Plantar Fascitis

[Guest guest]

Hi Ann,

Yes, plantar fascitis is what I was diagnosed with. They gave me anti-

inflammation pills that caused internal bleeding, and then I saw a

physical therapist for a long time. I have had this for 1.5 years at

least. It never really goes away.

Do you know of a real cure for it?

Ruth

> ----- Original Message -----

> From: " Ruth Castle " <librarymind@y...>

>

> > Sometimes I've even wondered if my body could try to

> > store undigested food there. Someone suggested that

> > the body can do things like that if a person has leaky

> > gut syndrome.

>

> That would be physically impossible. Who is the " someone " that

suggested

> that?

>

> Plantar fasciitis is very painful. Do a web search and see if that

sounds

> like the pain you've been feeling.

>

> Ann

[Guest guest]

> Yes, plantar fascitis is what I was diagnosed with.

I had it for over a year, too.

They gave me anti-

> inflammation pills that caused internal bleeding,

Any anti-inflammatory can cause that, unfortunately. Most docs will put you

on a mild one for just a few weeks at at time to prevent that bleeding.

and then I saw a

> physical therapist for a long time. I have had this for 1.5 years at

> least. It never really goes away.

Exercise made mine worse. I had to do frequent stretching of that foot,

alternate ice with heat, wear a wedged heel shoe, and baby it. Staying off

of it caused me more pain than being on it most days, yet standing was

pretty painful as it was.

> Do you know of a real cure for it?

In my case, it didn't go away until I lost 35 pounds, then it just went

away. Now that my weight is starting to creep back up again, I do get the

pain coming back now and then, which is why I'm *trying* to stick as close

to McDougall as I can to keep it from going up any more.

Did your podiatrist make you an orthotic for your shoes? That's usually a #1

thing suggested, as well as the wedged heel shoe - flats are definitely out.

Sue in NJ

[Guest guest]

The physical therapist I went to shaped some arch things for my

shoes. But they hurt so, so badly that I couldn't cope with them at

all.

Hopefully losing some weight holds out some hope for me. I did lose

25 pounds about the same time I got the plantar fascitis. I have kept

that weight off. But then I plateaued at five pounds more than I am

at now. I kept that plateau for 1.5 years. Hopefully I can go down

another 15 pounds at least to the next plateau down, which I was

previously at for quite some time.

Of course ... I'm not going to do that very fast as long as I'm

eating at places like I did today. One setback isn't the whole battle

though. I must continue to have faith that I will do this.

The physical therapist also told me never to go around in bare feet,

including indoors. I still do, though (indoors). I didn't wear

sandals this summer, though.

What does McDougal tell you to do?

Ruth

> > Yes, plantar fascitis is what I was diagnosed with.

>

> I had it for over a year, too.

>

>

> They gave me anti-

> > inflammation pills that caused internal bleeding,

>

> Any anti-inflammatory can cause that, unfortunately. Most docs will

put you

> on a mild one for just a few weeks at at time to prevent that

bleeding.

>

>

> and then I saw a

> > physical therapist for a long time. I have had this for 1.5 years

at

> > least. It never really goes away.

>

> Exercise made mine worse. I had to do frequent stretching of that

foot,

> alternate ice with heat, wear a wedged heel shoe, and baby it.

Staying off

> of it caused me more pain than being on it most days, yet standing

was

> pretty painful as it was.

>

>

> > Do you know of a real cure for it?

>

> In my case, it didn't go away until I lost 35 pounds, then it just

went

> away. Now that my weight is starting to creep back up again, I do

get the

> pain coming back now and then, which is why I'm *trying* to stick

as close

> to McDougall as I can to keep it from going up any more.

>

> Did your podiatrist make you an orthotic for your shoes? That's

usually a #1

> thing suggested, as well as the wedged heel shoe - flats are

definitely out.

>

> Sue in NJ

[Guest guest]

----- Original Message -----

From: " Ruth " <librarymind@...>\

> The physical therapist also told me never to go around in bare feet,

> including indoors. I still do, though (indoors). I didn't wear

> sandals this summer, though.

