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Newbie With Same Problem!


Posted by Donna M. on 3/28/01 at 00:58
Hi! I have come to this site several times and read your different messages! I was in hopes I wouldn't need to join in for ideas and support, but I should be so fortunate!!
How have some of you managed to bear having this for so long??!! After months of excruciating pain, exercises, injections and therapy, I'm beginning to believe PF stands for 'pain forever'!! I have always been an active person~~no more!! I have gained 20 pounds since September, which only makes it worse!!
Has anyone had surgery with success? Does anyone recommend surgery?
Taping and rest seems to help me more than anything. But I use 1 inch wide athletic tape, which is next to impossible to find, so that limits my amount of taping!!
Has anyone just ever 'gotten over' PF?
Also, I have seen reference to The PF Book, what is that and where do you get it? All help and ideas appreciated!! Thanks, Donna

Reply to above message #42747.

Re: Newbie With Same Problem!
Posted by Julie on 3/28/01 at 03:19

Hi Donna

First things first. The PF Book has now been renamed The Heel Pain Book (but everyone is used to calling it by its old name). You'll find the links on the Home Page. Print it out and study it. It is an excellent reference source.

How long have you hbad PF? It certainly needn't mean Pain Forever - lots of people have got to the point where the pain is either gone, or liveable with and manageable. I personally believe that unless it was caused by a sudden injury, there are predisposing factors that remain for life and that PF can return if those factors don't continue to be dealt with. For instance - if it's determined you need custom orthotics for pronation, you need to wear them always and not chuck them out when the pain has gone. Just an example.

If your calf muscles are tight, you need to stretch them correctly, probably for the rest of your life.

Rest is the key - stay off your feet whenever you don't HAVE to be on them.

Taping has helped me a lot. As I live in England, I can't suggest where to buy the right kind in the States, but I'm surprised you're having difficulty finding athletic tape - I'd have thought sports equipment stores would stock it. I use Leukotape 3.5cm (about 1 and 1/2 inches). It's made by Beiersdorf and is good: it holds its tension through the day. In Part 2 of the Heel Pain Book you'll find a section on taping, with illustrations. The method I use is the simplest, most tape-conservative and therefore cheapest, of two strips connecting the ball of the foot and the heel.

Don't consider surgery until you have investigated ESWT, a non-invasive treatment that has had a good success rate. Surgery can always be tried later, if necessary. I wouldn't dream of getting cut until I had had ESWT (fortunately I am unlikely, touch wood, to need either, as I am about 95% better with conservative treatments).

All the best, Julie

Reply to above message #42757.

Re: Newbie With Same Problem! Hello Donna and all!
Posted by Clara on 3/28/01 at 04:06
Hi there!
Welcome to the board Donna M.!!! Here you can read a lot that´s good for you. Read the PF book to get more information. It helps me a lot.

And thank you Julie, your words is like good medicine for us all. You are really a good person!! Me myself are usually a very happy person , but now i´m a little depressed because of this pain. I´m glad though, if I can help others, and for all this new friends! I have been at the doctor now, and he didn´t wanted to take x-rays of my feet. He says that on x-rays you only see the bones, and nothing more. The problem is not in the bone, he says,. I have inflammation in both feet, PF, and he thought that this is healing well, and I just have to rest,rest, rest, boring, boring. But I know he´s right on that.
I am going to get a physical therapist, too. But I have to wait for a month before I have an appointment there.
Today I feel a little better, because I have rested very much, taped, iced and stretched. AND because of you folks!

Take care! And hang on there Donna M.! You´ll get better!

Clara

Reply to above message #42758.

Re: Newbie With Same Problem! Heel Pain Book!
Posted by Clara on 3/28/01 at 07:34
Hello! I wrote "PF book" - you have to excuse me - it´s now called The Heel Pain Book! Hoping you find out right things that works for you.

Clara

Reply to above message #42763.

Re: Newbie With Same Problem! Heel Pain Book!
Posted by Beverly on 3/28/01 at 14:50
Donna,

Welcome. How long have you had this and how did it begin and what kind of work do you do? All those things are significant.

Here is what has helped me. I've had bilateral PF for a year and some months into it also developed PTT.

Rest, rest, and more rest.... boring amounts of rest. This means completely changing how I do even the most ordinary things like grocery shopping. I ride the electric scooter. In a year of riding the thing, I'm the only one I've seen who is neither grossly overweight or sporting blue hair. Don't know why we get to be so lucky!

Completely changing my footwear. This is a real trial and error thing, but the classic Birkenstock (Arizona, Boston, Florida, Milano) seem to be the most popular. I credit my Birk Arizonas and Bostons for being able to walk. God only knows where I'd be without them. Others prefer over the counter or custom orthodics in high quality running shoes. You will try on many, many shoes before figuring it out. Most important: go to a place that knows who to fit you. Department stores are full of simpletons who don't know zip about a proper fit. Look for a place that mostly sells Birk type shoes or a small family owned athletic shoe store.
I gave away all my high heels months ago.

ice/heat combinations (20 minutes gel pack in wrap/20 minutes moist heat)

Physical therapy with deep tissue massage and stretching lessons.

Welcome aboard, and you are right. I often think PF stands for pain forever too! But fortuntately even among us, the most afflicted, we see those who do get into recovery and resume their normal lives.
Beverly

Reply to above message #42821.

Re: Newbie With Same Problem! Heel Pain Book!
Posted by Cynthia D on 3/28/01 at 16:16
Hi Donna - yes, there are some who get "cured" of pf, certainly! My old tennis partner only had it for a few months and now is free of it. I have another friend with it who gets it only when she gains weight (10 pounds) - she loses the weight, and the pf goes away, too. I think, like Julie, that catching it early and treating it carefully are critical to healing. I ignored mine and just thought it would "go away" for 4 years, until I couldn't walk very well any more. I wish I had found this site back then, it's so helpful! I also agree that we may all be prone to it again if we aren't careful. You are lucky to treat it early!

And we're all a little guilty of weight gain. I personally can't fit into all my new clothes I purchased in Dec. after losing 35 pounds - I gained a good bit of it back when I had ESWT and had to discontinue exercising but I'm forever optomistic that I will get back into the old routines soon.

So both you and Clara read all you can, try what works for you best, and I hope you both become one of the "healed" ones very soon!

Reply to above message #42837.

Re: Newbie With Same Problem! / Hi and Thanks everybody!!
Posted by Donna M. on 3/28/01 at 22:52
Thanks so much for all the advice!! I found the PF Book and I have printed it. Looks like from what I've gotten to read it has some really good advice and information in it.
To answer some of the questions: I have had PF for about 9 months. I have gotten 2 injections which have seemed to make it worse, rather than better! I just completed a 4 week therapy program and I am the same as I was before I started therapy. I still do the exercises everyday and stretches religiously!! I have learned about 3 different ways to wrap my foot. Of course the most complicated, that takes the most tape, feels the best. But I have to use 1 inch tape, which is next to impossible to find, and I can't buy it from the therapy center I go to.
I don't work outside the home, but am (WAS) a very active grandmother of one 2-1/2 year old grandson, a 2 year old granddaughter, with another granddaughter due July 2! This PF mess sure does create lifestyle changes,and not for the better!!
I also have several different types of arch supports, heel lifts, etc. I even ordered the Ibuprofen Cream. It doesn't seem to help my foot, but it does help sore muscles(from having to walk weird!!)and arthritis. So the money was well spent!
I'll just keep reading, iceing, massaging, stretching and go start buying different shoes to see if they help!
Again thanks for all the info and concern and I'll keep watching and reading!! Donna

Reply to above message #42878.