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2 years of lingering plantar fasciitis - any advice?

P

paul rich

pfm Member
I’m hoping the collective knowledge and experience of PFM might be able to help me.

I caused it during furlough, too much running and walking. A podiatrist and NHS scan confirmed it is plantar fasciitis. The pain is focussed on a point a third of the way from my heel to the ball of my left foot, in the arch. All of the usual remedies have been tried:

Night splint, daily foot and calf stretching, calf strengthening, foot roller, raised arch insoles (SuperGreen , not custom made orthotics). My weight is normal, 79kg at 5’10. I walk everywhere in well padded running shoes and never run anymore.

I have tried to reduce the amount of walking, but still do about 2 miles on Saturday and Sunday and about ½ mile on week days.

I haven’t been taking any medications to control pain or swelling.

The pain is slight on a morning but develops as I walk. The GP is suggesting steroid injections.

My objective is not pain management, its cure. Am I missing something? Have you had any similar experience and found a recipe for cure?
 
Sorry to hear that Paul.

I have had plantar fasciitis too, and for me it was the calf stretching coupled with hamstring stretches that remedied it. That along with deep tissue and sports massages on the calves.

I have tight calves, so if my hamstrings became tight they just exacerbated the issue.

5 years on, if I’ve been training or walking a lot I get a twinge in my right foot as a reminder to stretch my calves.


Hope that helps.
 
Not foot related, but I had a swollen and damaged tendon in my shoulder that was becoming extremely painful, and my gp referred me for steroid injection.

I had an ultrasound guided injection directly into the affected area - you can see the swelling and the needle on the screen, it’s pretty impressive.

The results for me have been really good - pain was gone after a few days and mobility of the joint fully restored, allowing me to exercise properly and strengthen the joint in general, and just live normally. The pain and swelling did recur after about a year, and I received another steroid injection about three years ago. Recovery was just as fast as after the first one, and it has been pain and trouble free ever since. Definitely worth trying I would say.
 
There is no cure, you have to be patient. I know it’s horrid. And it’s true that IMO doctors are really bad at forewarning you about how long these things can take to go away - you’d be very unlucky if it didn’t fizzle out in the end, but I think you’ll find that more than two years is not uncommon.

I think you should reconsider taking pain medication. If you adjust your gait unconsciously to reduce the pain it can cause subsequent muscle and joint problems elsewhere in your body, because of new pressures and stresses. Speak to the doctor about this. The steroid injection is just for pain control. Reducing walking also can have undesirable health consequences.

If I were in your position I’d continue with the splint and orthotics and stretches, I’d take lots of paracetamol and ibuprofen, I’d ask for a referral to a hospital, I’d ask for a confirmation of the diagnosis with an ultrasound scan, and I’d speak to the doc about how he can help if it’s getting you down. And most of all I’d study the NICE guidelines

https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/plantar-fasciitis/management/management/
 
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try cycling to places and give walking a rest? I mostly cycle and when I started walking more it was a shock not expected
 
I know of at least two people who have had Plantar Fasciitis for whom it has resolved completely. The answers are essentially already within your reach but, regrettably, the answer is to simply do more. The idea there is no cure is not correct.

I’m currently in the middle of my first big spinal relapse for eight years. Nine years ago I was advised I would have to live with the pain for the rest of my life and would end up in a wheelchair. I have spent the next eight years pain free and fully mobile. The reason for this is that I had a fantastic work rehab who gave me four exercises. All standard but I found only two worked for me. She advised me that their expectation was that people would go away and maybe do the exercises for a week and cease them fairly quickly “because doing them hurts”. Their best patients do them in ten or fifteen minute bursts. I asked what was really needed and was advised thirty to sixty minutes at a time and likely at least twice I day.

I did that. It hurt and initially nothing happened. I persisted largely because that’s who I am. The result was as described above. Pain free and fully mobile for eight years. Current relapse caused by Covid putting me in bed for more than a week whilst I was overweight. I am fixing it by the means described above.

When I spoke to the two people I know with PF they confirmed that essentially they’d done the same. Been told to do every fifteen minute exercise for sixty. It’s up to you.

Somebody else I know with exactly the same issue as he stopped the rehab “because it hurt”. Now lives on crutches and Amitrip.
 
