Plantar Fasciitis - Morning Heel Pain

[oakweb]

This can be very painful and living in Thailand, it's hard to find the gadgets that help.

I purchased 2 of these splints on Amazon, and don't mind selling one to someone afflicted by this condition.

If anyone wants to purchase this one from me, just PM me. I'll sell it for the same price

listed on Amazon. Unfortunately they don't have them here in Thailand anywhere, I had

to ship mine here.

I also found the following helpful in treating it -

1. No more flip flops around the house - always wear shoes

2. I freeze a can of soup and after workouts that stress the heal I roll my foot with it

3. I use Ibuprofen to treat the pain

4. Before workouts I stretch the muscles affected

5. Great site for anyone with the condition - http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/sport-injuries/foot-heel-pain/plantar-fasciitis

6. I wear this night splint until my pain goes away

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More information on Plantar Fasciitis

The condition is traditionally thought to be inflammation. This is now believed to be incorrect due to the absence of inflammatory cells within the fascia. The cause of pain is now thought to be degeneration of the collagen fibres close to the attachment to the calcaneus (heel bone).

Symptoms

Symptoms of the condition include heel pain, under the heel and usually on the inside, at the origin of the attachment of the fascia. There can be pain when pressing on the inside of the heel and sometimes along the arch. The pain is usually worse first thing in the morning as the fascia tightens up overnight and after a few minutes it eases as the foot gets warmed up.

As the condition becomes more severe the pain can get worse throughout the day if activity continues. Stretching the plantar fascia may be painful and sometimes there may also be pain along the outside border of the heel. This may occur due to offloading the painful side of the heel by walking on the outside border of the foot. It may also be associated with the high impact of landing on the outside of the heel if you have high arched feet.

Tarsal tunnel syndrome symptoms can be very similar. If you have any shooting pain or tingling / numbness then consider this as an alternative diagnosis.

Treatment

Although there is no single cure, many treatments can be used to ease pain. In order to treat it effectively for the long-term, the cause of the condition must be corrected.

What can the athlete do?

• Rest until it is not painful. It can be very difficult to rest the foot as most people will be on their feet during the day for work. By walking on the painful foot you are continually aggravating the injury and increasing inflammation.

• A good plantar fasciitis taping technique can help support the foot relieving pain and helping it rest

• Apply ice or cold therapy to help reduce pain and inflammation. Cold therapy can be applied regularly until symptoms have resolved.

• Plantar fasciitis exercises in particular stretching the fascia is an important part of treatment and prevention. Simply reducing pain and inflammation alone is unlikely to result in long term recovery. The fascia tightens up making the origin at the heel more susceptible to stress

• A night splint is an excellent product which is worn overnight and gently stretches the calf muscles preventing it from tightening up overnight.

[NeverSure]

I started to have some of those symptoms. Because I work from home, I was almost always wearing cheap slippers with soles like flip flops - no real support. Then I took a three month vacation and wore quality running shoes almost all the time. They were Adidas and New Balance, I think. My feet got much, much better so I began to wear good shoes at home.

Over the course of several months the symptoms completely disappeared and I'm fine. While I had the symptoms, it even hurt to walk bare foot. Now it doesn't.

take care of your feet and I wish you well. It sucks to have pain just to walk.

[oakweb]

Good to hear Neversure it went away, I'm going to take a break from my favorite sport ... squash and see if it can heal as well.

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

Build or buy one of these slant boards to stretch your calves. That will take the pressure of the bottom of your foot. Sitting a lot will shorten the ham strings and calves and screw your feet up.

Stand on it and watch TV or whatever a few times a day for 5 to 10 minutes.

Will really help! Can improvise something close in just a few minutes. Hold onto a wall or something if your balance is bad.

https://www.google.com/search?q=slant+board+plantar+fasciitis&hl=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=NCJXUbbWM4nkrAetoIGICQ&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1230&bih=743

[Tolley]

For those that are interested in wholistic approaches to the problem this link may be helpful.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-robert-a-kornfeld/plantar-fasciitis-overcom_b_444325.html

[oakweb]

just an update, the splint was sold today

if you suffer from this, and need a splint, try to get someone to bring it over from UK or USA

[Sheryl]

I have 2 splints that I'm happy to give away as I was never able to tolerate them.--- Just PM me.

Small size though (7).

[PoodMaiDai]

This happened to me years ago while living in the USA. I saw a few different doctors, tried the stretches, got the splint and so on. A friend told me his doctor suggested he wear Birkenstock sandals (birkenstock.com) as the support in them was perfect for Plantar Fascitius. Picked up a pair and started wearing them in the house. Within no time I felt no more pain. I bought another pair to wear outside the house. Worked like a charm.

Then I went to a shoe store where they have you stand on foam that is registered by a computer. It reads your stance and they can recommended the right insoles for your shoes. Got those.

Have not had pain in several years now. Prior to this it was so bad I could not get out of bed in the morning and put my weight on my feet.

Birkenstock has a store in almost every Asian country except Thailand. Go figure. It's worth the travel to one of the near by countries to get a pair. And don't get the cheap knock-offs the Thais sell at the markets.

[jellydog]

New Balance and Birkenstock. The only footwear I use. I had trouble for years with Morton's Neuroma (inflammation of a nerve between the toes) as well as periodic plantar fascitis. I saw orthopedists, podiatrists, you name it. But, with the right footwear, coupled with New Balance inserts (very important for me), I have been pain free for the past three years (knock on wood). I can't emphasize enough the importance of inserts. Even as good as the normal inserts might be for Birkenstock and New Balance shoes, the upgrade to better inserts can make a tremendous difference.

FYI-using a tennis ball works well for plantar fascitis. Place the ball underneath the arch of your foot and press down while moving the ball about.