Plantar Fasciitis

I suffer with this too. I use Voltarol and I wear
Arch support insoles - - even.in my slippers! There are a number of exercise things that you can buy too. I tend to have flare ups , will be ok for a while and then once again I am in pain. Hope you manage to get some relief.

Perhaps I was lucky in that my experience of this nasty problem was over in a few months. I walked with a stick to take the weight off the affected foot, my podiatrist gave me a small shoe lift to correct my gait, and I did find the exercise that gave the most relief was standing on the bottom stair, with heels over the edge, and lowering my heels as far as I could to stretch the underside of my foot and the backs of my legs. I hope it goes soon - it is literally crippling while it lasts.

I am so pleased (and sorry) to hear from ladies with same condition.
After 4 months of constant pain, I was beginning to think I was the only one with this condition.
I have exhausted Amazon's remedies for Plantar Fasciitis, but sterile injection I haven't tried
Not sure if my GP would agree to it, but anything is worth being able to walk the dogs again.
Thank you

Try Vionic insoles. I use these for my flat feet. I have had two bunion ops and these insoles are the only ones that stop my feet hurting. Vionic shoes come with in built arch support. Even sandals. I never wear slippers. I keep a pair of trainers for
the house and use my insoles all day.

I found a set of exercises on NHS website (think it was that one) which involve stretching exercises. This worked for me.

I get this on and off. A recent tip I got was to draw out the alphabet with your feet before getting out of bed! Sounds daft but has helped

Would definitely get it diagnosed from a doctor or podiatrist as my pain was only in the heels- and definately not at night- nor when i was'nt actually walking or on my feet! Doc said its the faschi- definitely plantar fasciitis! He advised support (&the rubbery heel supports you can get are very good- excercising them as stretching the foot up& down works the muscles and rolling on a iced bottle of water or similar.Rest legs & feet raised up when resting.try stay off feet when possible.Takes months (doc said around 9mths) he was right.

I tried stretching, exercises, insoles, heel supports, sturdy slippers, Voltarol, etc., etc. all on GP recommendations plus what I found online. Suffered on/off for years, GP said it would go eventually and it did. Woke up one day several years ago, no pain and touch wood, none since.

Saw a physio at local hospital who showed me a way to tape up my bad foot and it went in a week never to return

I used to get this and found FitFlops. Never looked back. Have leather sandals which I use for slippers and they’re wonderful.
Try a pair second hand from EBay! That’s how I started wearing them, but will try Haflingers someone recommended on here. Good luck. Really painful

I have had it fairly regularly and found the best thing was, arch supports, gel ice pack under your instep and rolling a small hard ball such as a golf ball under your instep all helps a lot. Wearing supportive shoes also good. I use my gel supports at the first sign of pain and because the are on a wide stretchy sleeve I can wear them with anything including sandals and slippers! It’s known for being worse in the night 😢

Dreadful pain,I bought lots of inner soles for shoes,rested my foot ,then discovered Fitflop shoes…the best ever! Such relief!

I had shock wave treatment for this when I lived in France and it worked. The treatment was uncomfortable but not unbearably so.

Steroid injection in heel…. had to go back three days later for a 2nd jab….i was pain free within 1/2 hour and that was 30 years ago….never looked back !

I have throbbing feet, especially seems to be worst at night. I have seen a NHS podiatrist, who told me he could find nothing wrong with my feet, although I have a short achilleas tendon. Advised me to wear running trainers with a higher heel. The only advice my doctor could give me was to take paracetamol! The problem seem to go away last summer but is now back.

Steroid injections gave short term relief. The only thing that cored in permanently was shock wave therapy

Cured (not cored) 🙄

I've never used Voltarol. I had this painful condition in one foot several years ago. I blame wearing shoes - sensible, comfortable shoes in fact - but they didn't have enough support for my heels. I found a website 'Heel that pain' and used the foot exercises and advice from there. DH's NHS podiatrist advised stretching the calf and Achilles tendon. Now, I always wear Ecco shoes as the insoles are a bit cushioned and because I walk a lot rather than use the bus, maybe around 20 miles a week, this makes all the difference on pavements. When I wore 'smart' shoes recently my soles felt very tender the next day. So I know P-F may recur so I'm careful about footwear. From time to time I get a sharp pain up the inside of the affected foot when walking.

I found some exercises on YouTube that helped me.

