Random stabbing pain plantar fasciitis ?

Sounds horrible Adam. Mine came on more when I stopped moving. I sat down and when I stood up, the pain was unbearable to stand on. When I sleep, there may be a bit of a throbbing pain in the heel area, but nothing like what you described. I wonder if this is what a heel spur feels like.

-Mo

Rest and cushion as much as possible. Sounds like a tear that needs healing first before other treatment.

It sounds like PFalthough you need to see a doctor and maybe have an MRI scan.

The problem can be getting to a doctor, I couldn't walk or drive and just about managed to hobblle from a taxi my last time.

PF pain can be different but everyone will agree it is the most excruciating pain ever.

Rest is the only option. I found sitting on the edge of the bath with my foot in a basin of water and the shower head constantly dribbling cold water for half an hour helped.

At night I rest my foot under the ankle on a couple of pillows with no covers. It can take a few days before you can walk without screaming.

The pain I felt varied between constant throbbing aches, feeling as though a car had run over my foor, sensation like hot ants crawling under the skin, and like someone had beaten the soles of my feet. Putting weight on the foot felt like a 1000 volt shock from my ankle to the top of my head.

Sorry if I sound downbeat but rest, anti-inflammatories (ibuprofen or naproxen), alternate cold and hot compresses may help.

But rest and keeping weight off the foot is the only real way to alleviate this miserable condition.

Certainly sounds like pf and/or a heel spur. The most important thing is to rest and cushion the heel as much as possible with gel heel pads which only cost a couple of quid so I have them in all my shoes. Wear trainers or walking boots as much as possible and take pain killers and use anti inflamatory gel on the heel and sole of the foot. Ice does help with the pain but not with curing the problem you are better with warm foot baths to soffen the tissue. PF is thought to be torn tissue so needs time to heal so rest and cushioning are the only answer untill you can get to see a doctor. Once the pain has receeded you can try calf streching exercises which take the strain off the pf tissue but let it heal first. It takes time, a couple of months and then you should find it dissapears as suddenly as it came but it is always liable to come back so continue with the stretching and the gel heel pads as you want to avoid that sort of pain ever again. Just google gel heel pads and the blue ones are the ones I get, there are insoles as well that can help, anything that takes the wieght off the heel is liable to help, some say high heels help but I draw the line at that.

Someone recently shared information they'd gotten from another earlier post. I copied it to my computer, maybe you'll find it helpful. It was apparently from someone who's written a book on PF, unfortunately, I don't know the person's name, I'd sure buy the book.

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The term Plantar Fasciitis is a misnomer as the disease not an inflammation. It was proven that Plantar Fasciitis is the result of dying and decayed tissue. This means two things: 1) There is insufficient blood flow to the heel of the foot, 2) The tissue is undergoing continuous damage. Therefore you want to treat it by improving blood flow to the foot and supporting the anchor points of the plantar fascia so they do not undergo further damage through the healing process. In the long run, you also want to strengthen the muscles of the feet (which have become weak from wearing traditional footwear) so they can properly support the plantar fascia to prevent a relapse. Ideally, this process should take 6-weeks. In sever or chronic cases, it can take 8-weeks or a year.

INCREASING BLOOD FLOW

1. Try not to wear footwear that has the toe box pointing up (like traditional running shows). Pointing the toes up, causes the muscle of your great toe to press against the posterior tibial artery, which feeds blood to the plantar fascia.

2. Soak your foot in warm water and Epsom salts every morning or night for at least 30 minutes, this will get blood flowing throughout your foot.

3. Stand, lift your foot above the ground, and in an almost tip-toe position gently press your toes against the floor to crunch them in (your toes should be stretching in the opposite position then what they were in when you first stretched your toes and experienced the pain of plantar fasciitis - I have illustrations in my book). This will open the posterior tibial atery and flood the heel portion of the plantar fascia with blood. Keep your foot in this position for a full minute if you can. You may feel a throbbing pain in your heel, which means that the blood is flowing and the exercise is working. When done, life your foot and wiggle your toes to loosen things up and regulate blood flow.

4. In contrast to traditional theory, do not stretch your toes upward, as you did when you first felt the pain of plantar fasciitis. This causes the plantar fascia to pull and creates tears in the anchor points of the plantar fascia at the heel (it can also create tears at the anchor points in the toes). You can do this to gently stretch your plantar fascia when you are in the shower and your foot is hot and flexible, but it must be a gentle stretch, only for a few seconds, and immediately followed by the exercise in step 3.

5. Wear properly sized socks. Do not wear socks that are tight in the toe area. There is anecdotal evidence that this in itself may be a cause of plantar fasciitis.

SUPPORTING THE PLANTAR FASCIA

1. Do not run or walk excessively during the healing process. Try to stay off your feet as much as possible. If you must exercise, then try riding a bike - outside or stationary.

2. Calf stretches every day are a must!

3. Buy a roll of sports tape. Here in the US, Walmart sells a roll of the J&J brand for about $3. Every morning, until your foot is healed, run a piece of tape from left to right across the bottom of your heal (secured to the left and right sides of your ankles). This should basically be like a stirrup. Then run another piece across the bottom back of your heel (as low as possible) also secured to the left and right sides of your ankles (the tape should be at 90 degrees to the first piece). Run a final piece of tape at a 45-degree angle to the first two pieces. This final piece is the most important, so if you do not have time to do all three, then do the last one only. This will support the anchor points of your plantar fascia and keep them from further injury while they heal. When using the tape your heel may feel so good that you may think that you are cured - you are not. The tape is simply a crutch. Wear it for at least 6-weeks in conjunction with the advice shown above.

There is more you can know, but what I provided should set you on the right track. I urge you and others to start this program immediately as long term cases of plantar fasciitis often result in irreparable damage leaving surgery as the only alternative.

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-Mo

As I have said in previous posts PF can vary greatly from person to person. Also, as it is not a life threatening condition, there doesn't appear to be any concentrated research and knowledge about - it is mostly a 'try this and see if it helps' type of attitude, and if it doesn't try something else.

PF is a nasty, cunning condition. From my own experience I can feel no pain on waking in the morning, think 'thank God it is gone', stand up and collapse in pain on the bed knowing yet another day of howling pain ahead. At other times it is a constant throbbing pain all day and all night, with many sleepless nights because it is impossible to find a comfortable position that takes stress from the foot.

Be careful about pain killers - I have taken 3 or 4 times the recommended dose of Naproxen because I have had to get out and about. Beware, pain is telling you something is wrong, so when the pain killers wear off it can be far far worse than before.

As I said before, I don't want to sound negative but once you have PF you seem to have it for life.

Wear cushioning supportive shoes all the time, for business wear have gel insoles, and hopefully when this episode is over do calf stretches every day. I think this has helped me be PF free for nearly a year now - touch wood!!!