck with it for several years and it comes and goes. I have tried inserts with some success but not much, my chiropractor suggested i wear good boots with a good strong sole and a solid insole so I'm wearing Wesco boots with a thick layer of leather insole and so far it's working but maybe I'm just in between the time that it goes away it's very painful and annoying.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I had real serious pain in the arch of my foot. I fixed it by stretching the 3 tendons that run from the toes to the back of the knee. My tendons were like guitar strings they were so tight and any pressure on them hurt.

I would definitely work on regaining flexibility in your tendons before any kind of surgery. It really helped me. As we get older it's natural for our tendons to shrink so working on flexibility has a huge impact on reducing or eliminating pain all over the body.


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## newfieannie (Dec 24, 2006)

i dont know what the heck i have. could be bursitis i suppose. i never heard about that before. 

this all happened at the start of the pandemic when i was cutting out trees and a heavy limb fell on my neck and shoulder. i have pain all down as far as my elbow. i gave in and went to a doc a month ago and got xrayed. he said arthritis. i dont believe it is.

my son says they dont get things wrong)but they treated my husband for arthritis for 11 months and he was full of cancer i have a friend who is VON nurse . she said they got hers wrong and she got a second opinion. they gave her a MRI i think she said and she had torn tendons. i think that's what i have. 

i'm still working on my land every day but i'm in agony. i take ibuprophen and tylenol. most times that doesn't touch it. i dont want to put it in a sling. might lose the use of it altogether and for me to just lay up and stop working might as well be dead. i'm doing exercises lifting canned food. i think i'll pick up some of those ginger tablets tomorrow. ~Georgia


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## 67drake (May 6, 2020)

I had it years ago,and it took forever to get over. I bought heavy duty arch supports from an old school shoe repair shop. They last about a year per pair. I would also rub the tendons in the bottom of my feet before I got out of bed to help loosen them up. If I just stood up after being in bed it was agony!
It seemed to bother me most if I stood for long periods of time, if I was walking around it wasn’t nearly as bad.


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## GTX63 (Dec 13, 2016)

Good boots or shoes.
I was wearing some gawd awful sneakers and finally put together cause and effect.
As you age, if you want to function a level similar to your early days, you have to spend the money on shoes designed to support you rather than save you $10.
Gel inserts. Big difference maker.
Icy Hot, Flex All 454, Ben Gay, ect rubbed into the affected areas nightly.
I have mornings with ankle pain, stiff achilles, etc which can cause me to walk from the bed to the kitchen like Fred Sanford but no PF for 4-5 years now.


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## doozie (May 21, 2005)

Thanks for the replies, I will try stretches I found now.
Shoe shopping soon, I expect to be shocked $$$.

Fred Sanford, LOL, yes, I'm more like Frankenstein complete with grunts.


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## 67drake (May 6, 2020)

Crazy thing is, when I had it years ago, I worked in a shop where I didn’t need steel toes. So I wore a high quality running shoe. Now I’m 20 lbs. heavier,wear high steel toe boots with the metatarsal guard,and have a lot more physically demanding job, but my feet are fine these days.


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## Mars Hill Homeschool (Jun 9, 2020)

Plantar fasciitis is generally caused by the Achilles tendon (from which the plantar fascia -- the connective tissue that spread out and supports the entire sole of the foot -- originates) being tight/pulled-upon. I find it bothers me more on mornings when I do not stretch my hips and legs before I stand up, or when my shoes are worn out, or when I've stood or moved in less-than-ideal ways for a while.

Stretching the muscles is indeed the key. For those who have been helped by chiropractic adjustments, this is likely because the Achilles tendon was "pulled tight" due to a misalignment of the spine or hips (which is always something that should be explored if simple stretches do not alleviate the symptoms).

Some people find that rolling a ball, like a tennis ball (or a lacrosse ball for those "into" more intensity, lol), around on the ground with the bottom of the foot does wonders. Be sure to use the heels, toes, arch, and sides of the foot when doing this, and don't forget the other foot even if it does not seem to hurt -- the body often compensates for an issue on one side by over-using the other side, and it is usually the compensating side that "squeaks louder" than the original injury/issue side. Besides, you wouldn't want the other foot to feel left out or jealous now, would you? =D Use as much pressure as you need to in order to FEEL the work that you are doing, but if it causes PAIN, back off. Pain indicates undue stress on the muscles, and you do not need to accidentally tear your foot muscles while you are trying to relieve your Plantar Fasciitis. That would be quite counter-productive!

Another exercise that sometimes helps relieve the symptoms of Plantar Fasciitis is standing on the edge of a step with just the ball of the foot (not just the toes, please; they are not strong enough to support one's weight like this and you risk further injury) and gently, slowly lean down toward your heels, allowing the bottom of the foot to slowly stretch and release the tension held in the tendons and muscles. Again, use as much pressure as you need to in order to FEEL the work, but not to actually HURT (and remember that in this case, gravity is helping your body weight downward, so it is a good idea to do this next to a handrail or a wall that can be held to support and moderate the action).

We have a TON of teeny tiny little bones in the foot (I once could name them all, but it would take some research at this point in time, LOL), and tons of teeny-tiny, little, and longer,/stronger muscles which connect all those bones together. Ideally, each segment of the foot (the metatarsals leading from each individual toe [phalanges] toward the tarsals of the ankle) would be able to be flexed (by hand or walking; other properly-performed movements) individually from the rest of the foot. We age, we misuse our bodies, we sustain injuries; often this ability declines or disappears over time. In lots of cases, with care and gentle persistence, the flexibility of the foot can be regained, at least partially.


