#1-------------------
>I have just been diagnosed with this condition today. >I was givin a prescription for Anaprox and told to see an >! >Any advice from anyone????
I was diagnosed with this condition last summer. My doctor prescribed an anti-inflammatory (I can't remember which one) and gave me little pads to put in my shoes. She suggested I wear Birkenstock type shoes with the pads to support my heel, and it has worked wonderfully! Also, she suggested stretching exercises that runners use to stretch the calf muscles (standing a few feet away from a wall, keeping one foot flat to the ground and leaning the body forward). I did this stretch around ten times a day for the first week, and gradually dwindled to once per day. Now, whenever I feel everything tightening up (or if I know I will be on my feet all day) I do the stretches more often, and have had a relatively pain-free existance for several months!
Take heart, my friend! There *is* hope! (o=
Starr
#2--------------------------------
> Hi, > I'm in the process of recovering from plantar facitis. The doc > says it probably comes from playing racquetball several times > a week. I'm resting it and taking ultra-sound 3 times a week. Any > suggestions for therapy or avoiding this condition in the future? >
> Paul
#5-----------------------------
Lynn wrote:: I was just diagnosed with this condition today. I'd appreciate any advice: anyone has, as this is new to me. I was put on Anaprox and told to see: an orthopedic surgeon if it doesn't improve in a couple of weeks.
I've had this condition in my right foot for a few months now. (I got it from doing a too-acrobatic-for-adults stunt at Discovery Zone!) I tend to avoid physicians if possible, so I tried a number of things. Foremost: the best thing for this is wearing good quality sneakers ALL THE TIME, I mean around the house and everything. Avoid especially walking on cold floors barefoot. I use inserts in both shoes (to keep from throwing my back out of alignment, this is a good idea for anyone who needs "an" insert!), especially when at the aforementioned Discovery Zone, where they make you go around in your socks. A nice sturdy pair of socks will keep the inserts in place.
Mostly, this kind of injury just takes time to heal. Certainly the anti-inflammatory drugs are a good choice, if you require pain relief. Remember that they need to be taken regularly, whether you are in pain or not, in order to build up an effective level in the bloodstream.
Very important note: when you come up from a lying-down position, you need to let the blood rush back into your feet before standing up -- no more bounding out of bed in the morning! It seems to increase the rate of healing substantially when I began to do this.
After about six months, I am troubled only when I make the mistake of standing on a cold surface, or when I get up too quickly. Even then, it happens only rarely. Hang in there!
P.S. "A couple of weeks" is too damn early to consider surgery, IMNSHO.
#6------------------------
Mary wrote:>> So, here's my free advice, worth every penny>>you are paying for it. etc.
Worth at least twice that amount! I've had Plantar Fasciitis for almost 9months, and have almost got it licked. Mary's advice is terrific. Spencosare the greatest, and the exercises are important. I also stand on theedge of a sturdy step, and let my weight pull my heels down - a greatstretch for the feet. I switched most of my exercising to the pool, tohelp bear the weight. And suffered 2 shots of Cortisone, which I resistedbut really did help.
My newest discovery, however, was at the Nature's Sunshine health foodstore (I don't know if this is a chain? there are several here in N.Calif.) - It's called "Tei Fu Oil", which is mainly menthol, camphor andwintergreen in safflower oil. I rub a bit in every night, and it reallyseems to help! Maybe Ben Gay or Mineral Ice would have the same effect,but I'm not going to argue with what works for me!
Don't get discouraged, it does get better.
#7---------------------
Scott J. wrote: >I workout on the Versa Climber everday, and after about 15 minutes I begin >getting pain in the bottoms of my feet. It's not really an acute pain, >more of an ache. After about 10 minutes the pain seems a bit less, but my >feet feel kinda tinglely, like they are falling asleep. By about the 40 >minute mark, it feels more like a pain again, and is quite uncomfortable, >at which point I'm usually finished with my workout. It's hard to say for >sure, but I think I feel it most on the outer edges of the bottom of my >feet. Anybody heard of this? If it matters, my feet are wide and have high >arches. If possible I would like to correct this problem. Are the arches >in my shoes not high enough? Are the soles not stiff enough? It seems >kinda silly to have my feet failing me before my lungs do. Thanks. >
Sounds like the beginnings of plantar fasciitis, and the VC may be contributing to it. A few things you can do are: 1. Make sure you aren't doing your entire climb standing on your toes or the balls of your feet. Let your feet go down flat, with some weight on the heel. 2. Yes, make sure your shoes have proper arch support.
3. As to the "tingling", you might be tying the laces too tight. This would be aggravated by standing on the toes or balls of the foot.
4. Right after the VC workout, stretch the soles of your feet, either by drawing the ball of the foot up by hand, or by pressure into a concave surface. Hold stretches of this nature for at least 30sec.
