Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Plantar Fasciitis

I've been on this site with the same question and I have had some helpful suggestions but currently I am at the end of my rope, literally. I've tried injections, a walking boot, PT, pills and now my doctor is talking about a surgery. This seems pretty drastic but I'm ready to try anything. Has anyone out there experienced this type of surgery?
Thank you.

My wife has her massage therapist do a proceedure called "stripping" that, while painful during the process, gives her great relief. That and quality inserts in her shoes keeps her walking.

Superfeet inserts (orange), chiropractor, acupuncture, ice pack.

Yes, PF hurts. I had extreme pain in my left heel for over a year. Pain meds did not help so I quit taking them.

My wife told me to see a chiropractor and acunpuncturist (I am a big skeptic of both then and I am not now) in September 2011.

Apply ice pack to the bottom of your foot. Place a thin towel between your foot and ice pack every morning and night.

Since then I have been pain free. I am running and hiking without discomfort.

Surgery should NOT be an option. That's my opinion.

Hope this helps you stay away from surgery.

I've had patients recover from the surgery, but like any surgery, it takes time, and patience is key.

Consistency, in whatever treatment you choose (ice packs/chiro/accupuncture/exercises/stretches/etc) is also really important.

One of the biggest mistakes my patients have made in the past is to progress their activities too quickly. For PF, the most aggregious was to suddenly change from walking on flat surfaces or low inclines to steep hills. Sends you back to square one every time.

One of the best pieces of advice my surgeon told me after knee surgery last fall was to do NOTHING until he saw me again 10 days later. I think he saw how fired up I was to get back into doing everything again. Listen to your doc, and possibly PT. Be gentle with yourself for a while. It sucks to watch the world go by, but it might actually get you back out there sooner and with less recurrence of the issue.

-L

Thanks for all the suggestions. I use Superfeet religiously and am wondering if custom fit orthotics might work.With my job, I teach middle school PE, I have no chance to rest throughout the week. I take the weekends off (literally no walking) and my foot feels great. Monday, by 2nd period, it's right back to where it was on Friday afternoon. Acupuncture? I've never done anything like that. Any referrals for the Orange County area?
Thanks so much again. I'm really desperate and besides my wife is getting tired of me crying about it. HA!

I had PF pretty chronically about 10 years ago. One thing that really helped me was loosing 50 pounds.


It is going to be tough to heal the inflammation with a job where you are on your feet so much.

Dr. Heaslet, a podiatrist in O.C., off Barranca, makes custom orthotics and is very knowledgable. Cortisone sometimes helps. Try not to wear sandals other than Birkenstocks. I have found that wearing a night splint is the best thing you can do. I have tried PT without much success.

Thanks for the tip. I'll probably try this too. I am going nuts since PF reared its head after my backpacking trip last summer. Thankfully Powerstep insoles have mitigated the pain a lot. But still there is always this persistent discomfort.

Dean at Globe: Thanks for the tip. That has been suggested but I'm only about 10lbs over and I've been at that weight for years without any PF. I'm going to work on that as well.

Lots of stretching and strengthening exercises for your foot, calf, hamstring, etc.
Try these:
http://www.heel-that-pain.com/heel_seats.php

Trip, When I had PF about 6 years ago, my Podiatrist recommended Chaco sandals, I now have 3 pair.

One thing that jumped out at me:



To me, isolated, that says that you have an overuse syndrome. You do a particular thing in a particular way, and it causes damage. You don't do it, you heal.

I take seriously your statement that you will try "anything".

You might consider taking a week's vacation, and staying off your feet for NINE days, instead of two. Personally, I would take FULL DOSE anti-inflammatory drugs, like Voltaren, also.

I am not a fan of surgery for this. I suspect that the cases where it works, is not because of the surgery, but because you CANNOT walk, and are forced to stay off your feet for an extended time. Consider trying that part, but skip the surgery part.

Your PT can guide you best in this, but I've had the best luck WHEN PEOPLE WERE LAYING OFF, with heat 4x/day, followed by gentle stretching.

The biggest impediment I've found was people not laying off.

