share: Severe Plantar Facitiis

Sorry to hear about your situation. PF is pretty common and many women over 50 have had some personal knowledge of the discomfort.That said, it still doesn't help you. I think if you are continuing to try all the exercises given to you with minimal results, it is time to look at a new Doctor. You may want to think about accupuncture and other alternative views.

Dear VickieA

I'm so sorry you're going through this - it's sounds horribly painful.

Here is some information from our Encyclopedia :

Treatments for Plantar Fasciitis include:

Rehabilitation Measures to Reduce Plantar Fascia Irritation
Avoid running and other activities that may worsen pain.
Apply ice or a cold pack to the heel and arch for 15 to 20 minutes, 4 times a day to relieve pain. Wrap the ice or cold pack in a towel. Do not apply the ice directly to your skin.
Night splint—A special splint that will hold your foot in a neutral position while sleeping.
Orthotics—Special shoe inserts provide support for the mid-arch region of your foot.
Begin stretching exercises to lengthen the Achilles tendon and plantar fascia as recommended by a health care professional. This is usually done when the acute pain has resolved or improved.
Medication
The following medications can relieve pain and inflammation:

Ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil)
Naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn)
Acetaminophen (Tylenol)
Aspirin

Procedures
Corticosteroid injections are controversial, but may be an option in some cases (may be given by a doctor). In certain cases, a new special type of sound wave called, extracorporeal shock wave, may be appropriate (also under the care of your doctor). At this time, this is generally a treatment for chronic, refractory cases.

Surgery
In a few cases, basic treatments don't help, and surgery is performed to cut the tight, swollen fascia. Heel spurs have not been proven to cause plantar fasciitis, and they do not need to be routinely surgically removed.

Prevention
To reduce your risk of getting plantar fasciitis:

Wear appropriate and well-fitted footwear during sports and exercise.
Do stretching exercises for the Achilles tendon and plantar fascia.
Increase intensity and duration of exercise gradually.
Maintain an appropriate weight.

I agree with you that if you can't move around, it's hard to lose weight. Are you cutting down on calories?

You seem to have tried many of the treatments talked about above. I suggest that you get in touch with the following organizations to see if they can help you further or find a specialist near you :

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
http://www.aaos.org

American Podiatric Medical Association
http://www.apma.org

Please also take a look at our Plantar Fasciitis page here : http://www.empowher.com/media/reference/plantar-fasciitis

Are you considering surgery if the inserts don't help? I cannot imagine living in this kind of pain, it sounds excruciating. Please update us a little and contact the websites I've given you to see if they can point you in the right direction. You have tried so many options without success so it may be time to look to another specialist.

Hi VickieA,

So sorry for your difficulty. There is a great grassroots website with an ask the doctor page and separate section about inserts for specific questions about them. It was started by a man named Scott who had severe plantar fascitiis. Click on "The book" on the top menu line which he wrote and after you read it post any question you like. Only doctors answer in the doctors section but fellow sufferers post on the other sections to share thoughts. http://heelspurs.com/index.html

Hope this helps.

I started wearing inserts made specifically for plantar fasciitis and got almost immediate relief and finally no more pain. If I feel it starting up again, I just start wearing the inserts.

My husband and myself had had it for years and we are curred, if you want to email me at home, maybe i can help. My husband ordered some inserts for his shoes from the AZ fair, no less, and you can no believe the difference, and his were bad like yours. I got luck with the shots and the foot exercises. i would recommend the exercises even for a bit. I will try and get the name of the place where my husband ordered the inserts, they are much different than the ones from the docs and they work great.... I know hard to believe

VickieA, I'm so sorry about what you're going through!

Nearly 3 years ago I suffered from plantar fasciitis myself in my right heel only and had to wear a brace for a couple of months 24/7. Then I gradually weaned from it to only a night brace for about a month, and also started wearing an insert made by my foot doctor. The combination of the months of rest, the insert and also doing daily calf and foot stretches made the pain disappear entirely. Then, last winter I trained for and ran a half-marathon. Sure enough, the plantar fasciitis came back and I barely made it through the run. But once I was done with the run, I took a big break from running (I still haven't started back up and probably won't), went back to wearing my night brace for about a month, and now the pain is gone again.

Long story short, my experience with plantar fasciitis appears to be from basic overuse and strain. Now I know better, from my past experience, and will continue to wear my insert and to walk and cycle and weight train for exercise rather than run. And, if I do feel pain again, I will go back to wearing the brace until the pain is completely gone. I hope you have good luck with the inserts! Let us know how they work for you. If by chance they don't help, there are lots of difference kinds out there.