These helped my plantar fasciitis

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wellbeing-Fasciitis-Compression-Increases-Circulation/dp/B079VRVSM1/ref=sr_1_17?crid=3CHYATSCZTVSQ&keywords=plantar+fasciitis+socks&qid=1686297073&sprefix=Plantar+%2Caps%2C382&sr=8-17

But it was switching to Vivobarefoot shoes that got rid of my PF problem for good. Not for everyone but I have found them great. The soles are designed to be thin so you have to use your toes and foot muscles when walking, so very different to normal shoes that encase the foot.

https://www.vivobarefoot.com/uk/mens

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/VIVOBAREFO/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21
 
This site contains affiliate links for which pink fish media may be compensated.
i have had it on and off for my whole life. i was born with a congenital defect in the structures of my ankle which meant i have never walked as you might expect. Over my 57 years this has led to increasingly damaged ankles, pain and persistent Plantar Fasciitis. i have regular physio and deep massage to my calves, and am currently experimenting with the extra stretch that shoes with a low sole rise can give me.

https://www.newbalance.co.uk/pd/minimus-tr/MXMTRV1-41270.html?dwvar_MXMTRV1-41270_style=MXMTRCO1

I have tried no rise barefoot (like Vivobarefoot) shoes but they are unwearable and too uncomfortable for my ankles.
 
Sorry to hear this. I've got through it using a set of exercises found in a book on running called "Older Yet Faster". The authors, Keith and Heidi, run a support forum on FB for the book as well and they are really helpful. Keith has held world records for his age group in the 5/10k and Heidi is also an accomplished runner and podiatrist. The main thrust of the rehab is to not wear cushioned shoes or arch supports as they weaken your foot structure. I know it's contrary to what most mainstream podiatrists would recommend but but for me it worked well.

https://olderyetfaster.com/
 
boneman said:
Sorry to hear this. I've got through it using a set of exercises found in a book on running called "Older Yet Faster". The authors, Keith and Heidi, run a support forum on FB for the book as well and they are really helpful. Keith has held world records for his age group in the 5/10k and Heidi is also an accomplished runner and podiatrist. The main thrust of the rehab is to not wear cushioned shoes or arch supports as they weaken your foot structure. I know it's contrary to what most mainstream podiatrists would recommend but but for me it worked well.

https://olderyetfaster.com/
Click to expand...

I’m not sure it is contrary. It’s the exact advice people I know were given.

I should also add that in my case the use of orthotics was the icing on the cake. My pain started at 8/10; was reduced to 2/10. Orthotics reduced it to nil.
 
I know they're not the height of fashion (although I understand they're fashionable now in certain quarters...) but Crocs or similar soft-sole footwear work well. Properly designed insoles are also very effective.
 
My osteopath offers something called "Shockwave Therapy" which she reckons is very good at treating the condition. In her experience, two rounds of treatment tends to make a difference, if not cure it.

https://www.nenevalleyosteo.co.uk/shockwave-therapy

Hopefully someone near you provides a similar treatment - it's worth checking out for the price.
 
This site contains affiliate links for which pink fish media may be compensated.
Just recovered from it, it’s bloody horrible.

Mmmm, advice, well, time was all that mine needed, tried a few foot rolling exercises but I don’t really stick to them, it passed on its own accord, had it for probably nine month or so.

Good luck.
 
I had this. V painful. Resorted to insoles that kept the arch shape right. After about six months - pain free. Still use the full or 1/2 insoles as needed.

Also, resting the foot helped.
 
I've got it now, stretching (when I have time/remember) helps but biggest benefit has been wearing Nike trainers with air-cushioned soles. I do loads of walking at work and dog walk too (10,000 steps + most days), I wear the Nikes as often as I can, which isn't too difficult in my job. Driving is fine now (right heel was killing me) and most mornings I can walk okay. I'm not sure if it's related but I've had soreness in the top of my right foot for a couple of weeks now, it's starting to wear off now.

Cheers BB
 
Also think about how you walk. Since PF I have changed my walking style from something I learned in Pilates, that is, to be light of the heel and roll through onto the ball of the foot. Modern shoes encourage you to slam your hells down. The answer to PF is to get more Grasshopper, don’t break the rice paper!
 
Thank you everyone for the response to my call for help. The response is way beyond what I expected. There are several new avenues I have not explored in your replies, but will try them. As one of you noted not being fully mobile is not good for my health, particularly from a mental point of view in my case, I found my walks very therapeutic and de-stressing.
 
paul rich said:
Thank you everyone for the response to my call for help. The response is way beyond what I expected. There are several new avenues I have not explored in your replies, but will try them. As one of you noted not being fully mobile is not good for my health, particularly from a mental point of view in my case, I found my walks very therapeutic and de-stressing.
Click to expand...
If walking is good, use it.

Don’t go mad, but upping your weekly average by just a little bit every month could be useful
 
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