Pain in foot

[Mary-1973]

Hi i have just been told what is causing the pain in my left foot/heel it is called Plantar fasclitis has anyone else suffered or has this condition would appreciate the feed back.

[libbydaniels88]

hi - yes my daughter has this condition. She's found some relief by wearing shoe implants ( bought online at amazon). Not much help from Dr sadly, other than ....ewww losing weight....😒 and keeping off your feet..hard when your a chef! Try the shoe implants. A bit pricey- but worth it. Good luck !

[grizzly in reply to libbydaniels88]

I have this and heel spurs as well. I have had steroid injections in the bottom of my feet (very painful) 1 foot is ok now but it didn't work on the other. I have to sleep in a leg splint to try and stretch out the ligaments.

[Mary-1973 in reply to libbydaniels88]

Will try that thank you.

[Rob-chef in reply to libbydaniels88]

I'm a chef as well did she solve her pain as I went to see a specialist and made me some insoles that make my feet worse

[Hidden]

Hi, after doing a lot of walking I had the same thing. My Doctor who is extremely practical said that Nike should become my new best friend and she was right. I bought a pair of their trainers, the ones with arch support and after a week or so the pain disappeared. Hope this helps.

[funschine]

Buy shoes that support ur foot better both running shoes and everyday shoes. Buy supportive insoles (cheap on amazon) and your doctor might give u some exercises to do. Took me 3 months to recover and the treadmill is Kinder to my heels then the road. For work shows I bought heeled boots from hotter and they are brilliant.hope u recover quickly. I know it's frustrating. U need to stop running until u have recovered

[Mary-1973 in reply to funschine]

I have got the plantar fasciitis support for my heel hope they will work no joy yet have had this pain over 3 months now.

[Hidden]

Hi Mary!

Yes I've had this and very painful. Brought on in my case by wearing ballet style shoes too much, and of course then exacerbated by being overweight .

Afraid mine took the best part of a year to go and this is quite common . As others have said get some good arch supports and proper exercise. I have found Hotter shoes a godsend and they are not all dowdy these days.

I never slop around in ballet flats in the house any longer but wear proper shoes....from Hotter! I would just hate this to return

[Itsbab in reply to Hidden]

Hi Yatsura that is the only thing really that helped me higher heals and not flats and yes I have quite a few pairs of Hotter shoes and sandles.

[jano432]

Hi Mary. I have suffered with this whilst suffering from hip bursitis and a tight i t band. Before you spend any money on insoles etc, which may not be suitable for you(i belive that these things should be made to measure and not off the shelf as we are all different) when you are sitting, simply get a tennis ball and roll it under your heel for few minute a time. It may take a while to work but persevere. If that doesnt work, get yourself a session with a good physio. This is what my physio told me. I hope it helps.

[Mary-1973 in reply to jano432]

great thanks for that will try it.

[Itsbab]

Hi I had this 2 years ago and although it has more or less gone now (lasted about a year) I still get the odd sharp burning pain if I have overdone the walking. I only had it in my left foot mostly people get it in both and I think mine came on after leaving work to care for my mum who lives in a house ( I Live in a bungalow ) and going up and down stairs numerous times a day. I can sympathise greatly as it is so painful I would often stand on one leg when out shopping etc for a bit of relief but if you have it in both feet this isn't possible.

I am sorry to say I didn't find anything to ease mine just had to let it ease itself away naturally. I was told weight is an issue as most people who have this 7/10 are overweight hence the weight loss now for me.

I hope you find some relief from it and I am sure loosing weight like you are now will go so way towards it.

Best Wishes Bev 😊😊

[Itsbab in reply to Itsbab]

Forgot to add wearing a higher heal like Yatsura said above is the only thing that helped me a little so now I don't wear flats anymore I have at least a 1" heal or above and I have some good sketchers trainers for walking which are so comfy a bit pricey but it's worth it for your poor feet. 👟

[Mollydex]

Hi , I have had it for years on and off

The things that have worked for me

Loosing weight

Running shoes with in insoles from a shop that is into helping your gait

Ordinary insoles in all my other shoes

Changing the shoes I wear at work so don't wear same pair everyday

If painful I keep a can of juice in the fridge and roll my foot on the Icey cold can if my foot is painful

Stretches for my archilies

Hope you get on top of it.

