UKC

Now I might be talking out my backside, but I think I've self diagnosed myself as having PF.

For the last 5 days or so, I've woken up in the morning with my right heel in agony, taken brufen for it which has done bugger all. As I walk on it during the day, it gets better then worse in the evening when rested.

Sharp pain all along the bottom of my sole along with a very painful heel and a lot of pain just under the ankle bone on the outside of my right foot. No idea how it happened, didn't injure it in any way but possibly related to an achilles full rupture?

So then, I can't rest it as I'm a stay at home dad and that Isn't an option, brufen ain't doing it so looking online, some sort of insert?

Anyway, does it sound like PF to anyone who has had it and if so, how did you manage to treat it?

Thanks in advance, Den

In reply to Denni: I have it on good authority that Plantar faciitis is as common as 'runners knee' which by any stretch of the imagination doesn't really exist

In reply to Denni:
Sounds like it could be mate...the pain in the morning as you get up is a symptom.....I got some arch supports for my shoes which eventually did the trick, but it took a while...

In reply to Denni:

Can you weight it when you get up in the morning? I certainly couldn't. Mine was treated with a night splint. This holds your foot at just over 90° to your lower leg. Imagine lying on your back - your foot flops down and the plantar fascia contracts. If it's inflamed and it's allowed to contract, then when you get up and weight it, this stretches it and it's very painful. By wearing a splint the plantar fascia is prevented from contracting and this makes weight bearing far less painful. Does this make sense? youtube.com/watch?v=vsefMtyEEDg&

In reply to Denni: Not sure about the pain by the ankle bone. When I had it it was almost solely confined to pain in the heel area. Felt like i had bruised the bone in my heel. Golf ball rolled under the arch of the foot, whilst pressing hard (extremely painful!) solved it for me in just over a month. Good luck!

In reply to Denni:As Jon says I could`nt put weight on my feet first thing in the morning.The pain subsided during the day.Giving up Kayaking seems to have been a great help,I dont know if that is an option for you!

In reply to Denni:
PF is really shite. I suffered badly from it around eight years ago. Taping with good quality physio tape on the sole will take the strain off the ligament and give a better chance of healing, however, the area of the tear is not best supplied with blood vessels so the rehabilitation will take time. If you can get your doctor to give you a cortisone injection this may be the way, for me,it worked like magic.

In reply to jon:

Hi Jon,
If I put weight on it in the morning, Im in agony. Unfortunately I don't have an option to rest it as I'm full time looking after my daughter so just have to crack on.

I've cut off some sorbathane heel pads and put them in my shoes which eases the pain. My mate is a an endurance runner and he has had it. He was treated by the Navy rehab team, splints, massage, ultrasound and inserts, took about 2 months!

Looking on the net, I spend at least 6 months of the year wearing flip flops so that may have contributed to it and a lot of time in our kayak pushing against the foot rests so maybe ALS contributory?

Either way, it's bloody painful! Will check out the YouTube vid and report back. Cheers for the replies folks, much appreciated.

In reply to Denni:http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Plantar-Fasciitis.htm

In reply to Denni: sounds like it alright. I had this an the start of the year and only just getting over it... a nightmare. The thing I found worked best for me was one of these kinda things http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0052KMVGE/ref=asc_df_B0052KMVGE10487449?smid=A2... and lots of streching the tendon, esp before you get out of bed. For me it was finding what worked for me. I tried massage and rolling a ball and frozen cans of pop. for me this made it worse. Agree through brufen is no use!

In reply to Denni:

I'm just getting over it and its bloody painful and takes months to clear up. I did plenty of research on it and as far as I could tell there was no fast cure. For me, decent footwear all the time helps but resist gettinng over supported as it slows the healing. Regularly stretch the foot / calves by putting the front of your foot against the wall and gently leaning forward. Firmly massage the area as often as possible by rolling something like a tennis ball around with the foot.

In reply to GrahamD:

Thanks for all the replies and advice folks, very helpful. Am off to the doc today to see what's up.

I'll be gutted if it is, seems to take bloody ages to sort itself out and just when I was starting my "lose my stay at home dad, middle aged belly"!

In reply to Denni:

It's not so much resting it - it's more not letting it contract when you do rest it (in my experience anyway). This is the splint I had: http://www.amazon.com/Healwell-Plantar-Fasciitis-Resting-Comfort/dp/B000RDM... They are not cheap but are very effective. You can experiment to see if one would help you using a crepe bandage wrapped around your foot and ankle with one strand of it running from your toes to your ankle to prevent your foot flopping down - firm but not too tight. Try this overnight. If, when you get up in the morning it's less painful, then a splint will help you. The advantage of a splint over a crepe bandage is that you can put it on and take it off so much easier/quicker than a bandage and it obviously provides a firmer support without being too tight.

