plantar faciitis

[tel]

My job involves a lot of walking and ive recently developed a foot condition known as plantar faciitis which is inflamation of the tendons in the base of the foot.

My doctor says "rest it for a month" which as a salesman is not exactly easy,take anti inflamatories and dont wear flat shoes.

So to summarise i should ride around the store on a segway wearing my wifes stilleto's for the next 6 months?

Anybody else suffer from this very painful condition?

[workingcinderellaman]

My wife was just diagnosed with this. They told her it was because she needed to stretch out her gastrocnemius muscles in her calves. She does this by wearing a special sock while she sleeps which pulls the foot up. It's made her feel better.

http://trideano.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/straussburg-sock.jpg

[Mara]

I've known a few people with this - it's common among athletes. Hope yours resolves soon, because the surgery for it is pretty grisly.

[Khan]

I had it a couple years ago. Went to the foot doc a couple times for a couple injections and he showed me some stretching exercises to do a couple times a day. He also said I should wear support insoles/inserts which I now wear every day in my shoes.

I haven't had any issues with the condition since a little while after I started wearing the inserts.

[Ya_Big_Tree]

I dont suffer from it but I'm a massage therapist and I treat a lot of my clients for it.

 

You want to stretch your gastroc and soleus muscles which are the muscles in your calf. Also you want to make sure you are getting correct arch support in your footwear. Wearing shoes that are too tight for you can be a contributing factor to the pain.

 

If you have any questions feel free to send me a PM

 

Edited March 22, 2012 by Ya_Big_Tree

[Unattractive Truth]

Yes I had that.

 

It hurt like a sonofabitch. I had no idea what was wrong, but it freaked me out.

 

I went to the doctor, did the stretching stuff listed above, and I now use inserts (Superfeet green).

 

I haven't had any more problems.

[1 of the 7]

My brother-in-law does, and as one of the exercises, was told to roll a soda can back and forth under his foot while in a sitting position Hey, if it works?

 

I have a feeling I'd develop this if I didn't wear very confortable shoes with lots of arch support; either that, or ankle problems from my feet being very flat and tending to roll inward.

[Babycat]

I don't suffer from it myself (though I do have a slightly weak right ankle which on odd occasions gives out), but a work colleague of mine does - she has flat feet, it hurts all along the underneath, and the actual ball of each foot can be quite tender. Sometimes the tops of the feet seem to swell up. Her doctor won't give her injections and I've suggested inserts. Not that she takes much notice.

[Ya_Big_Tree]

Try applying ice 3-4 times a day to control the inflammation when you have a flare up.

 

Avoid weight bearing activities if you can for a lil while.

 

Apply heat to the back of your calves before you do any exercise, running or heavy lifting. Then stretch your calf muscles. You can do this by facing a wall with the heel on the floor and your toes resting against the wall as you lunge forward. You should feel the stretch.. hold it for approx 30 secs to a minute or until you feel the tension release.

 

Orthotics are good too

 

Trying to build up the muscles in your feet as well is very important. So try picking up things like pencils with your toes.

[treeduck]

Yes I've had this.

 

It's strange because when it's at it's worst you get pain but not from activity, it never hurts when you've been active, it only hurts after a long period of inactivity, like when you walk for the first time after you wake up first thing in the morning.

 

Another symptom is a feeling of something loose in your foot when you walk.

 

It takes a while to heal up too and symptoms can reoccur for a long time after.

 

Mine is finally healed completely, and the only way to reach that state is to stop doing whatever caused it in the first place and rest.

[tel]

QUOTE (treeduck @ Mar 23 2012, 01:57 PM)

Yes I've had this. It's strange because when it's at it's worst you get pain but not from activity, it never hurts when you've been active, it only hurts after a long period of inactivity, like when you walk for the first time after you wake up first thing in the morning. Another symptom is a feeling of something loose in your foot when you walk. It takes a while to heal up too and symptoms can reoccur for a long time after. Mine is finally healed completely, and the only way to reach that state is to stop doing whatever caused it in the first place and rest.

Yeah,first few steps in the morning are agony,rather like walking on cobbles with no shoes on.

i believe the injections are painful and dont last long so thats a non starter as i hate needles.

[tel]

QUOTE (Ya_Big_Tree @ Mar 23 2012, 01:46 PM)

Try applying ice 3-4 times a day to control the inflammation when you have a flare up. Avoid weight bearing activities if you can for a lil while. Apply heat to the back of your calves before you do any exercise, running or heavy lifting. Then stretch your calf muscles. You can do this by facing a wall with the heel on the floor and your toes resting against the wall as you lunge forward. You should feel the stretch.. hold it for approx 30 secs to a minute or until you feel the tension release. Orthotics are good too Trying to build up the muscles in your feet as well is very important. So try picking up things like pencils with your toes.

Thanks for the good advice,i will try these suggestions

[treeduck]

QUOTE (tel @ Mar 23 2012, 02:45 PM)

QUOTE (Ya_Big_Tree @ Mar 23 2012, 01:46 PM) Try applying ice 3-4 times a day to control the inflammation when you have a flare up. Avoid weight bearing activities if you can for a lil while. Apply heat to the back of your calves before you do any exercise, running or heavy lifting. Then stretch your calf muscles. You can do this by facing a wall with the heel on the floor and your toes resting against the wall as you lunge forward. You should feel the stretch.. hold it for approx 30 secs to a minute or until you feel the tension release. Orthotics are good too Trying to build up the muscles in your feet as well is very important. So try picking up things like pencils with your toes. Thanks for the good advice,i will try these suggestions It can affect other areas like the knees and muscles because of trying to divert the normal strain and weight of movement away from the foot to other areas...   This didn't happen to me luckily, it only ever affected my foot and it was mostly in the heel.

[Mara]

I occasionally strain the plantar fascia - I've got super high arches and thus tend to roll my foot excessively outward (supination) when walking.

 

It's really aggravating - I used to do it often (before I found a brand of shoes with excellent arch support) and would find myself walking on the outer edges of my soles while the fascia healed up.

[Ya_Big_Tree]

QUOTE (Mara @ Mar 23 2012, 01:56 PM)

I occasionally strain the plantar fascia - I've got super high arches and thus tend to roll my foot excessively outward (supination) when walking. It's really aggravating - I used to do it often (before I found a brand of shoes with excellent arch support) and would find myself walking on the outer edges of my soles while the fascia healed up.

It sounds like the evertors of your foot (peroneals), may be tight as well your tibialis anterior may be weak causing your foot to be pulled outwards like that. You may also wanna test your ligaments in your ankle to see if you're getting a repetitive sprain because of how you work out or the shoes you wear.

 

 

[tel]

QUOTE (Ya_Big_Tree @ Mar 23 2012, 04:14 PM)

QUOTE (Mara @ Mar 23 2012, 01:56 PM) I occasionally strain the plantar fascia - I've got super high arches and thus tend to roll my foot excessively outward (supination) when walking.  It's really aggravating - I used to do it often (before I found a brand of shoes with excellent arch support) and would find myself walking on the outer edges of my soles while the fascia healed up. It sounds like the evertors of your foot (peroneals), may be tight as well your tibialis anterior may be weak causing your foot to be pulled outwards like that. You may also wanna test your ligaments in your ankle to see if you're getting a repetitive sprain because of how you work out or the shoes you wear. Hey mara,sounds like you have bigger problems than i do!

[Mara]

Edited March 25, 2012 by Mara

[tel]