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stanley

Plantar fasciitis

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Who here has dealt with Plantar Fascittis????? (BTW, if you don't know what it is, like I didn't, well.... Consider yourself lucky! Inflammation of the tissue connecting your heel bone to your toes.... SUCKS!)

 

Anyway, I've been on a bit of a health kick lately and started hiking here in Central Phx 3-5 days per week a couple of months ago. Nothing too major. 4 or 5 miles at a time. Camelback, Dreamy Draw, etc... So a couple of weeks ago the pain started. I've since talked to a few folks and found that it is apparently fairly common.

 

Looking for any advice or magic remedies that anyone might have, please. So far it looks like ice, Alieve, cut WAY back on my hiking for a while, etc. I just bought those inserts for my hiking boots that are made especially for the condition.

 

Any other ideas from anyone who has experienced it?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

S.

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PFR surgery(plantar fascia release) in 2000 solved the left foot problem. still suffer with the right foot every summer due to softball. cortisone works for that usually in september now that they don't favor the surgery anymore. it was like magic for me.

 

lee

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I'm a chiropractor and deal with patients daily with this issue. Almost every case I've seen, the patient had a severe increase in activity. The typical treatments are: Ice like crazy. Freeze a water bottle and roll your foot on it. Freeze a Dixie cup and peel the top edges back and rub the ice on your foot while it melts. Also put a rag on the ground and scrunch it up with your toes. This stretches the muscles and uses them, forcing blood flow to the area which promotes healing.

 

Be careful first thing in the morning getting out of bed. Take it slow and easy. At night your foot heals. When you get up in the morning there is commonly sharp pain on your first step. That is the weight of your body tearing the fascia on the bottom of your foot.

 

Ice, stretch lightly and take it easy. It's not fun and its not easy to get rid of. Some people swear by certain things and some swear by others. Its a tough one.

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I had it in my left foot for over a year. Miserable! My job requires me to be upright and walking all day. It was so bad, I could barely walk. Simple walking had a pain level of 10!

 

What worked for me was stretching. Especially in the morning right after waking. I sit on the edge of my bed and place my foot on a firm ball and roll back and forth, several times. Then in the evening, I'd do the rolling stretches again. It hurts, but feels good at the same time.

 

It took several weeks of this, but it helped immensely. I've been pain free now going on a year.

 

I found none of the OTC insoles really helped me.

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I did the heel and arch stretches for months per my doc. It helped but did not work. I ended up getting the shots in my feet almost a year later. The shots were painful!!! But it was immediate relief and the pain hasnt returned. That was 4-5 years ago. Plantar fasciitis was one of the worst things I ever had.

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Im an athletic trainer and have also dealt with it myself. Increased acrivity it the primary cause. I found that using a softball or baseball to roll on the bottom of my foot worked well. It hurts like crazy but will help release the tension in the plantar fascia. I also use the sofball under my calf to help loosen those muscles as well. I put the softball under the calf and then flex my foot back and forth. Move the ball up and down the muscle during this process. Again hurts like crazy but will loosen that muscle up. Calf stretching is a nevcesity as often as you can. Like someone else mentioned the frozen water bottle rolling on the foot also helps. You have to stay consistent with trying to relieve the tension in the plantar fascia. Let me know if you have anymore questions or if I can help out in any way

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Ice and excessive masturbation worked for me.....

The excessive Masturbation must make up for the Shrinkage factor ;)

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I fought with it for 2 years and had numerous injections in my heel. I bought a foot cast to sleep in an night to keep my foot stretched out. Anti inflammatories, ice, stretches, insoles, etc. My podiatrist finally gave me alcohol injections to kill the nerve. It worked great and I have had no issues with that foot since.

 

My left foot started bothering me and I didn't want to go through so many needles in my foot so I had PRP injections in it. One injection and it hasn't bothered me in nearly a year.

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Sounds like stretching and maybe some 'ice / water bottle / ball' therapy is where I'll start. I'm a complete 'shot phobic' (like seriously, it's kind of a problem...), so I'll pray it doesn't eventually come to injections. AZkiller, thanks for the tip on Feetures. I have a buddy who is kind of hard core (trail runner, rim to rim stuff, etc..) and he mentioned that as well. I'll check it out. Picked-up some specialty heel inserts at REI yesterday also.

 

CouesFanatic & AllBoutHuntn, thanks for your respective professional opinions. You guys both mentioned the 'increased activity' theme, and for sure that matches my case. Though in fairly decent shape, I had definitely picked-up big time on my routine relative to what my 'normal' had been for a long time.

 

Big thanks for all the info and replies! Truly appreciate the help/perspective. Best virtual community on the web! ;)

 

S.

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I went to a podiatrist who recommended all of the above solutions... when they didn't work, the doc molded my foot and ordered me custom orthotic inserts for my hiking boots... problem solved. My insurance paid for most of it, I think I was $75 out of pocket for the inserts.

 

I easily put 1200 miles a year on my boots and for last 4 years, I've been pain free

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