Plantar fasciitis?

So, I can't see my doctor for a few more weeks b/c my husband switched jobs and we lost our insurance.  I had to postpone my annual physical (which was supposed to be today).  I'm not certain but I think I've developed plantar fasciitis.

My heels hurt extremely bad in the morning and I can barely make it to the bathroom.  It takes an hour or two before the pain subsides.  They also sometimes hurt after I've been walking awhile.  I also noticed this problem just started this past spring/summer... around the same time I bought 2 pairs of ballet flats and started wearing them all the time instead of "real" shoes. 

It's only been the past week or so that the pain has gotten unbearable to the point of me getting on the almighty web md to see what might be the cause.  I've started icing my heels at night and in the morning if I have time before work.  I also have been using an exercise band to do some stretches with my feet.  Today I bought an inexpensive pair of Dr. Scholl's heel orthotics and am trying to wear tennis shoes as much as possible.  I'm wanting to go for a walk, hoping to stretch things out but it sounds like that might be bad.  I do plan to ask my doctor when I go for my physical next month.  In the meantime, though...

Do you agree that my self diagnosis is likely?  Am I doing the right things?  What else should I be doing/not doing?

How weird. I just got this diagnosis today.

It sounds like you do. The ballet shoes will do nothing. You need to wear a good running shoe for 6 weeks. No exercising on your feet, no extra stairs, no walking on hardwood floors, if your house is all carpeting ok but other than that you need to wear your tennis shoes. Oh, also go to Sports Authority and get a pair of "heel cups" they are $10.99 and will help. Put them in both shoes.

I was given exercises to do. You might want to Google sports medicine and look for the excercises. Take ibuprofin for the swelling.

After 6 weeks you should be able to resume "normal" life. But no heeled shoes. He said you are either committed to making it better or it will continue to hurt.

I hope this helps.

Original Post by deamarie:

The ballet shoes will do nothing.

I actually think the ballet shoes were part of the CAUSE.  And I very rarely wear heels so that shouldn't be too bad. 

Thanks for the great advice and help.

I'm sure they probably were. You need support.

I wear heels everyday so, this is gonna be hard/weird. I'm at a corporate environment so this is going to look cute with my dress pants. :)

Mine hurts really bad too. I waited for months to have mine checked. When I saw the bone spur in the X-ray, I was, well that explains a lot. Let's just say it's a real drag for working out.

Good luck.

You sound like you are doing all the right things.  I had this problem a while back, or atleast something similar.  I was walking a lot and the heels of my feet hurt a lot.  I used ice and rested, occassionally used icy hot and for me it went away.  Keep doing what you are doing and definately see your doctor.  As for exercising, give it a few days.  If you go to a gym, use a stationary bike for a while to keep the impact off of your feet or swim.  Good luck!

Oddly enough -- swimming made mine worse for a while. 

The best exercises (I had this for almost a year -- physical therapy, ultrasound, heat bathes, the boot -- nothing worked until I was give these two exercises): 

Before you get out of bed in the morning, grab your toes and pull your foot back (towards your knees) -- do that for about 30 secs trade feet and do it again -- do both feet about 3 times -- before you get out of bed.

You can do this with or with out shoes, it's a little easier with.  Stand about 1 foot away from a wall -- preferably next to a doorway.  Leaving your heel on the ground, put one foot up on the wall, again with the toes pointing up.  Then lean forward -- keeping your heel on the ground and the toes on the wall -- you will feel a huge stretch in your calf.  The more you can lean forward, the more the stretch (hence doing this next to a doorway, where you can move past the wall).

Make sure your shoes have good arch support.  And if you have a soft boot you can wear to bed (or you can buy a support from CVS, etc for about 15 dollars), it does help some.  It keeps the muscle in the "up" position.

 

I also got the Scholl's inserts and they worked great for me.  I got three pairs at Walmart ($2 cheaper) so I don't have to switch too often.  After a short while I had no pain.  I still wear them in my shoes but am not as fussy as I was, but if my heels starts hurting again I'll be sure to use them all the time.

I got PF from walking in cheap shoes -- go get a good pair of walking shoes if you walk - running shoes if you run. New Balance are the best per consumer reports for walkers and I agree.  I got custom made orthotics from a podiatrist because mine got so bad it hurt 24/7 and I wobbled everywhere.  I couldn't walk for over a year.  I still wear the orthotics. 