That was the most important thing that made my feet feel better. I used to

kick my shoes off the second I stepped in the door but my feet feel so much

better if I wear shoes inside. I have to make myself do it but it does

work, especially if you're going to be washing dishes on the tile floor or

something like that. I still kick my shoes off pretty often when on carpet

but I try to put them on before I head into the kitchen. Try it for a month

and I think you'll feel a lot better.

Ann

[Guest guest]

> What does McDougal tell you to do?

He never mentions things like that, but he does claim that neuro-muscular

disorders & arthritis will improve by keeping to a vegan very low fat, whole

grain diet. Well, he claims it can help just about everything under the sun,

from diabetes to hangnails. Remember, everyone is different.

http://www.drmcdougall.com/science/implications.html

[Guest guest]

> > The physical therapist also told me never to go around in bare feet,

> > including indoors.

That went along with my doc's advice to always wear wedged heels. He

included slippers in that. He said going barefoot is what caused the

problem, and I agreed - I could tell him the exact time and date it

happened, and it *was* from walking barefoot on a concrete slab flood in my

father's house the day we got off the train in Florida.

>I still do, though (indoors).

I went crazy trying to find a pair of slippers with a wedge heel and never

could, so I bought myself a cheapo pair of clogs at Payless that I use as

slippers.

But even with doing that for a year, it wasn't until I took off that weight

when it went away.

Sue in NJ

[Guest guest]

PF occurs when you stretch the plantar fascia (a non-elastic tissue

that attaches on either end of the arch of your foot). The more you

weigh, the more you flatten out your foot when you stand and walk, and

then the more you stress and inflame the plantar fascia. " itis " is

how we refer to an inflamation of any tissue. As time goes by, a heal

spur will develop in the " pucker " caused in the tissue that is pulled

away from the sole aspect of your heal. This is just nature filling a

void. Small heal spurs in this area are at the beginning of the

process when you hurt the most. Larger spurs will develop and " bridge

the gap " , relaxing the stress on the plantar fascia. (Shortens the

distance between two points.) While you wait for the most painful part

of the process to pass, assisted by weight loss, etc, you can help

yourself by NEVER walking flat footed and barefoot. You can get

slippers with a one inch wedge heal from Green(Dillards, Macys,

etc) and put them next to your bed and always slip them on when you get

up, even if only for a trip to the bathroom. If you forget them, walk

on your tip toes to and from the bathroom. Just NEVER stretch that

fascia. Let it heal and then protect it by wearing at least a one inch

heal. Beware that some shoes will even put your heal lower than the

rest of your foot making things worse. Many burkenstocks do this. You

may want to see a podiatrist and let him inject a steroid into the

fascia to settle down an acute flare up. Your podiatrist will also

suggest " orthodics " to be custom made and worn in your shoes. This is

to keep your heal elevated an inch and give arch support. Make sure

you are on a one inch heal at all times when you are vertical and give

it some time. This can take years. As time goes by, you will notice

you are doing the painful dance much less in the morning and when you

have been sitting a while. One day, those spurs will become long

enough to give you the comfort you need and you will be able to wear

any shoe and walk bare footed on the beach. Patience!!! Hope that

helps. Deborah

[Guest guest]

Deborah,

Thank you so much. That was the best explanation I have ever seen on this

subject. Certainly more information than my doctor gave me. I have had this

condition twice, once several years ago and again as recently as a year ago. It

was in both heels. I no longer have the excruciating pain, but I don't

really know for sure if is because of something I did to treat it, or if it was

just the natural resolution of a larger spur bridging the gap as you explained.

In any case, I'll list below the things I did to treat it and hope it is

helpful to someone.

In an attempt to treat it without the use of an anti inflammatory, I went

for acupuncture treatments three times a week for four weeks. This took care

of most of the pain but left some residual discomfort.