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## 67drake (May 6, 2020)

I used to pay my kids to rub my feet. NOT a simple massage, I had them rub their knuckles into the bottoms of my feet as hard as they could. It loosened everything up, and usually put me to sleep!


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## Mars Hill Homeschool (Jun 9, 2020)

67drake said:


> I used to pay my kids to rub my feet. NOT a simple massage, I had them rub their knuckles into the bottoms of my feet. It loosened everything up, and usually put me to sleep!


You're describing something akin to reflexology, which also helps a lot of people! =D


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## Seeria (Jul 21, 2006)

I suffered with this for well over a year. Read up on the causes. Look up vids on therapy. After that I decided to move to minimalist shoes (thin soles, no arches, no heals). Also had to choose ones that would not rub on the back of ankle. The best therapy I found was the roller, where you roll a bottle under your feet to get the stretch needed to slowly strengthen the pulled area. That one also removed pain for short bits. Oh, and when out and about do the curb lift (on youtube) since you probably aren't carrying around a bottle to roll. Took about six months of therapy and switching off heels/arches to get it back to normal.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Physical therapy helped relieve mine. I still have problems if I don't do the stretches for a couple days. I use a 16 oz pop bottle to roll under my feet and to prop my feet on (one at a time) to stretch the tendons and muscles. Nothing else worked. Drugs, shoes, arch supports, chiropractic were all temporary at best. Physical therapy still is temporary but it lasts a lot longer than anything else I have tried.
Forgot to mention the brace and copper socks. Tried them, didn't work.
Good exercises here;





Plantar Fasciitis: Exercises to Relieve Pain | Michigan Medicine


Top of the pageActionsetPlantar Fasciitis: Exercises to Relieve PainOverviewHeel pain can be caused by stress placed on the plantar fascia ligament when it is stretched irregularly, which causes small tears and inflammation.




www.uofmhealth.org


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## Rodeo's Bud (Apr 10, 2020)

When I start hurting in my feet and legs, it is usually time for a new pair of boots.

I do a lot of stretching in the mornings. It seems to help, though some days you are just going to hurt. That goes along with a hard working lifestyle.


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## DW (May 10, 2002)

I've had it twice. Foot dr wanted me to get orthotics. I stuck w/exercises and good tennis shoes. Got over it and have not had it for yrs.


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## KeeperOfTheHome (Dec 16, 2015)

The braces they sell at any drugstore worked wonders for me- pain lessened literally over night.


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## Lisa in WA (Oct 11, 2004)

I had it several years ago and tried everything. Orthotics, injections, physical therapy, specific shoes, stretches, the boots you sleep in at night, icing, etc., etc., etc. nothing worked. I have very strong and tight calf muscles. The PT would do massages on them and it hurt like they were sticking knives into them.
Till my trainer suggested for the umpteemth time that the best way to get a muscle to relax was to strengthen it so I started weighted calf lifts and worked theheck out of those muscles. 
It worked. Within a month my pain was gone.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

Definitely stretching is a good place to start. Be careful to not force the stretches. I did and it gave me awful cramps in my calves. One morning at 5 am I woke up with my foot pointed towards the ceiling, clutching my calf muscle and screaming in pain. I tried standing up next to the bed but lost my balance and fell forward with my head hitting right where the wall meets the floor. I had to sit there in the dark for a while to get my bearings. Luckily I was able to get into the chiropractor that morning so he put everything back in place. I did end up breaking my nose in the crash.

Despite this I still believe that stretching should be the first place to look for relief. IMO if we had kept our flexibility and muscle tone most of our aches and pains would never happen.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

fishhead said:


> Despite this I still believe that stretching should be the first place to look for relief. IMO if we had kept our flexibility and muscle tone most of our aches and pains would never happen.


If I had been allowed to get physical therapy for my hip and back 40 years ago I would not have suffered as much as I have. Gymnastics classes helped but I really needed targeted exercises.


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## MoonRiver (Sep 2, 2007)

Another vote for chiropractor.


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## Deniser60 (May 24, 2018)

“The boot” has worked for me. Two times I’ve dealt with this (2x in about 18 years) and two times it went away completely with that boot. If you are even willing to sleep with it, it will do you wonders. Why your feet hurt so much when you first get out of bed is because your toes naturally point downward in that relaxed sleeping position… the boot keeps that tendon, etc. stretched and it will heal after a while. Hope you’ll feel relief SOON!


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

When I had it, I tried taping my feet at night and steroid injections. I spent a fortune on orthotics and expensive shoes.

Finally, a chiropractor told me to do the exercise that @marshillhomeschool mentioned: letting my heels hang down while I balanced on the balls of me on a stair tread, as well as rolling my feet over tennis balls. Within 2 weeks, my feet were pain free.


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## mzgarden (Mar 16, 2012)

acupuncture fixed it for me. Years of seeing a podiatrist, shots, orthotics, wearing a boot, exercises, chiropractor - got desperate and went to an acupuncturist. 2 sessions - pain was gone, 4 sessions - it's been 4 years with no pain.


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## starrynights (Oct 7, 2021)

newfieannie said:


> i dont know what the heck i have. could be bursitis i suppose. i never heard about that before.
> 
> this all happened at the start of the pandemic when i was cutting out trees and a heavy limb fell on my neck and shoulder. i have pain all down as far as my elbow. i gave in and went to a doc a month ago and got xrayed. he said arthritis. i dont believe it is.
> 
> ...


go to physical therapy


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