End of the road with plantar fascitis?

Ouch! 2 things. Have they recommended surgery? It's a last ditch effort and sounds painful but in some situations like yours might be helpful. Second, it might be time for a new career. If your on your feet 10 hrs a day, it's never going to go away. Hard decisions for sure, but it's your health. Your life shouldn't be ruined because of your job.

I have researched surgery on my own quite in depth and I would consider it, I guess I'll see what podiatry say at the next appointment. I have actually asked my work to switch roles to a more computer /desk sitting role and they are in the process of trying to accommodate, just can't come soon enough! Thanks for reply

Just got back from a long walk wearing walking boots with gel heel pads and a gel insole as well as the normal insole and no pain. I have found that cushioning the heel as much as possible works wonders as it also alters the angle of the ankle taking the strain off the pf tissue like wearing high heels. Together with stretching exercises and rolling a ball under the foot or standing on the bottom rung of a ladder all helps. Surgery is a last resort, try everything else first.

I developed plantar fasciitis about a year ago and had many months of extreme pain in my heels. I tried everything that seemed like it might help - massage, expensive shoes, foot baths, foot balls, but the pain continued. I then tried to work out what I changed in my life when the pain first started. I had started a strict low-carb diet, so my food intake was different. I worked through an elimination diet to see if any food may have been causing the problem, but to no avail. It took me quite a while to consider the dietary supplements and vitamins I had started to take when I started the diet. So I stopped all of them. I finally learned that Vitamin D was causing the problem. After about a week without taking Vitamin D the worst of the pain stopped. Now, about 2 months later, I still have a section of my heels that feel a bit tender, just where my heel 'pad' joins the softer under sole - but that is all. I no longer have pain when I walk. I am now fully convinced that Vitamin D supplements caused the terrible pain. I'd be interested in learning if other plantar fasciitis sufferers also take Vitamin D?

Hi. I too had a dropped arch and with some brutal sports therapy massage, stretching etc and much taping, I now have restored the arch to a nearly normal range. Doing much of your other stuff, including a night splint. Also trying acupuncture which has helped in my calf muscle. Whole process hurts like a demon, and after a very intensive 3 weeks followed by my own exercises for a subsequent 3 weeks to see how its progressed, there is some further improvement. Restarting the hard schedule tomorrow, so will see if we can progress it a bit more! Look up foot taping - having something physically assist might be worth a try. Aches, but may help along with the padding and other stuff.

I agree that surgery should be the last resort. Have you had any discussion about doing shock wave therapy. This is a non invasive option to help loosen up the plantar fascia. You should ask your podiatrist if this is an option for you. 

Also, standing for that many hours each day will only prolong the problem. You really should consider finding a job that will allow you to sit for part of the workday. 

Hey guys, a little update for anyone interested. I have no been refferd to orthopedics department, from podiatry, at the hospital. My case has been recognised as chronic and treatment resistant. So I'm told they will assess and decide the next step. Which may well be surgery or perhaps something else.

Hi 

From your resume it appears that your suffering with recalcitrant heel pain, having exhausted all manner of usual treatment options.

May I suggest that your Podiatrist with respect to your flat foot looks at any underlying mechanical pathology within the ankle joint that may predispose to the primary, structural deviations that can interrelate with your predisposition to PF.

Commonly, plantar fasciitis is synonymous with flat foot conditions.

Ive missed 6+ mos. of work.  were getting desperate.. Do we sell the house etc. nothing is working.  So I did research.  A lot of it.  I found Radiofrequency ablation for Plantar faciitis.  I recommend you research this solution.  also, the Tenex procedure.  I just had these done in Kansas City by Dr Goldstein.  I just had it done Tues the 21 of Aug. 2018.  I live 4 1/2 hrs away.  so I did phone visits w the doc.  This is a 9 hr round trip so you can bet that I dove deep into this research.  Radiofrequency is my suggestion to you.  I have been hurting for so long that im afraid to put pressure on my foot.  I have a post op boot on. The success rate is very good.  the down time is minimal compared to other procedures.   I will re post next Monday the 27th  and give my final results. I am hopefull. The doc is very optimistic.  Also, the doc said I don't need the boot.  But I will give it a few more days. Best of luck to you.

Hello, I am a retired physician and plantar fasciitis patient.  I got plantar fasciitis around February 2016.  After about four months, it completely resolved. 

Here's what I think.  Plantar fasciitis is inflammation of the attachment of the plantar fascia to the heel bone, and/or some minimal tearing of the plantar fascia - just a few fibers - that results, naturally, in inflammation . . .   like a "pulled muscle."   Inflammation hurts until it heals and resolves.  

?So what's so difficult about curing P.F.?  Well we walk on it!!!  Let's say we take 5000 steps a day.  Imagine inflammation of your elbow, (i.e. tennis elbow).  Imagine taking your sore "tennis elbow" and wacking it against the wall, 5000 times a day.  Think it would heal quickly?  I don't either.

So my cure for plantar fasciitis is cushion, cushion and cushion!!!  That's right - cushion the heel.  Here's what I did.  First, I wore the plantar fasciitis "relief bridge" gel-heel innersole in my shoes - that I got at Walgreen's for about $11.  Make sure your innersoles are soft and preferably made of gel.  (I plan to use mine indefinitely in my shoes.)  Then I wore a pair (usually) of nice thickish sox.  On my heel I wore fasciitis therapy wrap padded supports that I got on the internet for about $13.  (I don't wear them any more.)  So when I had my PF, under my heels I had 3 cushion layers.  I wore this about 24 hours a day - except when in the shower or swimming.  And after about 4 months, the PF was totally gone.  And I would suggest to you, have patience, not surgery.

Well that's what I think.  I hope this helps you and the many other sufferers of plantar fasciitis.  Good Luck to you, doknabox/JerryR

Hi Rawisscotty, is your pain located around the heel or mainly the arch and midfoot? In my case it is the mid foot area. The only thing that really helped me is wearing a splint. It was not easy to find sleep during the first week of wearing it. And I progessively tightened it more and more such that the angle between the foot and the shin becomes less than 90 deg. Whenever possible I was wearing the splint around the house as well.

The following paragraph is from a website: Plantar fasciitis gets its name from the plantar fascia—the band of connective tissue that stretches from the heel to the ball of your foot. Over time, too much stress on that connective tissue causes overtightening, tearing, and inflammation. When that connective tissue becomes inflamed, plantar fasciitis sets in. A painful cycle then sets in when your foot, which naturally tightens at night, immediately gains new tears each day with your first steps in the morning.

The stretch that helps me most is achieved by putting pressure on the toes and lifting the heel ar much as possible. It can be done sitting down.

My father also had plantar fasciitis but his pain was located around the heel. The strechting technique that helped him most is achieved by placing the front of the foot on a stair and lowering the heel as much as possible. He was limping for more than a year. The thing that finally helped him is electrotherapy, 20 min several times a week, for about a month. About 12 sessions in total. The electrodes were placed in such a way that he could feel a whirring and pulling and pulsating around the heel area.