Heel pain (Bursitis) and Plantar Fasciitis

[KellyBo]

I saw a wonderful podiatrist today because I've been having a lot of foot pain lately. I've seen others comment about having similar pain so I thought I would share what the doctor told me. I have tried expensive inserts, better shoes, stretching, night splints, NSAIDS etc and I wasn't getting much relief. I was told I have bursitis in my heel as well as plantar fasciitis.

I was so excited when he showed me a plastic heel cup (less than $10) that would immediately relieve my heel pain. He mashed on my heel and I almost came off the table. Then he put this cup over my heel and mashed again and I felt no pain at all. I've tried everything and here's a cheap little heel cup to give me relief. This is what it looks like. I can't believe how much relief I'm getting from it.

This is how he's treating the plantar fasciitis (once daily, about one hour prior to bed):

• Soak feet in very hot water 20-30 minutes.
• Roll foot and arch over a Coke bottle, can of soup, rolling pin (long and narrow, not a golf ball or tennis ball like I've been doing) for 3-5 minutes. This should be a gentle massage and stretch, do not aggravate the foot by pushing down hard.
• Stretch your foot and ankle by making a loop with a belt or towel around the ball of the foot so you have two ends to pull the foot up towards you. Keep the knee as straight as possible, pull the foot back as far as possible until you feel it pull in the heel and arch, hold for a count of 5 then relax. Repeat 20-30 times.
• Ice the foot and heel either in ice water or set your foot on top of a cold compress or frozen peas or corn for 15 minutes.

He also prescribed Voltaren 75mg (anti-inflammatory)

 

[Parshooter36]

Good luck to you Kelly. I hope the heel cups continue to work for you, I went through this 15 years ago and the pain can be excruciating!

 

[JB]

Good luck KB.

 

[Trout Bum]

Good luck Kelly Bo, sounds like you guys have a good plan for attacking it.

 

[Miller Time]

Feel better, KB! We need to get together and tee it up soon!

 

[wadesworld]

Good luck KB. My mom went through this and hers is pretty much resolved. She has to deal with a flareup every now and then, but it's manageable.

 

[BIGBALL]

Good stuff Kelly! I have been having issues with BOTH feet - and it is annoying - and painful. I tore the plantar fasciitis on my right foot 2 years ago, and the Dr I saw said there was nothing to be done, and never prescribed so much as a boot. I stretch that foot often, and I can usually keep the pain at bay. My left foot is another issue - the plantar on that foot is constantly sore, but worse is that I get a great deal of pain in the instep onto the top of the foot. My wife the PT thinks it may be a stress fracture. I went to the football game last Sunday, and had to walk about a mile back and forth to the stadium. When I got home, the instep and moreso the top, was swollen and very painful even if just brushed. I have an appointment with a podiatrist next week. Hope you get better Kelly - and I am going to try some of that stuff you posted before I see him. As an aside - I think a lot of problems with the foot can be traced to how we walk.

 

[Bear4ever]

Glad you found some way to relieve that pain and discomfort. I went through a light case of PF last year but I can't imagine having both. Sorry.
Hope the treatment regimen is successful and quick.

 

[flog2424]

Get to feelin better Kelly Bo

 

[airguard]

I also have/had Plantar Fasciitis. The pain after walking 18 was very bad, finally went to the Dr and he ordered some inserts for my shoes. He told me in a month it would be better, well it took 3 months but it is 99.9% better. It is very painful, glad it's gone!

 

[flog2424]

Kelly, what is the Ole Grayism for this foot pain?

 

[Ole Gray]

Kelly, what is the Ole Grayism for this foot pain?

My feet hurt like they got stuck in a corn grinder while walking bare foot through a briar bush!

KellyBo has really had to deal with a bunch of pain lately. I can see it in her face and the pain is so bad she can't walk our dog any longer. As least that's her story . jk Hell it's my arse hurting and her foot so maybe if she kicks me in the arse and I step on her foot, all will be well

 

[subvet]

I too have plantar fascitis, but so far, only in my left foot. It's murder getting out of bed in the morning. I cant possibly walk 18 as my left foot is killing me after about 13 holes riding in a cart. I have been seeing a chiropractor for other problems and he's prescribed Cal Amo tablets (2/day) I don't know if it's doing anything. I'm not a big believer in homeopathy but thought I'd try them. The things smell/taste awful too, so my patience is running thin with that bit of therapy. I had my annual physical yesterday with my regular Dr. He prescribed xrays to determine if there are any bone spurs in there. Got the results on that today and I'm clean. Glad there is no surgery in my future but it means it's not something they can "fix"

I do a lot of calf stretches and it seems to help a bit. I also bought one of those boots that prevent you from straightening out our foot/ankle, and I wear that to bed at night. That is the one thing that has really seemed to help the intense pain with those first steps in the morning. I'll try the soaking/stretching and soup can routine at night and see if that helps.

Thanks for your post.

 

[Drumdog]

I went through this about a year ago. I tried the boot, shoe implants and NSAIDS, none of it helped.
I ended up going to a physical terrorist that worked over the bottom of my foot with some plastic tools and then heat.
He also had me freeze a bottle of water and roll my foot over it for as long as I could take it.
I would spend a lot of time on THP while I was rolling my frozen water bottle on the floor.
One other thing that helped was called a Strassburg Sock. It worked similarly to the boot, but not as clunky, no barked shins and it did a better stretch than the boot.

Hope you get better soon Kelly !

 

[BIGBALL]

I went through this about a year ago. I tried the boot, shoe implants and NSAIDS, none of it helped.
I ended up going to a physical terrorist that worked over the bottom of my foot with some plastic tools and then heat.
He also had me freeze a bottle of water and roll my foot over it for as long as I could take it.
I would spend a lot of time on THP while I was rolling my frozen water bottle on the floor.
One other thing that helped was called a Strassburg Sock. It worked similarly to the boot, but not as clunky, no barked shins and it did a better stretch than the boot.

Hope you get better soon Kelly !

I saw this sock when I bought my last pair of shoes at Charm City Run... might have to snag a pair. Think they were like 40.00 if I remember correctly - but probably worth it!

 

[Shankosaurus]

I had a little bout with plantar about a year ago. While my episode doesn't seem as severe as Kelly Bo's, I sure don't want to have it any worse.

After butt-bumping down the stairs a few days to get to work, I had to try a few things and, lucky for me, they worked. I tried the Dr. Scholl's Heel Pain inserts, and they took a lot of the pain away. I also went to a Dr. Scholl's machine and got the fitting for inserts in my bowling shoes. They did the trick. I also got some new shoes for work. The Clark's Wave series is engineered to conform to the way you walk, and that was the final piece of the puzzle.

Believe me, if you've never had this, you don't want it.

 

[Parshooter36]

I went through this about a year ago. I tried the boot, shoe implants and NSAIDS, none of it helped.
I ended up going to a physical terrorist that worked over the bottom of my foot with some plastic tools and then heat.
He also had me freeze a bottle of water and roll my foot over it for as long as I could take it.
I would spend a lot of time on THP while I was rolling my frozen water bottle on the floor.
One other thing that helped was called a Strassburg Sock. It worked similarly to the boot, but not as clunky, no barked shins and it did a better stretch than the boot.

Hope you get better soon Kelly !

I had those and the boots. Not the most comfortable way to sleep, but they definitely help with that first step out of bed in the morning.