I tried absolute everything and was already doing all the exercises as part of my daily exercise routine so eventually I had a cortisone injection via ultrasound. It worked brilliantly but two years later I need another one and the physio is insisting I do exercises first despite my protestations that I have always done them! I’m pretty fanatical about exercising and especially about the specific foot and calf strengthening one but she won’t budge!

You have my sympathy, I can confirm PF does go away, can be 5 to 12 weeks. The ‘it is’ implied inflammation but it’s actually ‘micro tears’ in the connective tissue. Keep taking the pain killers! 🌷🌷

I have this at the moment in right foot. Been going on for 3-4 months. Terribly painful. Usually eases off once I'm on the move, but I think it may be getting worse. If I'm on my feet all day, it becomes unbearable and I cannot stand up anymore. I cannot even get into the morning phone queue for the GP let alone see one as they quickly shut down appointments for the day. Great advice on here. Seems a common complaint. I was blaming it on hormone tablets, but seems they are not the culprit. Son has it too, same foot!

I had PF a few years ago when my job entailed being on my feet for 12-14 hours on a concrete floored warehouse. I did use Voltarol then, and rolling a frozen bottle of water under the soles. I’d got into a habit of wearing Uggs, warm but not supportive, so I switched to Adidas Terrex walking trainers and Hilly socks, and used flattened cardboard boxes as a mat to stand on.

My daughter gave me some Birkenstocks but they’re too narrow, I might look for a wider fit. Did anyone else wear wooden Scholls in the ‘70s? I had them in about six colours, and kept a couple of pairs under my desk. Then one of the young men in my office commented that they were hideous and as a timid 18 year old I promptly binned them!

Maybe see a podiatrist and get some good arch supports . Rub musselflex where it’s sore. Walking regularly eases pain quickly once you get going. I wear Birkenstock’s for slippers . Might be worth seeing dr just to make sure that is definitely what is the issue with your feet . Hope you feel better soon

Today was the first appointment with a physio.......since September 2022 I have had this. It is excruciating and debilitating. I'm a different woman to what I was just 8 months ago. Only today have I "officially" had it diagnosed. My own fault because I genuinely thought I could "walk through it". Ha.....if I knew then the pain I would be in, I wouldn't be so smug and would have contacted the Doctors surgery sooner within a week/two weeks....not months. They did a full MOT with blood tests first of all (I still hadn't been so lucky to get an appointment with a Doctor at this point. Nothing came back as untoward (I think they did this because it is in both feet) then I got referred to a physio which took a while to come through. I have bought FitFlops (that isn't flipflops (note - not the ones you wear on the beach) both for inside and out and Gabor do a roller ball trainer - similar to the BareFoot Masai technology that was about years ago. These shoes are a relief, but I have to change them often, even when I am out. The Fitflops to come home to are an absolute relief because by that time - usually - my feet are burning with pain. One time I was at work all day (on my feet) and had forgotten my pills (ibuprofen and paracetamol get me through a day) and I remember walking to the bus stop in a mist, the pain was so bad and shuffling one foot in front of the other thinking I wouldn't get home that evening without passing out in pain ....and then on the way home I was seriously thinking if they offered me a foot amputation I would have it. That is how bad the pain gets some days. I'm now doing exercises, on a healthy food diet minus alchohol and sugar. I have voltarol cream which I am constantly rubbing into my heels.....it's almost instant relief. I have a tin of peaches by the bed to roll my foot over and a stick to go to the toilet with in the night because I just cannot walk. I rigorously do my stretching exercises on my ankles. However, today the physio gave me more exercises and is convinced that this will be gone or at least easier within six weeks. I can live in hope. I have a foot vibrator and have purchased no end of gel inserts to no avail. However, a pair of green plastic cups have been a bit of a relief. Unfortunately, I am one of those people who finds it difficult to sit down in a day. I'm sorry if I am going on, but I have never had anything like this and to say that my life has been thwarted is an understatement. I am trying to deal with this. I'd like to bet that anyone who has it is overweight - am I right? Nobody ever says.....lose weight dear.....it will put less pressure on your feet. Not even my physio today and "13 stone of sheet excitement and all mine" is nothing to brag about. I am now on a mission. Lose weight before I genuinely have more problems and have just signed up for some strength training and body balancing. Interesting reading everyone's take on this. It really does help to hear how others cope with it. Best of luck.