Plantar Fasciitis aka severe arch and heel pain

Mill

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
28,558
3
81
Plantar Fasciitis Apparently I'm now blessed with this as a result of my job... I'm in heavy pain and going to a podiatrist soon. I'm going to try some gel inserts and see if that helps, but for right now I'm struggling.
 

Feldenak

Lifer
Jan 31, 2003
14,090
2
81
Well...that would explain the constant dull ache in my feet that I've learned to live with.
 

bradruth

Lifer
Aug 9, 2002
13,479
2
81
I don't have that, but I did have a plantar wart for over 2 months which hurt with every step I took. Ugh, I even had it during my physical agility test, which was not pleasant. :(
 

Mill

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
28,558
3
81
Originally posted by: Feldenak
Well...that would explain the constant dull ache in my feet that I've learned to live with.

Just dull? For me it is sharp almost crippling pain. I've never had such pain before like this that was chronic. I've had terrible pain before, but it was due to something acute and thus didn't last too long. This has been occuring since about 3 weeks ago. It has gotten much worse recently, and today I could barely walk when getting groceries and going to World Market.
 

shopbruin

Diamond Member
Jul 12, 2000
5,817
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i THINK mark mcgwire had this when he was with the a's but i can't remember if it's for sure. i know he had heel problems. and arch problems. hmm.
 

Feldenak

Lifer
Jan 31, 2003
14,090
2
81
Originally posted by: Mill
Originally posted by: Feldenak
Well...that would explain the constant dull ache in my feet that I've learned to live with.

Just dull? For me it is sharp almost crippling pain. I've never had such pain before like this that was chronic. I've had terrible pain before, but it was due to something acute and thus didn't last too long. This has been occuring since about 3 weeks ago. It has gotten much worse recently, and today I could barely walk when getting groceries and going to World Market.

I've never had arches in my feet so I'm just used to it I guess. It feels dull to me...
 

Mill

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
28,558
3
81
Originally posted by: KK
Is this condition weight related?

KK

It can be. For me it is due to walking and being on my feet all day. Like literally 12 hours worth of it...
 

iamme

Lifer
Jul 21, 2001
21,058
3
0
Rasheed Wallace had this during this season's playoffs. i know you probably don't care, but it did go away within a few weeks.

they said the pain was pretty bad, so hopefully you can recover soon!
 

Mill

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
28,558
3
81
Originally posted by: iamme
Rasheed Wallace had this during this season's playoffs. i know you probably don't care, but it did go away within a few weeks.

they said the pain was pretty bad, so hopefully you can recover soon!

I hope I can too. I'd imagine that it'd be a debilitating injury for a basketball player. Was he able to play?
 

Pliablemoose

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
25,195
0
56
I've had it a couple of times, put arch supports in your shoes, don't walk around barefoot/without arch supports, take ibuprofen (NSAIDS), do the exercises.

Have also had both of my feet shot with steroids, gave me temporary relief for ~2 weeks.

There are some surgeries that can be done, but I really don't recommend them.
 

JoeKing

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
10,641
1
81
What kind of shoes are you wearing? Maybe you should just bite the bullet and buy some nice crosstrainers with good arch support. Nikes and Adidas have pretty good support, Nikes can be a bitch to fit however because they can be so damn narrow.
 

noto12ious

Golden Member
Aug 24, 2001
1,131
0
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I developed the same problem you're having, Mill...
throughout middle school / high school, it was a combination of playing way too much sports / having summers filled with marching band rehearsals / developing flat feet over time...

I went to a few foot "specialists" to try and give me a solution...they all recommended over the counter dr. scholls arch supports which did absolutely nothing for me. anyhow, a relatively cheap solution i found was having a pair of orthodics made specifically for my feet...I went to a "molder', imprinted my feet in a styrofoam-like substance, and an hour later he gave me the finished product. I've been pain free for about 5 years.

The cost to make them was about $100...but it's well worth it since they're supposed to last at least 10-15 years.

I wish I could give you more info...but I honestly don't remember all the details. Shoot me an email or pm if you have questions...I can always call my parents to find out the specifics.
 

Doggiedog

Lifer
Aug 17, 2000
12,780
5
81
I had PF about 2 years ago. It was horrible. I would wake up in agonizing pain every morning and have a sore foot the rest of the day. Strangely, whenever I played volleyball, it would never bother me.

It finally got so bad I went to see a podiatrist.

He started giving me cortisone shots for it. After about 4 treatments, it was gone. The first shot actually alleviated about 2/3s of my pain and the rest finished it off.

Once in a while I feel like the heel is acting up but its nothing like what I had before and it goes away. I bought heels but I really haven't noticed an improvement.
 

Mill

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
28,558
3
81
Thanks for the comments folks. I'm certainly going to do something about it soon.
 

Bryophyte

Lifer
Apr 25, 2001
13,430
13
81
I got it bad in both feet from a five day long backpacking trip in Alaska/Canada (Chilkoot Pass Trail) because I hadn't broken my new hiking boots in well enough. I was in agony for the better part of a year. Trouble with plantar pasciitis is, when you sit or lie still with your feet relaxed, the plantar fascia sorta cramps up in a shortened position so that you hurt really bad when you try to stand up and walk, stretching the plantar fascia. Well, I got pregnant while I was having this problem. When you're pregnant, you have to pee at least every couple hours, even at night. I had to hobble to the bathroom on feet that didn't want to work and hurt like hell at least three or four times a night. Fvck me, that was a bad thing to have while pregnant.
 

Bryophyte

Lifer
Apr 25, 2001
13,430
13
81
Oh, and it helps if you can identify a pair of shoes you've started wearing more often recently that might be contributing to your pain. I've found that my PF flares back up if I wear flat sandals like Tevas. When I go back to my other shoes, it subsides.
 

yukichigai

Diamond Member
Apr 23, 2003
6,404
0
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Yeah, I have it bad. What you have to do is stretch your calves every morning, since they're connected to those tendons. When they're less taught they don't bruise as easily.

You may also want to get orthodic(sp?) inserts if you have high arches. Really helped me. Gel pads work too.
 

Doggiedog

Lifer
Aug 17, 2000
12,780
5
81
From what my podiatrist said, he tells me PF is from the tearing of fibers in the PF. These fibers begin to heal overnight but once you are up and about, rip again causing the pain and explains why it is worst in the mornings.
 

Ogg

Diamond Member
Sep 5, 2003
4,829
1
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have a friend who has it .........quite severely for years.
He goes for shots regularly as he doesnt want to have the surgery either. Its scary surgery. He wears braces at night that keep his tendons stretched out. Hes tried high dollar orthotics but more importantly he has shoes made for people with this condition. And he recently got the oddest looking tennis shoes that have a large spring at the heel, many nurses wear them as they are on their feet all day. Anyone seen them?
They are unbelievably comfortalbe though. He has no pain when wearing these.
good luck
 

aircooled

Lifer
Oct 10, 2000
15,965
1
0
I had it a couple years ago, and it literally took 8 months to stop hurting. Nothing helped. It just had to naturally heal.
 

jteef

Golden Member
Feb 20, 2001
1,355
0
76
i got it from standing in a parking lot for 10 hours in my gov't issue low quarter shoes. That was about a year ago and it still hasn't healed.

btw, mark mcgwire had patella tendonitis (tendonitis of the kneecaps?), not plantar fascitis.