Foot Surgery Message Board Index . . . . All Heel Pain Message BoardsPre-surgical Questions
Posted by Donna Y. on 1/12/01 at 20:25
I have been experiencing foot pain for some time now (a little over 3 1/2 years) with varying degrees of intensity. Lately (in the past year) the heel pain in my left heel has become nearly debilitating, causing me to stay home when friends or family ask me to accompany them to places I know will have me on my feet for more than half an hour at a time.
I have been trying various conservative treatments (stretching, night splints, Vioxx, side-kick walker) to relieve the pain to a point where I can at least go grocery shopping without experiencing intense pain, but none of the treatments worked for me. I finally agreed to cortisone injections since my father is an orthopaedic PA and works very closely with the surgeon. I feel confident in his abilities as a doctor and I trust his judgement for the most part. But I have only today had an x-ray (good question if you're asking why we're just now doing this... I have no answer for it, however) which revealed a substancial heel spur.
The pain has always been what most describe as classic Plantar fasciitis pain, but the treatments never worked for very long and now I'm feeling pretty convinced that this is due to the presence of the heel spur. My doctor has recommended surgery to remove the heel spur and do a fascia release, but I'm not quite convinced that I should go through with it given my father's longstanding advice which is this:
"The last parts of your body you'd ever want to have surgery on, barring an accident of some type, are your feet, your hands and your back."
But after seeing his daughter in such pain, I believe he just wants to see me out of misery and given the success rate of the surgeon, whom we have known personally for over 10 years, he's willing to go along with it.
So I would like to ask some personal opinions from anyone reading who is either a physician who works closely with this type of disorder or opinions of those who have had the surgery performed or know people who have had it performed. Is there anything I should reconsider if I trust my doctor to do a good job with the surgery? Or should I attempt to avoid it at all costs? I have just really had it with the pain.
A few things to consider about me as a patient: I am a preschool teacher, but am only on my feet for 3 hours in the morning and not all of that is constant. I take breaks to make sure that the pain does not become unbearable. Also, I am of average weight, not at all overweight for my height (5'6", 125 pounds) I wear very good shoes with a good support, my feet actually feel much better in these shoes (New Balance and occasionally I wear Mephisto clogs) than they've felt in years. I have very good flexibility in the hamstring, calf and foot. I feel fairly confident that the pain started when I worked in the cosmetic department of a large department store, on my feet on marble floors six hours a day in high heels for over a year.
I apologize for the length of the message, but I wanted to make it as informative as possible on the treatments I've been through since I know that the surgery should not be considered lightly. Thank you in advance for any help or advice.
Reply to above message #36511.