Take it easy on them puppies for now - DO NOT CONTINUE TO WALK!!!  do some floor exercises instead - maybe pilates or yoga.  If you have access to a gym the elliptical is good as its no impact or a bicylce.  Take care and go see a dr as soon as you get insurance if the pain gets worse so it won't take as long to heal (no pun intended) - It took a long time for me to be able to walk to the bathroom in the morning without pain.

Thanks so much everyone!  No worries about seeing the doc.  I'm very good at preventative medicine stuff and would normally see the doc ASAP for something like this.  I didn't go when it first happened b/c I figured it would get better and I also knew I had my physical coming up.  Then my husband lost his job (don't worry- got a new one 24 hours later!) so we're uninsured for a month.  I have an appt. set up for 3 1/2 weeks from today and it will definitely come up.  Icing them right now.  Going to do some stretching- thanks, Coach K, for the good suggestions- and then ice/elevate once more before sleep. 

I'm fighting the urge to go for a walk.  Need my husband to adjust my bicycle seat for me (it's loose) and then I'll be raring to go again with that.  I will stick to that until this heals up.  We're going to the farm tomorrow to skeet shoot but we have stools so we can take turns shooting (only one launcher) so I figure that won't amount to TONS Of standing and the 90 minute drive to and back shouldn't cause any problems.  What I'm going to miss most is my Dance Dance Revolution but I won't do it because I want to get better as quickly as possible.

I've seen different night braces in the store and was wondering about those.  Coach K- it sounds like that was helpful for you.  Might give it a shot, esp. if these efforts don't lead to improvement in the next few days.

Also You might try in the morning before you slip into shoes with great arch support to warm up the bottom of your feet with heat pad and do light stretches like someone described to loosen up the ligaments. And for real  - no extra walking.... start light once the pain subsides a bit. Massage can do a lot once you are out of the acute stage. I hope you feel better soon.

Aside from treatment at the Foot and Ankle Institute in Philadelphia, here's what worked for me to relieve the pain.

When it really hurts - an ice pack to bring down the inflammation

Place a book about 1" to 2" thick near a wall.  Put your toes on the book with your heels on the floor, and hands on the wall.  Lean forward to stretch the calves and foot.  Hold for ten seconds and release.  Repeat 10 times.

Treatment consisted of taping, a custom made orthotic insert and shots in the bottoms of my feet.  The good news is, once the episode was over and I switched to wearing more supportive shoes, I never had another episode. 

The problem was caused by me wearing shoes I thought were good every day - Easy Spirit pumps with 2" heels, to work. 

Coach K's AM stretching routine has lead to a drastic decrease in amount of pain when I first get up.  Symptoms aren't gone by any means but the last 2 mornings, the pain was minimal and didn't get bad until I'd been standing barefoot in the shower for awhile.  Going to continue anti-inflammatory meds, ice, and stretching.  I will take it easy for the next few weeks until I can get to the doc.   Thanks for all the great advice, everyone!

Oh boy, Plantar Fasciitis!  I have a severe case of it.   All the advice so far is great.  I want to add that you might not want to waste money on over-the-counter arch supports, heel cups or night splints.  Wait until your podiatrist sees you.  They have the top-notch stuff and your insurance my cover it. 

An X-ray will see if there are heel spurs.  The spurs (bone growing weird and pointing out rather than the normal growth pattern all bones do constantly) don't hurt but are an indication as to how long the plantar fascia muscle has been tweaked.  If it is indeed PF, your doc could tape your foot for instant relief.  They'll probably fit you for orthotics, custom shoe inserts, and give you a night slpint set at the proper degree of dorsiflexion.  (Dorsilfexion means stretching/flexing the soles of your foot or "plantar".)

Mean while, keep those calves and feet limber!

I've had plantar faciitis.  Had extensive medical treatments, which didn't do much for me (incl. 3 months of physical therapy).

Then I just rested my feet and after about 6 months is subsided.

Recently (this Spring) it flared up again and I bought a pair of MBT shoes. Walking only 1-2 blocks a day it improved vastly the very first week I started wearing the shoes.  Within 3 weeks, it was GONE.

Then a friend of mine in Germany also developed PF and her Dr. didn't help her.  I told her about the shoes, and they helped her as well.