Oh, one other thing that I've found helpful ALONG WITH THE ABOVE, was getting patients fitted with athletic shoes by an expert. Most people wear shoes that don't fit. And they get away with it. But once you have an injured foot, the improper footwear may keep the whole thing going.

In my area, San Fernando Valley, I was lucky to have the best place around nearby, Phidippides Encino. I have referred literally hundreds of people to their store (I have no stake).

I tell people they will have an experience that they've never had. Bring a worn pair of shoes. It will take over an hour for the fitting.

My conversion came with a professional aerobics instructor who had tried 20 pairs of shoes, and had seen many practitioners due to her severe PF pain, and was considering leaving her occupation. I sent her to Phidippides, and her problem was solved in a week.

Anyway, the worst you end up with is a good pair of shoes. Might be worth the drive.

You probably already do this, and it may be obvious, but YOU MUST NOT WEAR DRESS SHOES TO WORK. They do not have the support to allow an injured foot to heal.

Really, really, really make surgery your LAST choice. I have seen sobering disasters.

And they say you don't learn new things....I love the story of phidippidies (the one who lived),and was looking at it again, and saw this sidenote, of which I'd been unaware:

This to shall pass. My wife had maxed out on shots.(2) She got a second opinion.
Different MD... 3rd shot?!?! But it worked...PT, plus shot, plus ice, plus orthotics, plus stretching every morning before getting out of bed, plus foot rubs from me (on demand) plus rest....After 6 jacked up months...Pain on the 10 scale for pain, went from a constant 8,,,,Down to a 2! I am not a Doctor, don't play one on TV....
But, my gut sez don't cut.

Good luck...I will send good JU-JU your way,

Peace

Tad

PS !!! NIGHT BOOT WAS KEY!!!
PSS!!! Did I forget nightly epson salts foot soaks?

While I have never had plantar fasciitis I've had achilles tendonitis problems and piriformis syndrom (pain in the hip)from years of running. You might have to take a break from hard exercise for a few months. Get extensive physical therapy, and only have an operation as a last resort. A physical therapist told me that you need to build flexibility, endurance, and strength in the muscles to maintain health in these areas. Good luck.

I had Plantar Fasciitis when I was in my mid forties. It was so painful that I could barely get out of bed in the morning because of the weight on my feet. I walked around with the use of crutches to get to everywhere. I was a runner and planned to run the Big Sur marathon again. I went to a specialist about this problem and he told me my running days were over and I was fitted with a orthotics. NOTE: I read somewhere that if a doctor tells you your running days are over you should get a new doctor. I ended up exercising only on a stairmaster and when I ran it was only on grass. I repalced the custom orthotic with a off the shelve arch support because the custom one was too stiff and uncomfortable. I ended up running the marathon and have not had any problems since. I had read that surgery can cause more problems, so I think this should be a very last well thought out option. I know from my own experience that people can overcome this, but it is not an overnight fix. It takes time and baby steps to fix. This problem took me a total of a year to fix and I never had any injections or surgery. I had to focus on doing everything I do from nutrition to weight to exercises to fix this problem. There are much more serious physical problems than this that people have overcome. Good luck on your recovery and to you walking normally.

For any doctors on this site... it has just occured to me that my PF problem is with my left foot. I ruptured the achilles tendon on that leg in 1988 (a 10 on a scale of 10 according to the doctors). Since this isn't my first rodeo with PF, I'm wondering if there could be a corelation between the two. Any thoughts.

I'm not a doctor, but I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night...

Simple answer: YES!

Did you have the Achilles repaired? Tightness of the gastroc/soleus complex can lead to gait changes which may overload the arch of the foot.

Any history of back pain, while we're at it??? (It IS all connected, just like the song says...)

My own experience bears this out. I had a plantar fascia release done on one foot and then several years later when the problem arose in the other foot, I tried strictly staying off of it for a couple of weeks (easier said than done), followed by a round of PT. My total downtime (and pain) was less with the conservative approach versus the surgery and ultimately had the same outcome.

Another thing you might try--though not while the condition is acute--is one of the socks that flex your ankle while you sleep. I've not used one, but I have a couple of runner friends who have and claim good results. Good luck!

I agree with Moosetracks, YES.