Has anyone ever had Plantar Faciitis?

I have a mild version and use plastic heel cups in all shoes but sandals (which are cushioned).

I used to buy them from my Family Practitioner before he closed his practice. They look primitive but do the job; I have 8 pair. You can find fancier ones if you
Google “heel cups” but I love these.

http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Track-Field-Heel-Protectors/dp/B002AHF3OO/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1248573096&sr=8-5

Thanks for the info Gail

There is also the interesting fact that the one area of the body where the fat evaporates is on the bottom of your foot. The heel cups change the physics somehow. (And they are washable, and if squashed, can be remolded.)

I had it for awhile, and then like it came, it just went away on its own. Might be because I upgraded to more extreme arch support shoe inserts.

Probably. Did you lose any weight? I lost 40 lbs for a while and still had heel pain. Custom orthotics cost several hundred dollars, or am I overestimating?

@gailcalled, the cost quoted to me for custom orthotics is $400. I’m having foot issues. too.

@PandoraBoxx: Great balls of fire. My heel cups cost $15, but I had only the plantar fascitis. My arch is high.

I have had it for eight years. In both feet. So bad sometimes I can’t stand to have something tough the bottom of my foot. Much less put weight on it. I’ve had arches, casts, massages, and everything short of injections.
It comes and goes… but never fully disappears at any given time.

It will either get better with stretches, and rest or it won’t.

@asmonet: I’m sorry. You are truly too young to contend with that. Have you tried my cheap heel cups? My symptoms were only burning on the soles of my feet, though.

And I find that Saucony and Merrill walking shoes are very well-cushioned.

The only thing I can think of is to rest the muscles and tendons. Hope you feel better.

When I go on the treadmill it hurts to start with and then feels better within very few minutes-so I guess the stretching it’s doing at that point helps. I’ve been doing the stretching several times a day but tonight, it’s killing me. I wear good shoes. I really had to think about it, but I bought some of those ugly MBT round bottomed shoes a few months ago Best $300 I ever spent and they have really helped me not have any knee pain…I wish they worked on my foot!

I’ve lost 19 pounds since June, so maybe my evaporating fat is causing it? I’m gonna go with that…that makes it a little easier to bear.

@knitfroggy; How did you lose the weight? Congratulations.

What are MBTs?

My mother had it and what helped her was a type of plastic boot that she wore to bed every night that kept her foot up, like she was standing, even when she was asleep. This kept her foot from dropping forward while she slept, and it really helped. Another thing that she she did was try to pick up tissues from the floor with her toes to stretch her arch.

I heard Dr. Zorba Paster talking about this recently. He recommended never walking around barefoot, and wearing (authentic) Crocs for their cushiony support.

I had it for a while – about 6 months. I began stretching every chance I got. The best stretches were in the morning, while still in bed. I would be on my stomach with my feet hanging off the bed and stretch with my toes against the mattress. It worked great. I have had no trouble for at least 3 years.

2nd on the plastic boots, although I am sleaking for a cousin and not myself.

I’ve found that a couple of minutes (2–5) of jumping rope on a regular basis makes a difference.

Get your Crocs while you still can.

I developed it when I was playing a lot of tennis. I tried custom made orthotics (which were very expensive, but insurance covered them) and they may have alleviated it somewhat but not dramatically. What helped me the most was stretching as Lupin suggested. I would stand on a couple of books and drop my heels. There were others as well. And just the opposite of what simpleD said, going barefoot seemed to help tremendously.

@gailcalled Here is a link for MBT shoes. They are wonderful-not terribly attractive, but I don’t care, I just wear them to work and workout. I’ve lost the weight by just trying to eat better and I’ve been drinking a lot of water. And I’ve been walking on the treadmill, doing strength training and working on the cross trainer a little.

You can do the heel stretches anywhere, at a curb, on the bottom step of any stairway, at the gym. Stand with heels hanging off and let them drop. I find it useful to hang on to stairway rail. And start gradually.

@knitfroggy. Thanks. I’ll have a gander.

@All; My sister wears expensive orthothics also and loves her Croc slides. I hated them.