No guarantees, but if nothing else helps, try the shoes. (They're expensive: around $ 240 for a pair of the sandals, but they're cheaper than the Dr. was)

Just because your husband lost his job does not necessarily mean that you've lost your insurance.  I found out the first time that I switched full time employment that at least in California you are eligible to sign up for COBRA insurance for up to three months after the date of your employment separation.  If you need to use it, you pay for the premiums for the entire period of time or you can try to go the three months without the COBRA to save the money.

Original Post by smwhipple:

Just because your husband lost his job does not necessarily mean that you've lost your insurance. I found out the first time that I switched full time employment that at least in California you are eligible to sign up for COBRA insurance for up to three months after the date of your employment separation. If you need to use it, you pay for the premiums for the entire period of time or you can try to go the three months without the COBRA to save the money.

I used to work for a payroll/benefits company and am familiar with COBRA.  However, it would cost us about $800/month to keep our insurance.  We cannot afford that and will only sign up for COBRA if we encounter a medical emergency in the next 3 weeks.

Hello, can I add to the PF thread?  kthompson, I don't mean to hijack the thread, but there's such good response/experience here and I'm sure you must be wondering when to start walking again, too.

It's been over two months for me without running. How is it determined when you can start training again? My physiotherapist has me running now for 5 to 10 minutes a couple of times a week and she seems to think that's enough. Sometimes my foot hurts significantly the next day, sometimes it is fine. When do I take it up a notch? My goal was to run a race of a certain distance by the end of this season, and I really really hate falling short of my goals.

Forgot to add that I just picked up Dr Scholl's "heel pain" inserts a few days ago. It has made a big difference, especially driving.

Thanks, and I wish you all happy feet in the near future!

with me i used to have pain in my feet as well and it turns out i had flat feet and i had to get fitted for orthotics for support. I would try buying insoles at the store for now that you dont have insurance and see if that helps a bit

Well, I've been wearing the Dr. Scholl's heel pain inserts for about 4 days now, icing, stretching, and taking prescription strength amount of naproxin.  My father-in-law is a pharmacist and he confirmed a safe dosage for me.  Naproxin (alleve) is often considered better for soft tissue injuries than ibuprofen.  The pain is definitely LESS than it was so I am encouraged by that. 

Going to wait on walking and my DDR.  I've recently taken up skeet shooting so I am going to stick to an arm routine right now since my feet need to heal and need to bulk up my arms. 

Doc appt. in 3 weeks so hopefully I'll be ok.  As long as things don't get worse, I think I can wait to see her.

Thanks everyone and thread hijacking in the form of helpful info is ALWAYS welcome ser25!

Original Post by kthompson92:

So, I can't see my doctor for a few more weeks b/c my husband switched jobs and we lost our insurance.  I had to postpone my annual physical (which was supposed to be today).  I'm not certain but I think I've developed plantar fasciitis.

My heels hurt extremely bad in the morning and I can barely make it to the bathroom.  It takes an hour or two before the pain subsides.  They also sometimes hurt after I've been walking awhile.  I also noticed this problem just started this past spring/summer... around the same time I bought 2 pairs of ballet flats and started wearing them all the time instead of "real" shoes. 

It's only been the past week or so that the pain has gotten unbearable to the point of me getting on the almighty web md to see what might be the cause.  I've started icing my heels at night and in the morning if I have time before work.  I also have been using an exercise band to do some stretches with my feet.  Today I bought an inexpensive pair of Dr. Scholl's heel orthotics and am trying to wear tennis shoes as much as possible.  I'm wanting to go for a walk, hoping to stretch things out but it sounds like that might be bad.  I do plan to ask my doctor when I go for my physical next month.  In the meantime, though...

Do you agree that my self diagnosis is likely?  Am I doing the right things?  What else should I be doing/not doing?

Hi!

I had the same problem a while ago! I went to see a physiotherapy and he told me to get some implant in my shoes just for the hill....i did its really help! Also he told me to do the exercise below:

Grab blanket/beach towl or shower put in on the floor, sit on a chair and try to bring the towl to you just with your toes but cramping your toes its work the muscle in your toes its work....i have notice that in the summer when i wear my sandal then my hill hurts more and so is my calf they get very tight!

Try that....

Pss... Sorry about the spelling mistake sometime i am looking for my words i am french!!!

 

Sounds lilke it.

I had a nasty case.

With Physical Therapy, ultrasound and I wore this boot at bedtime to stretch that area & it did go away.

Check out footsmart.com for the boot thing.