[Itsbab in reply to Mollydex]

What a good tip keeping a cool can in the fridge when the pain gets too bad. 👍

[Mary-1973 in reply to Mollydex]

yeah hope to start losing weight have changed my flats to arched shoes which still has no effect tried the can didnt get much relief but will keep at it thank you.

[jano432 in reply to Mary-1973]

Try actual ice and the tennis ball....nothing to lose.

[Crisdean]

I also suffer from this the pain is so bad some days I just want to cry, I've invested in numerous pairs of shoes I feel most comfortable at the moment in karimor hiking boots not pretty I know but it's the "flip flops " an flat shoes that's caused the damage, I'm under the physio now for this with the added problem I've lost the balance because my feet are too flexible, I've got wedges to go in my shoes off physio I've got more appointments to follow, I wouldn't suggest getting insoles off the shelf see if gp can refere you if it's that bad I left mine far too long,

[Mary-1973 in reply to Crisdean]

thank you will ask the doctor.

[Windswept1 in reply to Mary-1973]

My local hospital has self referral for physio. Might be worth asking if yours does.

[slimpickings 2 stone]

My husband suffered from that too. His doctor told him to use the gel heel inserts and use the pain reliving gel on the bottom of his heel if it got really bad. It did get better eventually. Xx

[Sambell66]

Hi

Yes had it for several years due to sport - best to have looked at by physio. I get ultrasound and manipulation.

Rolling a tennis ball around base of foot

Ice pack

Massage

Flexing foot and moving the ankle round in morning before getting up

Best to raise heel- can do with a folded sock initially, as this gives some relief

When bad it can swell so I have cortisone injections, makes life difficult at times!!

Wear trainers and high heels actually are ok but not for walking miles!!

It never fully goes so be aware and treat as it feels sore.

Take care 😊

[Tizzyliz67]

I have had it before, I found that a heel cup really helped me with the pain.😊

[vanessa93]

Hi, I have suffered from this in the recent past as have several of my work colleagues. Unfortunately as nurses it is something we are all too aware of both personally and professionally. Plantar fasciitis means inflammation of your plantar fascia, a strong band of tissue, similar to a ligament, that stretches from your heel to your middle foot. It supports the arch of your foot and also acts as a shock-absorber in your foot. Injury can occur due to poor supporting footwear or just being on your feet for excessively long time. Pain is worse before the tissue gets "warmed up" so on getting out of bed, standing after sitting for a time etc. The best solution I came up with was to stretch out this band before attempting walking. So in the morning (before getting out of bed)I would bring my toes up towards me, hold for a few seconds and repeat several times, also stretch in the opposite direction although this was not as effective but made me feel balanced. I would also do these stretches if I was sitting. An extended stretch can be achieved by standing with toes on a step and lowering heels gently down so they are below the heel.

It can take several weeks or months to fully heel but keep up the stretches, wear supportive shoes (especially if walking or running) and it will get better.

[vanessa93 in reply to vanessa93]

Forgot to mention ICE!!! works wonders for acute pain

[Mary-1973 in reply to vanessa93]

thank you for your advice i will try this in the mornings as for as u said it is the worst time for the pain.

[Susieb1971]

Hi yes I had it once and had to use silicon cups in my shoes to help walk on it. This did help but didn't cure. Then I lost 6 stone in weight and became a regular walker and it seemed to go and has been fine ever since. Wishing you well as I know it can be very painful

[Visitingcat]

Hi Mary

I had this for a while, it hurt so much, always after relaxing. I would dread Getting up in a morning and getting up off the couch.

I would have to grit my teeth and would stand there with my fists clenched till it eased and could totter those first few steps. I started keeping a walking stick near the couch to give me something to try to ease the weight off my poor feet.

After I learnt about stretches as mentioned by previous posters I would do these before getting up and it helped.

But what shifted it was loosing weight, I lost three stone last year and the heel pain gradually went ( but before the full three stone mark )

I needed to lose this due to other health problems ( heart related ) and this was a very welcome bonus.

Hope you get some relief from this, it's awful and very wearing to put up with all the time.

Best wishes,

[Pennyruss]

I found stretching the leg and foot several times before getting out of bed made it easier to put weight on it. Also rolling a ball, picking up a pencil with toes etc. It was miserable and took about 18mnths to go. Good luck!