In reply to Denni:

I started taking ibuprofen after doing things which seemed to aggravate it. In particular after a long hill walk I used to be hobbling out of the car after a 30 in trip home, whereas the ibuprofen helped enormously.

I also put some supafeet footbeds in my walking boots and work shoes.

The above seemed to work and it hasn't come back for years.

I tried using some of the ankle splints that are worn at night. They helped with the plantar fasciitis but also reduced sleep and a man who is naked apart from some minimalist ski boots seemed not to be an attractive proposition.

In reply to Denni:

Does indeed sound like PF. Contracted it myself in my right foot about 3-4 months ago. Self diagnosed, plus confirmed by a subsequent visit to the docs. Doctor advised some stretching and rolling exercises which were very effective. Told her that I enjoy hill walking and running and the thought of stopping for months was thoroughly depressing. She told me to continue with my activities as long as the pain was bearable. Better to suffer a bit in the outdoors rather than stay off my feet and get thoroughly depressed! Hill walking works wonders - going up hill stretches the foot nicely. Unfortunately down hill sections were agony initially. However, after 6 weeks I was bimbling up some 9000ft summits in the Balkans without a care in the world and running 5-7 miles 2 or 3 times a week. Now, despite an occasional, minor dull ache, it's pretty much back to business as usual. For me, stretching and rolling the foot religiously every evening in front of the TV seemed to work wonders.

In reply to Denni: Could be..

Mine is agony in the mornings but I could weight it, it was front of the heal, right along the plantar..

Mine was lots of calf stretching, massaging with frozen drinks bottles, tennis balls, rolling the foot on them, and trail running.. I managed it.. and never really dropped my mileage.

In reply to higherclimbingwales:

One day you might be unfortunate enough to get plantar fasciitis and you'll realise what agony it is and how it can impact on your life for months at a time. In the meantime go and crawl back under that stone and don't come out until you've got something constructive to say.
Co:

In reply to Denni: Hey! I get pain from this a lot thanks to a fibula that regularly drifts out of place! Things that help... rest (yawn!), rolling the foot on a massager/tennis ball in the evenings, hot/cold packs, stretching, evil sports massage! Things that aggravate... running, walking in soft boots or shoes, high arch insoles or footbeds. My green superfeet are good but some others are higher and hurt more. For relief i sometimes walk in really flat shoes for a day. Go to an osteopath too... if it has come on suddenly it might be your fibula drifting too, as apparently it's common. Co:

In reply to Denni:

I found the best thing is to tape your feet. Pull the tendon back up under your foot. You can buy kits in Boots that are pre-cut for this, they're about a fiver and really work.

http://www.kinesioprecut.co.uk/precut/precut-foot.jsp

here's how to apply them
youtube.com/watch?v=hcHXq9vixZE&

In reply to Denni:

Whenever mine has flared up I've found that stopping bouldering, ibuprofen, padded footwear, calf stretching and generally mincing about on the balls of my feet eventually calms it down. The doctor did give me an information leaflet on managing it but it was mostly aimed at the inactive elderly, I was already doing most of what was suggested as part of day to day life.

jk

In reply to Denni: my doc has diagnosed me with this. however i saw a physio and they sais it wasn't. they basically pressed on my arch and said if it was PF i would have hit the roof. which i didn't. hope this helps.

In reply to ruttingstag: Haha.. My physio tried that.. I all but kicked him.. agony.

To a point the earlier poster was right.. PF tends to be a generic diagnosis.. like shin splints.. when Ithink there are a good number of other conditions, similar tendonitis issues which maybe the issue..

In reply to IainRUK:

Well, the doc reckons that I have the symptoms but she doesn't think it is PF. She did suggest that it may be something related to a full achilles rupture from years ago but not definate. I'm not wuite sure I agree with that but she is the doc.

So I've been given some stretches, been told to stick a ball under my foot and take brufen and if it Isn't better in a few weeks, then she will refer me to have a scan.

In the meantime, mates physio/rehab specialist wife is coming round tomorrow to have a look so she may have something different to say about it all.

Still bloody sore though!

In reply to Denni: Sounds good progress.. pain at a sight is often a referred pain from another issue.. its why I like going to my osteopath, he takes a holistic view and works out my issues.. I never knew but I always lean when I stand, constantly tight calfs.. so bad feet..

In reply to IainRUK:

As you say Ian, referred pain could be the problem. I did think it may have been an issue with how I stand and walk etc but I had one of those comprehensive gait analysis things at my local running shop in March and all was good.

Probably all in my mind!