Plantar fasciitis next steps - custom insoles? special shoes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The injection is the quickest and best solution. Find a doctor.

+1

[Anonymous]

I had good luck with Hokas when nothing else I tried helped. I had it a long time too! There are some good stretches and exercises that helped (stretching before getting up, the towel toe scrunch exercise).

[Anonymous]

Stretching calves before getting out of bed. And then stretching them again off a curb before I walk each morning.

Spreading my toes WIDE while walking.

Stretching out in downward-facing dog; if you're flexible, there is a deep stretch you can do by stepping one foot on top of the other -- its amazing how much it has helped my PF.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The injection is the quickest and best solution. Find a doctor.

+1

Np here. The first thing my doctor did was the injection. It was incredibly painful and didn’t really help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The injection is the quickest and best solution. Find a doctor.

+1

Np here. The first thing my doctor did was the injection. It was incredibly painful and didn’t really help.

Agreed it is not always the solution. I had it once and it helped for a little over. A year, did it a second time did not help one bit. It IS incredibly painful injection!

[Anonymous]

Hi, OP!

I fixed my long standing plantar fasciitis with stretching, but a very specific kind. It is important that you hold the stretch for a long period of time, longer than most people usually do. 2 minutes per leg. And you need to do the stretches daily, for about a month.

I learned about the stretches here on DCUM; the poster posted a link to this video that explained the stretches.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRDC8erSNqw&t=142s

I know how to be careful of taking medical advice online or from Dr Google. However, the stretches shown did not appear to be dangerous in any way; they were non invasive; they cost nothing; and the explanation given for why they would work seemed to make sense to me. Moreover, advice from my own doctor wasn't working and we were going to have to escalate to more invasive and expensive measures, so I gave the stretches a try.

After a couple weeks I definitely noted.lessened pain overall which gave me the impetus to keep doing the stretches. I used a timer to be sure I was holding them long enough. I didn't remember to do them every single day, but I did them very very often, for about 4 weeks.

It really helped, and my fasciitis is totally gone now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The injection is the quickest and best solution. Find a doctor.

+1

Np here. The first thing my doctor did was the injection. It was incredibly painful and didn’t really help.

Agreed it is not always the solution. I had it once and it helped for a little over. A year, did it a second time did not help one bit. It IS incredibly painful injection!

I also tried the injection. Hurt like hell and didn’t help at all. It also can thin the fascia over time and make the problem worse! I don’t recommend.

[Anonymous]

You need to see a manual physical therapist, who will treat your calf. The plantar faciatis is referred pain from the calf problem

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Shock treatment, custom orthotics, hokas including the hoka recovery slide, at home shiatsu foot massager, strengthen your calves.

Care to recommend your shiatsu massager?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you tried physical therapy?

Like at home, or with a PT? If a PT, can you recommend a doc or type of doc?

A physical therapist. See who is in your plan. Call around to see who has specific PF experience. Not just "oh, they work with everything!" ... that'll get you nowhere.

[Anonymous]

I’ve found that a few years in to PF issues now, massage actually aggravates my feet. It feels amazing while they’re being massaged, but the next couple days are very painful. I have better luck with regular yoga, calf *strengthening* & stretching, and stretching my legs before I get out of bed.

[Anonymous]

I found superfeet green inserts as effective as the custom ones. Wore them with tennis shoes every single day for 9 months and it finally resolved, after years of issues.

[Anonymous]

I would respectfully disagree with those saying not to go barefoot. You need to get your feet healthier and stronger. Supportive shoes and inserts do the opposite of that. They exacerbate weakness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would respectfully disagree with those saying not to go barefoot. You need to get your feet healthier and stronger. Supportive shoes and inserts do the opposite of that. They exacerbate weakness.

I agree, unless actively in pain or having a flare up of symptoms. When my PF flares (rare as the years go by), I wear the recovery shoes that work for me (usually Birks) and give the best relief; do my exercises and self care; when the flare up ends, resume normal barefoot life and do my best to keep up with the good habits to keep pain away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would respectfully disagree with those saying not to go barefoot. You need to get your feet healthier and stronger. Supportive shoes and inserts do the opposite of that. They exacerbate weakness.

You do realize some peoples feet are just structured in away that predisposed them to PF? It’s not about making them stronger. I have very high, fallen arches so now I have completely flat feet. That is not going to change.