As I've stated before, I tried the stretching, I tried the night splint, I even had three cortizone shots in my foot.
But I can't say enough about the physical therapy, which was a combination of so many things: stretching, icing, ultrasound, some kind of pain patch, as well as the best and most caring advice I could have gotten on how to help my heel pain myself.
I also, during the regular evaluations, was able to see improvment, which gave me hope. Against all my fears, my PT encouraged me to walk for exercise: she advised me about what types of surfaces would be better than others.
I didn't walk into the PT office with hope. This was my second round. The first one was not so successful. In fact, I had just about given up. I can't stress enough how important it is to have a therapist that is measuring and reporting results so you can see your improvement. The first round, i went with whoever could take me soonest because I was in so much pain. No a surpirse that it was a waste of time. I also was getting the cortizone shots at the time, so it was hard to know if I was improving or not.
My heel pain, plantar fasciitis (heel spur)
My plantar fasciitis began almost 2 years ago as mild pain in both of my arches. Then it settled into my left heel. The pain was unbearable, throbbing, like a knife sticking in my heel when I stood on it. As a stay at home mom of 3, it limited my ability to care for myself and my children. I think it may have even contributed to the breakdown of my marriage.
The most frustrating thing was that nobody understood how bad the pain was and how difficult it was for me to move around. Everyone, even those very close to me would say, "Oh, yeah, I had that...." but they didn't have it quite this bad. "It'll go away before you know it..." but it didn't.
After a few monthes of pain, I went to my primary care doctor who sent me to the podiatrist. The first treatment he gave me was a night splint, and gave me a certain type of inserts to put into my shoes, told me to stretch, and said he was sure that I would be much better in two weeks and scheduled a follow-up.
I think it was at this 2-week followup that this doctor gave me my first of three cortizone injections. This is a painful injection, but he did it so fast without discussion that I didn't really have a chance to be worried. He did put novacaine into the foot first. It is a very big needel that goes in from the side of your foot.
Again, he said he was sure I'd be much better in 2 weeks, and scheduled a follow-up. And in two weeks, I went back to see him and I was much better. The pain was gone and I was able to function again. Then the cortizone shot wore off. And the pain was worse than before.
I went back to the doctor and got another shot, and was referred for my first round of physical therapy. Twice a week, I had ultrasound therapy and massage and stretching and exercizes. Of course, I kept telling the PT how good I was doing, but again, once the cortizone shot wore off, I was back to square one.
Back to the doctor again for a third shot. When the PT went on vacation, I never went back to him. He was useless, as useless as the podiatrist who kept shooting me up with cortizone.
At this point, it's been about 8-9 months of pain and I decided to try to do my own natural treatment and try to stay off it as much as possible. This did not go over very well with my now-almost-ex-husband.
As I crossed over into a year of debilitating pain from Plantar Fasciitis, I made another attempt and called another podiatrist. She said she didn't think it was that bad and she was sure I'd be much better. She told me to ice and stretch and sent me for another round of Physical Therapy.
I can't say enough about how different my 2 PT experiences were. This place was a large group with a lot of eqipment and totally different way of treating the Plantar Fasciitis. They measured the mobility of the foot and really pushed me stretching. They measured the pain at intervals, so they knew I was getting better even when it didn't feel like it.
http://www.ehow.com/how_5115687_relieve-fasciitis-heel-spur-stretching.html?shared=true
The most frustrating thing was that nobody understood how bad the pain was and how difficult it was for me to move around. Everyone, even those very close to me would say, "Oh, yeah, I had that...." but they didn't have it quite this bad. "It'll go away before you know it..." but it didn't.
After a few monthes of pain, I went to my primary care doctor who sent me to the podiatrist. The first treatment he gave me was a night splint, and gave me a certain type of inserts to put into my shoes, told me to stretch, and said he was sure that I would be much better in two weeks and scheduled a follow-up.
I think it was at this 2-week followup that this doctor gave me my first of three cortizone injections. This is a painful injection, but he did it so fast without discussion that I didn't really have a chance to be worried. He did put novacaine into the foot first. It is a very big needel that goes in from the side of your foot.
