Plantar Fasciitis, a pain in the...

FOOT!

I have talked to 3 different people this last week about foot issues.  You never really realize how much you take walking for granted until your feet encounter some kind dysfunction!  I had a massive flare of Plantar Fasciitis and a torn plantar ligament in early 2011.  Not like any foot pain I had felt before!  It feels like someone has caned the crap out of the bottoms of your feet, especially horrible in the morning.  Nothing that I did seemed to bring any sense of long-term relief.  After experimenting with a bunch of different things, I came up with a combo of options that helped.  Although being lazy, wearing a boot AND using crutches for 6+ weeks was the final “fix”.

Some different things that I tried:

1)      I cycled through multiple night splints.  One splint would often get uncomfortable during the night so I would switch to another.  There are dorsal styles that fit on the top of your foot and boot styles that fit under your foot.  I found that alternating both kept my irritation factor down.

2)      I rolled a frozen bottle of water on the floor with the underside my foot.  I also bought a gel ice pack that came with a cover and velcro strap.  It could be strapped to my foot if I propped it up.

3)      Compression socks!  Not comfortable but they help squeeze out excess fluid if swelling is an issue.

4)      Compression band to wear when you are around the house.  Amazing little device.

5)      Taping!  Yay for being an athletic trainer in college and taking Cramer Workshops.  I found arch taping to help.  I also just got into the habit of wrapping coban around my arch 4 to 5 times to support it if needed.

6)      The dreaded boot and crutches.  Awkward, slows you down, not so stylin’ but it did get me to the front of the airport security line 4 times…BONUS!  

7)      Cortisone shots.  You kind of need a podiatrist for this but the 3 shots that I had helped a lot for immediate relief.  Of course, as you feel better you start moving more thinking “everything is better”.  Don’t!  Be lazy until you have at least a week or more of pain-free walking.

8)      Note - I am not a Dr.  I do play Dr. Google on a daily basis though.  I took Ibuprofen 800 mg (3 times a day) OR Naproxen as per prescribed.  Both were what my podiatrist recommended to me.

If you know anyone that suffers from Plantar Fasciitis, feel free to forward this on to them.  Hope that my experience can help someone experience a little less pain.