heel cups...

[Brychni]

...have done absolutely nothing. In fact, my feet feel worse after wearing them for just 1 hour dog walk in the woods.

[KittyJ]

whenever I’ve been given insoles etc I’ve been told to gradually increase the time I wear them. Maybe an hours walk was too much to start with? What were you told?

[Brychni in reply to KittyJ]

Haven't been told anything. Read about heel pain and all the podiatry websites say they bring instant relief 😮‍💨

[Brychni in reply to KittyJ]

It's pretty bad. Most days I have periods of extreme pain and sometimes struggle to walk.

[KittyJ in reply to Brychni]

My feet are bad too but podiatry here was really good and brought some relief. Can you get a private appointment like m-l suggested, it sounds like you need a diagnosis of what’s actually going on 😔

[Brychni in reply to KittyJ]

I just can't afford it.

[medway-lady]

Were they prescribed?

[Brychni in reply to medway-lady]

No. Struggling on my own in the absence of a sensible podiatry appointment.

[medway-lady in reply to Brychni]

Can you see one privately as you could be doing some harm to your feet. I’m not saying it’s always a bad idea but unless you know what is wrong how can you treat it. Where does it hurt?

My husband doesn’t have RA but gets heal pain. He does exercises that relieve it might be worth looking them up.

[Brychni in reply to medway-lady]

They hurt literally everywhere but especially on the soles but at the back and on the rims of the heels. I have a big fibroma on my left foot which causes a kind of stinging pain either side. Pain travels up the legs and both ankles are often bad too. Done all the exercises which I researched myself, I do various exercises all the time but they don't achieve anything.Podiatry did ultrasound on the bottom and saw fluid in both but didn't know why it was there. They just shrugged and said probably my 'underlying condition '. Was told I would have another appointment early December but it never happened. They told me the insoles ud sourced myself were good but beyond that I wasn't offered any explanation about my extremely painful feet.

[medway-lady in reply to Brychni]

That sounds awful, I had Neuroma’s removed and my painful left foot straightened. A few years ago now and the pain stopped. I don’t know anything else to suggest. Sorry it is so debilitating when feet hurt. Before the operation insoles made my pain a lot worse but luckily only my left foot was affected. So I went private but the operation was NHS as I didn’t see a podiatrist but an Orthopaedic Surgeon was said the insoles were wrong.

[Nodule in reply to Brychni]

Hello from Pennsylvania, USA. I am a Physical therapist. It sounds more like plantar fasciitis. The heel cups would make this worse. Look up plantar fasciitis, usually the best treatment is the nighttime splint and daytime stretches!! Hope this helps.

[Brychni in reply to Nodule]

Hi there! Thanks for the advice. The pain is mainly at the back of my feet. I do stretches all the time: in the car , at work, watching TV, in the shower! I also do toe exercises. Then I do some floor exercises in the morning and at work I do some squats while making coffee and going to the loo. I started going for walks in my lunch break when I remember to take my trainers but even with my usual insoles I'm in agony almost immediately.The scan I had showed fluid in both heels and after extensive research I think I have fat pad atrophy and apparently there's not much I can do about that. I think the chances of me ever getting an appointment with podiatry are pretty slim. It's been suggested that I go private but the costs here are just too much.

[whitedog in reply to Brychni]

I just wondered, if you were to walk around the house in just socks or flat slippers, is it any better?

I notice the mention of plantar fasciitis above and, interestingly, I was watching a specialist on You Tube talking about the best footwear for it and she recommended the barefoot type shoes and boots you can now get. She did say, for some, it might need a gradual move towards them.

I was surprised, as some footwear brands she didn't recommend included Brooks and I always thought they were good as I found their running shoes comfortable. But she was pointing out that so many issues are caused by the arch being set too high and the toe area not being wide enough.

[Brychni in reply to whitedog]

Walking around house with just socks is agony so I always wear thick socks and sheepskin slippers but they're not supportive so I'm just in the process of looking for arch support slippers. I think it is because I have not enough fat on my soles. It actually feels like bone on skin 😩 with absolutely no cushioning.

[whitedog in reply to Brychni]

Sounds awful. 😥 Hope you can find something more comfortable.

I wear an old pair of soft fabric Skechers chugga boots inside now. Very slight lift.

[cyberbarn]

It sounds like (assuming you are in England) that it might be a good idea to go to PALS that over sees your podiatrist. Not all insoles are equal, and it sounds like the heal cup isn't the right one for you.

If you can find out whether your podiatrist was under an NHS hospital trust or one of these new positions in a GP surgery, you will be able to figure out which PALS office to go to.

You might also want to talk to your local HealthWatch. If enough people tell them about problems like not receiving another appointment when they should, they will take it up with the ICB.

[Cheesechurch]

I found that heel cup did not help my heal pain too. What had helped me the most is buying running shoes and having insoles made for me by private podarist. They are temporary one at the moment.I was told the insole I had were too hard. Have you been to see your doctor. He can refer you to a physio to some exercise to do. Also the doctor could refer you to NHS podarist.

[Shadow35]

I had the plantar fasciite and the achille tendon affect by the spondylarthrite. I had to take biologic treatment to reduce the inflammation because nothing work. I was walking with a cane and at some point a walking boot and the podiatrist told me to stop exercice during the inflammation period that last six month. Trying to stop walking on it. When the inflammation is gone then you can gently exercice and stretch. The more you do the more you can damage it. Prednisone help for the inflammation for a short period but after 5 biologic injection all the inflammation was gone. It's sad but the best thing is ice and wait. I just start walking normally in january with the little step in my shoes and i start without them last week. But my feet is still not 100% like before and the podiatrist told me because i had inflammation for so long it's possible it never gonna came back totally perfect. Good luck