Again, he said he was sure I'd be much better in 2 weeks, and scheduled a follow-up. And in two weeks, I went back to see him and I was much better. The pain was gone and I was able to function again. Then the cortizone shot wore off. And the pain was worse than before.
I went back to the doctor and got another shot, and was referred for my first round of physical therapy. Twice a week, I had ultrasound therapy and massage and stretching and exercizes. Of course, I kept telling the PT how good I was doing, but again, once the cortizone shot wore off, I was back to square one.
Back to the doctor again for a third shot. When the PT went on vacation, I never went back to him. He was useless, as useless as the podiatrist who kept shooting me up with cortizone.
At this point, it's been about 8-9 months of pain and I decided to try to do my own natural treatment and try to stay off it as much as possible. This did not go over very well with my now-almost-ex-husband.
As I crossed over into a year of debilitating pain from Plantar Fasciitis, I made another attempt and called another podiatrist. She said she didn't think it was that bad and she was sure I'd be much better. She told me to ice and stretch and sent me for another round of Physical Therapy.
I can't say enough about how different my 2 PT experiences were. This place was a large group with a lot of eqipment and totally different way of treating the Plantar Fasciitis. They measured the mobility of the foot and really pushed me stretching. They measured the pain at intervals, so they knew I was getting better even when it didn't feel like it.
http://www.ehow.com/how_5115687_relieve-fasciitis-heel-spur-stretching.html?shared=true
Oops, now the other foot is starting to hurt...
Or is it?
Maybe the bad foot just got so much better that I can now feel pain in the good foot. I'm not sure if I would say I actually have plantar fasciitis in the "good" foot, but I have been stretching it as much as I can so it doesn't ever get as bad as the "bad" foot. The "bad" foot was really bad for about a year and a half and just within the last few months has steadily improved. I give credit to a number of things, including, ice, stretching and physical therapy.
We went to Vermont and visited the Ben and Jerry's factory and my 6-year-old bought me a cow-patterned golf ball. It was for massaging my foot. cute.
Maybe the bad foot just got so much better that I can now feel pain in the good foot. I'm not sure if I would say I actually have plantar fasciitis in the "good" foot, but I have been stretching it as much as I can so it doesn't ever get as bad as the "bad" foot. The "bad" foot was really bad for about a year and a half and just within the last few months has steadily improved. I give credit to a number of things, including, ice, stretching and physical therapy.
We went to Vermont and visited the Ben and Jerry's factory and my 6-year-old bought me a cow-patterned golf ball. It was for massaging my foot. cute.
Driving and heel pain (Plantar Fasciitis)
I once told my physical therapist how much driving bothered my foot. My heel pain from Plantar fasciitis is on my right, my gas foot. She explained to me how when I had my foot on the gas, all my weight was on my right heel, where the pain was.
Not only was I getting stiff from just sitting in the car, all my weight was on my painful heel, making it worse.
Once I realized that, I raised up my seat in my car so that my heel was just resting on the floor of the car, but all my weight was not on it.
I think this might have been one of the things that contributed to my improvement.
good luck!!
Not only was I getting stiff from just sitting in the car, all my weight was on my painful heel, making it worse.
Once I realized that, I raised up my seat in my car so that my heel was just resting on the floor of the car, but all my weight was not on it.
I think this might have been one of the things that contributed to my improvement.
good luck!!
What about your socks? Plantar Fasciitis ("Heel Spur") and socks
Last summer, at the peak of my foot pain from Plantar Fasciitis, aka a heel spur, I accidentally purchased a pair of socks with arch support in them. I didn't even know such a thing existed...it wasn't that I did n't want them...I just hadn't intended on buying them.
Putting them on my feet felt so wonderful. I think the action may be similar to the "taping" that some athletes do to help with the pain of Plantar Fasciitis. It felt like just a little extra "hug" and support on my arch, and I swear it helped with the pain.
Next time you buy socks, look for ones with arch support. It's just like a tighter, elastic area around the arch that adds some extra support.
I wish you the best of luck with your foot pain. Please remember that I am not a medical professional, and am merely sharing my own personal experience with the extreme pain of Plantar Fasciitis and how I finally found relief.
