Plantar fasciitis

[A234]

At my last appointment with the rheumy nurse she told me I now have plantar fasciitis, she didn’t offer me much information on this condition. It’s causing me a great deal of pain and I am wondering if anyone else with the condition could advise me on any coping mechanisms.

[FRreedman]

The best way to stop the pain is to do exercises. You can find these on NHS website, if you look up Plantir Fasciitis Treatment.

[A234 in reply to FRreedman]

Thank you, I will have a look.

[Lolabridge]

You could ask your Rheumy nurse/consultant if you can be referred to a podiatrist in the RA unit. I was and got helpful advice for my feet issues (not same as yours).

[Jamarruk]

Freeze a small (ish) bottle of water and roll your foot over it once or twice a day worked wonders for me!

I also found a sports science Dr who treated it with some dry needling techniques and also took blood out of my arm and injected the blood straight into the plantar. Hurt like hell but solved the problem literally over night !!

[A234 in reply to Jamarruk]

Sounds painful 😖 might try freezing the bottles of water first 😆

[Jamarruk in reply to A234]

It really did hurt, but cured it instantly. I’d suffered with it for about a year before finding the specialist. Wish I’d have found him sooner!

[Hidden in reply to Jamarruk]

I was taught to get a baseball or very hard ball and standing up push weight down and roll ball with my feet OMG it hurt and then I had to use ball to roll over legs and it helps break down tissues or something (when I had knee surgery) and this helped me! I almost cried every time but you can feel the changes as you need to do it twice a day every day.

[pauluk60 in reply to Jamarruk]

i had it for 18months /2 years really sore nearly cost my job wish someone would have done that for me

[Biofreak]

I also have plantar fascitis and the podiatrist recommended insoles for my shoes which I always use. Over time the pain disappeared. My first pair were made by the NHS but I couldn't get used to them. I now buy them from Amazon. Worked for me anyway.

[A234]

what insoles do you buy from amazon ? I’m on my feet all day at work so it might be worth getting some.

[Biofreak in reply to A234]

The insoles are from a company called PRO 11 WELLBEING from their Plantar range. They have a navy blue surface and a lime green base. You choose by foot size. I take size 4.5 so I buy size 3-4. They are described as "orthotic insoles- full length for faciitis treatment. Hope this helps.

[A234 in reply to Biofreak]

Thank you so much that’s very helpful.

[Hidden]

Oh yes I get this regularly during a flare. Special exercise can help but if the flare continues so does the pain . Amazon sell a range of orthotics for PF I use them they do make a difference and easy the pain . The best ones are the ones where you can adjust the height to suit you then lower as you get better. As with most RA symptoms agony for ages no matter what you do them suddenly GONE!!! Hot/ ice packs can relieve it if only temporarily.

[A234 in reply to Hidden]

I will go and have a look on amazon just now, thank you.

[A234]

Thank you everyone for the tips, I will most definitely be trying all of them.

[Pamelah5]

Hi A234.

I had Plantar Fasciitis diagnosed virtually at same time as RA. Feet so painful couldn't walk or drive couldn't do anything. My Osteopath suggested Birkenstock sandals, ones with toe post which comes up high front of foot, I swear by them they really helped as they do now having RA. Admittedly we are now heading towards winter. Was told never to walk barefooted, round house I wear my Birkenstocks as slippers so comfy. They've started getting nice style boots little pricey but well worth.

Along with Cortisone injections every month until Methotrexate took affect along with anti-inflammatory meds and painkillers.

I'm now able to play little golf on good days, wear Skechers golf shoes which are great!

It took best part of a year for my feet to feel somewhere near normal, continue having daily pain from RA also OA but not has bad as before.

Stay positive, you will get through it!

Best wishes

Pamela x

[A234 in reply to Pamelah5]

Thank you Pamela, I’ve had RA for 10yrs but the PF is new to me and at the moment it’s causing more pain than the RA.

I plan to try all the tips that were recommended and look forward to things getting easier 🤞

[vonniesims]

My gp referred me to physio to be given excercises. I was told to wear running shoes, not soft flexible shoes and not to walk barefoot

[graemeparsons]

Had it in both feet, two cortisone injections in both feet and it cleared up. I where insoles in my shoes now which also helps. Hope you get sorted soon but it definitely can be cured.

[Mumcon]

Yes I have this too Podiatrist gave me insoles also had a scan and I was given an appointment for an injection When I attended the appointment the nurse took one look and said “Oh I don’t fancy injecting your foot it will be awful painful “ Needless to say I was quite relieved as I didn’t fancy it much😂 I roll a tennis ball under my sole and find this helps

[A234 in reply to Mumcon]

😂

[Yebam]

I bought these socks from Amazon and I have never looked back.

amazon.co.uk/Acelec-Compres...

The pain is all gone. If I don't wear them, the pain comes back gradually, but by wearing them every day I have no symptoms at all.

[lolacat]

The steroid injection in your heal is painful but only for a few seconds and for me worked wonders - from being barely able to walk on the foot for months to pretty much fixed within a few days.

[Chance_chance]

Sorry to hear you've this painful condition exercise seemed to make mine worse at first but once I got insoles from podiatrist it's really helped and I walk more normal now. I was also given shockwave treatment that was terrible and resulted in me being unable to walk don't advise having that, although we are all different and your experience maybe better than mine

[JDQuinn75]

I got that in my right foot it made it unbearable and hard to walk for me. My gp gave me an ointment to put on the arch of my foot on a daily basis. That did not help what so ever. Luckily I had set of crutches I had used for a previous ankle injury. I decided to put myself on them awhile to keep the weight off of my very painful foot. Believe it or not that helped me a great deal getting around on the crutches for a few weeks til the pain had eased up enough that I could put my weight on my foot again without it being in unbearable pain. Also used a brace on my foot when I wasn’t using crutches to stay off of it, witch also helped. You can find a reasonably priced brace for your foot on amazon. I’ve just recently had to pull out my crutches again when the pain acted up. I was on them for about three weeks til the pain subsided enough for me to walk on my foot again. Good luck. Hope this helps .

[A234 in reply to JDQuinn75]

Thank you for your reply, unfortunately crutches aren’t an option for me as I have to go to work each day but I can see how they would help.

I have now started doing some foot exercises and have ordered some insoles for my shoes so fingers crossed that it may help🤞

[JDQuinn75 in reply to A234]

I mostly used the crutches I have when I was on them at home. Do to the fact I can’t be on crutches while at work either. But when I was on them they went with me to work, so after I was done working for the day I immediately got on them. By the end of the day I was usually in pain that was unbearable. That’s why I kept them everywhere I went. If I had errands to do after work I was using them then to stay off my bad foot. It took time to be able to walk without the crutches but it was worth it. I have a pair of the wooden crutches that I used. I’ll do it again if the pf in my foot acts up again. It takes patients and time as we’ll doing it the way I had too. The brace I bought was an air cast air heel ankle support brace. It has a gel like bubble that sit in the arch of the foot . It was comfortable and eased the pain while working too.

[Hidden]

Had it a few times in the past. Exercise helped, stretching calf muscles and rolling a tin (e.g. peas) back and forth on the floor with my foot. Steroid injections were magic. Yes, they're painful when they're done, but nothing approaching (say) labour pains.! A few days after one of them I was hiking high in the Pyrenees.