Best of luck! Bill
#3----------------------------
I found in many cases of plantar pain a dysfunction of the ipsilateral ileosacral joint.
Dr.Otto Pichlhoefer, MD voice +43-1-292 89 50
Kainachgase 21 fax +43-1-292 89 50-4
A-1210 Wien, AUSTRIA e-mail opich@site60.ping.at
#4-----------------------
I can only tell you what I suffered with, Jean. The pain was in the back of my heel and on the edge of my heel. Every step on that foot was agony. The limp was surely noticable. The pain extended under the foot to about midpoint between heel and toe at times. It felt much worse after prolonged resting, such as sleep, a car ride or just sitting for a while on the couch watching a good movie. It felt a tad better when I had been moving it a bit. However, after walking a while, it of course hurt alot again. I recalled stepping off a curb in a 'funny' way, sort of hard, and hearing an odd noise. I didn'tk now if this could have caused anything since the pain started a couple weeks later.
The doctor I went to gave me superstrong ibuprofen, which wreaked havoc on my system. I switched to a more common pain reliever, acetominaphen, in normal dosages. That took care of pain. I started icing up the heel initially, which relieved pain on one hand, but made it much stiffer. Changing tactics, warm soaks and stretching per my chiropractors recommendation took care of it.
The plantar fascia are the ligaments, I believe, that go from heel to ball of foot along the sole of your foot.
Another hint? Don't allow your bedblankets to curl your toes with their weight. Apparently that can make the condition worse by shortening the ligaments...... shoes with good arch supports help alot too. Trika
#5----------------------
> I'm not sure if there's an answer to this question or not, > but here goes... >
> I really, really need to reduce body fat. (I now know the > difference between "lose weight" and "reduce body fat" -- > even though I DO need to do the former.) I have been in a > long sluggish period precipitated by plantar fasciitis and > pregnancy/newbornitis. Now that the baby is close to sleeping > a reasonable number of hours at night, I can actually hope to > go back to getting up an hour earlier to work out. >
> The plantar fasciitis was diagnosed about a year ago, and it > hasn't gotten better. Truthfully, I haven't been able to stick > with the therapy recommended (ice, exercises) more than a week > or two at a time. At any rate, it will be resolved soon, whether > I finally stick it out until it's better, or go back to the doctor > for more help. >
> My REAL question (sorry that it's buried under all that above) > relates to an opportunity to order shoes, good shoes, from Nike, > for free. Are there particular features I should look for that > would help prevent a future bout of plantar fasciitis? Sturdy > midsole, etc.? I was using a pair of Avia shoes which I liked > but am not married to. >
> Thanks for your advice, >
> Liz
#6--------------------------
That sounds a lot like what I've had for 2 years now. It started during a "low-impact" aerobics class that I was taking to limber up a little -- the class was taught by a woman who didn't know the meaning of "low-impact." After a while (a couple of months) I realized my foot was hurting much more than normal, and went to the doctor, who gave me an anti-imflammatory for it (Vor-something). I took that for 6 weeks, thankfully not hurting my stomach with the medicine, but the problem didn't correct itself. The doctor sent me to an ortopedic surgeon, who took regular x-rays, then had me go to the hospital for the x-rays in which they put some radioactive dye in you intravenously. No breaks in the bones of the foot. Then, they sent me to an orthopod(?) who gave me inserts for my shoes. That helped.
But, my foot still hurts somewhat after two years. Does this ever clear up? -- Jean
#7---------------------------
I've had this condition in my right foot for a few months now. (I got it from doing a too-acrobatic-for-adults stunt at Discovery Zone!) I tend to avoid physicians if possible, so I tried a number of things. Foremost: the best thing for this is wearing good quality sneakers ALL THE TIME, I mean around the house and everything. Avoid especially walking on cold floors barefoot. I use inserts in both shoes (to keep from throwing my back out of alignment, this is a good idea for anyone who needs "an" insert!), especially when at the aforementioned Discovery Zone, where they make you go around in your socks. A nice sturdy pair of socks will keep the inserts in place.
Mostly, this kind of injury just takes time to heal. Certainly the anti-inflammatory drugs are a good choice, if you require pain relief. Remember that they need to be taken regularly, whether you are in pain or not, in order to build up an effective level in the bloodstream.
Very important note: when you come up from a lying-down position, you need to let the blood rush back into your feet before standing up -- no more bounding out of bed in the morning! It seems to increase the rate of healing substantially when I began to do this.
After about six months, I am troubled only when I make the mistake of standing on a cold surface, or when I get up too quickly. Even then, it happens only rarely. Hang in there!
P.S. "A couple of weeks" is too damn early to consider surgery, IMNSHO.
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