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What should I do next with my plantar fasciitis?

Posted , 4 users are following.

rah19
rah19

My plantar fasciitis started when I was 16;( I am now 19 so 2 ½ years of battling through it) and it still bothers me everyday.  I was a dancer in high school and so the repetitive movement did not help the problem.  I unfortunately have plantar fasciitis in BOTH of my feet.  I feel like I have tried everything.  I went to physical therapy three days a week.  I have tried compression socks/sleeves, kinesiology tape, wearing two walking boots at the same time (one on each foot), ultrasounds, massage, Graston technique, Iontophoresis, Cortisone shots, PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) injections, and Prolotherapy.  I always wear very supportive tennis shoes with custom orthotics and sleep in high quality night splints every night. 

I am now on track to doing my dream job, becoming a Nurse.  I know that I will constantly be on my feet. So I NEED them to stop hurting.

I just don’t know what else to do.  Do I think about surgery?

Please comment on what my next steps should be or what has helped you! Thank you

0 likes, 13 replies

13 Replies

  • robert34528
    robert34528 rah19

    Posted

    i had it for a year in both feet. then i think i figured this thing out and got rid of it. a year later it returned again and i got rid of it in 2 months because i know what worked before. this is what i suggest that worked for me. in the arch area under your feet scar tissue can form over a period of time which can be caused by tight calf muscles which is all connected down to the planter muscle or scar tissue can be caused from many other reasons. you have to break down this scar tissue to get rid of this. you need to take a small hard ball like a golf ball or any ball which is solid and about the size of a golf ball. you need to roll this ball pressing down hard enough. it will really hurt but this is what it takes. you might have to bite on a towel or try thinking of something else as your doing it. you have to grind this scar tissue down . some people say to roll a frozen water bottle but this doesnt get in there to grind the scar tissue . next thing is to do the towel stretching exercise. i would also recommend getting as much padding you can find for your shoes. thats it. it will take a few months but it worked for me. i didnt realize that it can come back. now every day i role the ball under my feet but it no longer hurts because the scar tissue is gone.
    • rah19
      rah19 robert34528

      Posted

      Thank you Robert34528

      I guess I didn't included EVERYTHING that I have tried....Unfortunately, I have also tried MANY different kinds of pain meds, ice foot baths, rollers for my calves with and without nodules, golf balls, hard balls with nodules, towel exercises, many different stretches. I usually take the back of a butter knife with lotion and break up the scar tissue that way in my heal/arch.  I do agree that tight calf muscles are a source of the problem (mine are quite tight) so I sleep with my feet at 90 degrees and that helps. 

  • Tompe67
    Tompe67 rah19

    Posted

    In my case, I also have it in both feet since about 3 months, my podiatrist and I have come to the conclusion that it wasn't tight calf muscles that started my problems. It was wearing unsupportive shoes exaggerated by heel inserts. Hence, I had no support at all for my arches...

    I find that stretching aggreviates my pain, and since it is not the cause I have stopped that totally. I do agree that what seems to be giving the best results is godd insoles molded to your feet and as much cushion as you can possibly get. Be careful though that you still have support for your feet in a proper way. I'm doing strengthening exercises for my foot and lower bone muscles daily. I find that this really helps in the long run, even though it feels like it takes forever...

    I'm not sure that this regime will suit you, but is seems to be working for me. I still have a long way to go before I'm free of the pain, but slowly and surely it's getting better. I still have worse days sometimes, but improving.

    I wishyou the best of luck and dont give up!

    • rah19
      rah19 Tompe67

      Posted

      I have always been very good about wearing supportive shoes, even before this happened. I have high arches and so they are more difficult to support. I wear tennis shoes every day!- usually asics.

      Thank you!

       

  • robert34528
    robert34528 rah19

    Posted

    does it still hurt in your arch if you roll a golf ball with pressure? if it still hurts then i would think the scar tissue is still there. if it doesnt hurt then i guess your scar tissue situation is okay and i just dont know what else i can help you with. i feel bad for you. i can say i recently bought a pair of walking shoes that are by far the best ive ever worn. my wife just bought a pair also. its like no other sneaker we have ever worn. they are called sketcher burst energy walking shoes. unbelievable. look on amazon.
    • Tompe67
      Tompe67 robert34528

      Posted

      Yes, it still hurts under my feet. I haven't dared using a golf ball though, since it was one of the things that made my feet worse in the beginning. Reading everything I could find on the net, trying all sorts of remedies. In my case it seems to work slowly but surely to use exercises and take walks on grass turf. I walk on our golf course, that's excellent!

      Sketcher (runners) is actually the shoes I bought to get rid of my akilles problem in my left foot. They were probably the cause of the plantar fasciitis, since they were extremely soft (which I wanted for my heel) but also totally lacking support. I could twist them like a sponge. They are now in the garbage can...

      Thanks a lot for your advice! It's great to know there are people who care and help. The doctors seem to be fighting an unsure battle, not knowing what really causes the problem and even less how to get rid of it...

      Take care!

       

    • rah19
      rah19 robert34528

      Posted

      Yes it hurts but I get through the pain if it means it will help. I'm pretty much an asics person because of the wider arch and the support they offer. I will look into those though!
  • robert34528
    robert34528 rah19

    Posted

    if it still hurts when you roll a golf ball then the scar tissue must still be there which could be causing you all this trouble but in saying this i dont want to see you hurt yourself more. what worked for me might not work for you. doctors really have no exact answer to this. every doctor has there own ideas.  after reading so many posts on the computer and the advice from doctors i was really happy to finally find a doctor on the computer with something that made sense so i went with it. he said that the muscles that run down your legs like the calf muscles all attach to planter which when muscles are tight they can cause a build up of scar tissue in the arch of your foot. whether this is true or not it made sense. after trying alot of things for a year i was willing to try anything and it worked for me with the hard ball rolling and really grinding and the towel stretching. today im pain free. good luck
    • rah19
      rah19 robert34528

      Posted

      Im so glad that the hard ball and towel did the trick for you! 
  • Ruthlilycat
    Ruthlilycat rah19

    Posted

    With Graston did it "kill" you or was it gentle?  I am finding that Graston is working for me.

    • rah19
      rah19 Ruthlilycat

      Posted

      It was pretty intense, but it was what was needed to break up the scar tissue. Definelty not gentle, but usually bearable.
  • robert34528
    robert34528 rah19

    Posted

    i take it rah that you have been doing the breaking up scar tissue for the past 4 months. are you back to normal now?
    • rah19
      rah19 robert34528

      Posted

      Actually I had the graston done like a year and a half ago…the last four months I tried a different technique to break up the scar tissue. ALSO non-invasive. I went through EPAT (Shockwave therapy). Its a relatively new machine that breaks up scar tissue and makes micro fractures in your foot/heel. The podiatrist will increase the machine as tolerable throughout the ten minutes of the procedure.  It is very painful during the operation but you walk out of the office pain free immediately after.  A patient is suppose to go to three sessions for three weeks, I however went through 5 sessions of it. I am unfortunately not healed but it definitely did help improve my condition. I actually am scheduled to go through the operation again on my right foot this coming December. 
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