I don't have a lot of symptoms that are described by some of you; I just have pain in the heel (can be extreme after activity and always in the morning), no swelling, and only in one foot. For those of you "in the know" would this be a mild case? Have I caught it early or is the extreme pain after activity indicating it isn't as early as I'd like?
As I mentioned, I didn't get much guidance from my HMO doctor. With much huffing and puffing, he gave me a referral for a specialist. Would you recommend I contact the specialist now or go through the treatments I have been reading about first?
How important are the shoe inserts? It sounds like a "Must Have" kind of thing (again, something my doc didn't mention). Are these things I can buy at my local Eckerds or are the inserts really something I need to get through a doctor (better quality, more precise to my needs, etc.)?
Now that I have been diagnosed, should I stay off my feet for a while to allow healing time? I teach school and am wondering if I should even be standing during the day. Any thoughts?
What about exercise? I fall into the category of one of those people who has a contributing factor of being overweight. How can I attack that problem if I can't be on my feet to exercise? I also coach a soccer team at my school (which is what I believe brought on this situation... sudden increase in activity from the more sedentary overweight lifestyle) and we are in off-season weight training right now. Can I do that? At least the stuff where I'm not on my feet?
Again, I am just asking for advice from those who have been down this road and I understand you aren't doctors!
If you have the shoe inserts, does it really matter what kind of shoes you wear? Is it still important to have lots of padding in the shoe itself?
How do you avoid compensating for the pain and causing undue stress on the knee/hip? Already I find myself doing that and I can feel it in my knee (probably because I injured that knee too many times in the past)!
Anything else you can tell me would be greatly appreciated!
Judy
spider-we031.proxy.aol.com 19:19:02