Pennyruss

[DartmoorDumpling Restart Feb 2024]

I have suffered from plantar fasciitis in the past, and cured it by a combination of stretching exercises as described, plus losing weight, wearing a trainer with a "rocking" sole which takes the weight off the heel (got them cheap in TK Max) and now live and work in "Crocs" with an inner sole insert, which whilst flat, are supportive and the problem has not re-occurred.

It used to be referred to as "policeman's heel" as they walked all day in rather unforgiving footwear!

[Elizharcus]

Hi, I have too suffered from this excrutiating condition so I can sympathise. My advice is to go

see a good chiropodist. They can show you how to strap up your foot with special tape. This means you can walk without discomfort and therefore repairing the damage too. Also if you stretch your calf muscles before you get out of bed and before you get up after sitting down, this will also help. Tight calf muscles make it worse. Another tip, invest in good trainers, with lots of cushioning. I have Nike ones. They may be pricey but worth every penny if it helps. Also in the summer I spend all my time in either Fit Flops or Sketcher flip flops. They have loads of cushioning where you need it, they have really helped me!! Avoid wearing pumps etc

with no cushioning as that worsens the condition. Hope this is of some help xx

[radioactiveblue]

Yes, I had this a couple of years ago. It took a year to 18 months to mostly go away. I still have the occasional twinge. It's inflammation, so ibuprofen can help if you tolerate that, and it can be caused by all kinds of things, and eased by all kinds of things. My GP had suffered with it himself, and he told me that for some people resting helps and for other people walking helps. You have to find out what works for you

In my case, getting footwear with great support under my foot helped a lot (I wore trainers all the time). Also, walking helped so long as I didn't walk too much. Then it made it worse.

[marco83]

Yes I did have it for a whole year in 2014, immediately after a game at football with my old palls in Italy... Very bad idea!!!

I could not believe it was still there in October and November and reducing running definitely helped. I used a frozen half a liter bottle of water to roll for 10/15 minutes every time I went for a run for a year and it did help with the pain and inflammation.

hope you get rid of it asap

all the best

Marco

[Debs-1]

Its awful, I had it for ages, about a year to be honest and it went as quickly as it came. I'm afraid there is nothing I can suggest to help either, there are in-soles which can help I believe. You have my sympathy! x

[rogbert]

or hard skin that needs filing down or using flexitol cream?

[skinnylizzie]

yes, you need to buy some heel supports they really helped but it takes a long time get orthopaedic ones on internet cant remember what I got but I am sure there are plenty up there I kept them in my trainers for months.

[skinnylizzie]

Just adding I got mine by stretching knee down to flat position on bed and pulling foot towards knee so be careful with all the stretches with toes pointing towards knee as that's how I got mine and it took at least a year to go after physio consultations and drs advice!

[healthygenes]

I have had this about three times,it can be absolutely excruciatingley, painfull, I have had several steroid injections,the last one didn't work so I went for an injection under ultrasound it seems it was preety bad and that's why the one steroid didn't work,apparently the tentendon that causes this became very thick,anyway the rolling a ball or orange under the foot I've heard is a good exercise, anything that will strech that tendon, but I did find only the steroid injeçtion fixed mine, they also call it policeman's foot.

[Onemoretry]

I have this too. The only shoes I can wear are standard crocs and I go everywhere in them. I had it last year in my right foot and now it's in my left foot. Some days I can only hobble: other days it's not so bad but I can't walk as far as I used to, or as fast.

[Goldayre]

Hi i got this too, lasted 1 year, going from one doctor to another. Went to elverys for sole implants 50 euro, specially moulded to ur foot. Takes 15 minutes, was better in 2 weeks, don't need them now. U can wear in all ur shoes

[Pottypud]

Hi. I suffered very badly in both feet for a long time. They would be agony when I put weight on them, and when I was walking around. Eventually I went to a podiatrist and did treadmill tests and had an X-ray. The X-ray revealed I had a 2cm heel spur on my right heel, and a 1.5 cm spur on the left. I had plaster casts of my feet sent to America where they custom made me insoles for my shoes. Within 1 week, the pain was gone! That was ten years ago, and although I know the Spurs will never go, they are still pain free. Cost me £280 in all but worth EVERY penny!