I did the exercises to stretch the arch and the Achilles tendon twice a day

and also stretched the foot by pointing the toes up toward the knee every

time I got up from a chair or from bed. I still do this as it has become a

habit.

I iced the heels twice a day and found a very convenient way to do it. I

got two bags of frozen peas and marked them " Do not eat " with a permanent

marker. I would take them out of the freezer and toss them on the floor under

my

desk. I would nestle my heels down into them while I read my email. After

about 10 or 15 minutes I put them back into the freezer to be used over and

over again. Worked great. Give them a rap on the counter if you need to

loosen them up when you first take them out. Just throw them away when you no

longer need them.

And last but not least, this is the most important thing. I just cannot

stress it enough. NEVER, NEVER, EVER WALK BAREFOOTED, not even to go from your

bed to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Keep a shoe that has some

support and can be easily stepped into next to you bed at night. I bought some

Crocs in a couple of colors and wear them in the house ALWAYS. Seriously, I

won't walk from my chair to the sofa without my shoes, even on the soft

carpet. The Crocs are really kinda ugly, but they work great for this. The

elevation is right, they're cushy, they have a nice heel cup and arch support,

and are easy to step in and out of, so there is less temptation to take the

chance and walk barefooted. Plus they are rubber, so they work great at the

pool. I slip them off and leave them right by the pool steps, then step into

them as soon as I get out. Walking on concrete or tile is the worst. I don't

use an orthodic, just a sturdy walking show when I exercise. I have both New

Balance and Propet.

Lastly, I have recently heard about a fairly new treatment called

cryotherapy or cryosurgery where they eliminate the pain by freezing the nerve.

I have

a friend who had this minimally invasive surgical treatment for a different

condition called neuroma, but I understand it is also used for Plantar

Fascitis. I don't know a lot about it, but I did a google search on

" Cryosurgery

for plantar fascitis " and found plenty of info. Something I will consider if it

comes back.

Sheila F

[Guest guest]

I had plantar fascitis and was able to cure it without injections, surgery

or drugs. I bought a pair of Berkenstock sandals. I wore them for 2 years

non-stop and it went away. I now wear them only when I am at home - from the

time I wake up until the time I go to bed. I passed this along to a friend of

mine and it worked for her too!

[Guest guest]

I just had to comment on the going barefoot, etc. While my

podiatrist does recommend never going barefoot in plantar fasciitis

patients, especially on hard floors, it doesn't always help. For

example, I broke my left ankle 20+ years ago. It left me with severe

arthritis in my left ankle and little range of motion .. in other

words flat shoes are definitely out for me. Even athletic shoes can

be a problem. That said .. I am pretty much NEVER flat footed or

bare footed. The shoes I wear around the house are 1 to 1-1/2 inch

wedge " heels " . I do keep then next to the bed, etc. because if I

don't I can barely walk when first getting up. I almost always have

at least an inch of wedge. My right foot is the one that I had the

problem with and ultimately needed surgery for, the " good foot " . I

just wanted to say that just the wedge, etc. may not be the answer

for everyone.. it certainly wasn't for me.

in GA

> You can help

> yourself by NEVER walking flat footed and barefoot. You can get

> slippers with a one inch wedge heal from Green(Dillards,

Macys,

> etc) and put them next to your bed and always slip them on when you

get

> up, even if only for a trip to the bathroom. If you forget them,

walk

> on your tip toes to and from the bathroom. Just NEVER stretch that

> fascia. Let it heal and then protect it by wearing at least a one

inch

> heal.

[Guest guest]

I couldn't live without my Berkenstocks! They really helped me, along with the

exercises, when I had a problem with plantar fascitis. I've heard some doctors

recommend Berks and some don't like them at all, but they helped me.

in NC

Grime@... wrote:

I had plantar fascitis and was able to cure it without injections,

surgery

or drugs. I bought a pair of Berkenstock sandals. I wore them for 2 years

non-stop and it went away. I now wear them only when I am at home - from the

time I wake up until the time I go to bed. I passed this along to a friend of

mine and it worked for her too!