Putting them on my feet felt so wonderful. I think the action may be similar to the "taping" that some athletes do to help with the pain of Plantar Fasciitis. It felt like just a little extra "hug" and support on my arch, and I swear it helped with the pain.
Next time you buy socks, look for ones with arch support. It's just like a tighter, elastic area around the arch that adds some extra support.
I wish you the best of luck with your foot pain. Please remember that I am not a medical professional, and am merely sharing my own personal experience with the extreme pain of Plantar Fasciitis and how I finally found relief.
Choosing the right shoes for your plantar fasciitis (heel spur)
Foot pain is so common that there are stores that are exclusively dedicated to helping people find the right shoes. If you are in pain from Plantar Fasciitis, also known as a heel spur, wearing supportive shoes is very importanat and may be the key to relief for you.
Many people had recommended New Balance sneakers. I wore them faithfully and changed them every few months. However, it wasn't until I went to a store dedicated to helping people with bad feet and had a professional fit my sneakers that I finally was able to find relief from the pain. This shoe change was also done in conjunction with physical therapy and ice, so I'm not sure how much impact that one change had, but together all of these things helped me to get pain free after almost 2 years.
I also had to pay for it. While the previous pairs of sneakers I would buy on sale for $40 to $50, this last pair I paid $150 for. I've never in my life paid that much for a pair of shoes, but I think it was well worth it.
I'm not a medical professional, I am simply sharing my own personal experience, but what I was told that if the sole of the shoe can bend or flex, there's not enough support if you have plantar fasciitis. I was wearing my crocs all the time, and everyone kept telling me how bad they were for your feet.
Ask around to find a shoes store that caters to people with problem feet. The one I went to was Active Soles in Plymouth, MA. There's also a chain called Good Feet, which I've never been to myself, but might be looking into. Someone else I know went to Marathon Sports in Norwell, MA, thought I think there might be other locations too.
good luck!!
Many people had recommended New Balance sneakers. I wore them faithfully and changed them every few months. However, it wasn't until I went to a store dedicated to helping people with bad feet and had a professional fit my sneakers that I finally was able to find relief from the pain. This shoe change was also done in conjunction with physical therapy and ice, so I'm not sure how much impact that one change had, but together all of these things helped me to get pain free after almost 2 years.
I also had to pay for it. While the previous pairs of sneakers I would buy on sale for $40 to $50, this last pair I paid $150 for. I've never in my life paid that much for a pair of shoes, but I think it was well worth it.
I'm not a medical professional, I am simply sharing my own personal experience, but what I was told that if the sole of the shoe can bend or flex, there's not enough support if you have plantar fasciitis. I was wearing my crocs all the time, and everyone kept telling me how bad they were for your feet.
Ask around to find a shoes store that caters to people with problem feet. The one I went to was Active Soles in Plymouth, MA. There's also a chain called Good Feet, which I've never been to myself, but might be looking into. Someone else I know went to Marathon Sports in Norwell, MA, thought I think there might be other locations too.
good luck!!
My favorite stretch for plantar fasciitis ("heel spur")
I outlined some stretching techniques in an Ehow article:
I highly recommend, if you are able, see a physical therapist to learn how to do the stretches and how to do them right.
My favorite stretch is to grasp my toes and the upper (ball) partof the foot and to bend them toward my ankle as much as I can. I can feel this stretch in the arch as well as in the calf.
It's also important ot keep your calves stretched otu all the time...from what I was told, the calf muscle is attached to teh plantar fascia, so one of the things that cuses Plantara Fasciitis or a Heel spur is having tight calves. I find the easiest way to do this is to simply flex the foot often, whenever I think of it. The stretched feeling reminds me of the tightness.
I highly recommend, if you are able, see a physical therapist to learn how to do the stretches and how to do them right.
My favorite stretch is to grasp my toes and the upper (ball) partof the foot and to bend them toward my ankle as much as I can. I can feel this stretch in the arch as well as in the calf.
It's also important ot keep your calves stretched otu all the time...from what I was told, the calf muscle is attached to teh plantar fascia, so one of the things that cuses Plantara Fasciitis or a Heel spur is having tight calves. I find the easiest way to do this is to simply flex the foot often, whenever I think of it. The stretched feeling reminds me of the tightness.
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