<p>Another thing that helped me when I had plantar fascitis was instead of rolling my foot on a tennis ball was using frozen juice concentrate. It took care of both icing my foot and rolling it on a rounded object. I would do it every night while watching the news.</p>
<p>Definitely get checked for arthritis. My son had foot pain for over a year and the doctor kept telling us plantar fasciitis. When his ankles and knees started getting stiff, especially in the mornings or when he first got up after sitting a while, they sent him to a rheumatologist. He has now been diagnosed w/ spondylitis which is a form of arthritis. The foot and heel pain was one of the first symptoms. He is on specialized medications which hopefully will prevent joint damage. If you don’t have any luck with the podiatrist consider seeing a rheumatologist. Good Luck!</p>
<p>singermom, I don’t know about Crocs but you are on the right path to wear shoes that don’t make your feet hurt. About 10 years ago, I threw out all my shoes when I realized I had a longer foot, my size had changed. I no longer wear heels at all or flats without support for very long. I have very narrow, long feet and have to order usually through mail order catalogs. I found a wonderful store in the town where my son goes to school! But that said, I no longer have painful feet. They are healed for now.</p>
<p>When I was diagnosed with plantar fasciatis, I also went to see the podiatrist. </p>
<p>What he had me do was keep a belt next to my bed. Before I got up in the morning, I would loop the belt over the end of my foot and pull back gently for 2-3 minutes, switch feet and do it again. That 5 minute stretch relieved the morning tension. </p>
<p>I would then put on my shoes, with the new custom orthotics, and wear them all day. He said that walking barefoot is the worst thing you can do - and walking in any kind of shoe without proper arch support is basically like walking barefoot.</p>
<p>Problem went away in a month or so and has not reoccurred. I still wear the orthotics and have not had any additional problems.</p>
<p>They look strange- but these shoes ([Z-CoiL® Pain Relief Footwear™](<a href=“http://www.zcoil.com/”>http://www.zcoil.com/</a>) ) stopped my plantar fascitis pain.</p>
<p>Orthotics do help keep it away.</p>
<p>Had a similar problem. When I moved to Germany, I developed a pain very similar to what you describe, except it was on the wrong side of the foot for plantar fasciatis. Was never sure of the diagnosis. But the cause was the very hard, unpadded carpeting, wood, and tile floors in the house, coupled with my tendancy to go barefoot all the time.</p>
<p>After I developed my knee problem, orthopedist made me switch to athletic shoes - He didn’t prefer one brand or another, but suggested that I look for walking or cross-trainers that fit well and had a lot of padding. They should be comfortable from the get-go - not needed to be broken in.</p>
<p>I resisted - older ladies in Europe don’t wear sneakers all the time. So the doc gave me orthotics, which I hated. So I did switch to sneakers most of the time, and put the orthotics in my slippers, for in the house. </p>
<p>My knee problems have been greatly reduced … and along the way my foot problems disappeared completely.</p>
<p>When I wear hard-soled shoes, sandals, or boots, for any length of time, my problems return.</p>
<p>I had been pain free for about 6 months until the last few days. My pain is more in the ball of my foot. I am doing the ice and tennis ball. I can also tell my calves are really tight. Time to get back into serious stretching.
I think for me it is summer and wearing sandals plus played 2 hours of tennis the other day.
My neighbor told me that since the pain started after tennis I probably need new shoes. Any truth to that theory? Shoes look fine on the outside but I haven’t looked at the soles.</p>
<p>I posted this on the other foot thread a few weeks ago, but I’ll do it again. I have Morton’s neuromas in both feet and my custom orthotics (bought at great expense) are practically worthless. BUT, there is hope, Birkenstocks makes a SOFT-FOOTBED sandal in several styles, cut with the same footbed as regular birks but with added latex foam, specially designed for people with plantar facitis or other foot problems. I now where them all day every day and have no more problems. [url=<a href=“http://catalog.birkenstockcentral.com/vc3bc/category/sffootbed/template-a/Soft+Footbed]BirkenstockCentral.com”>http://catalog.birkenstockcentral.com/vc3bc/category/sffootbed/template-a/Soft+Footbed]BirkenstockCentral.com</a> Product List - Soft Footbed<a href=“they%20are%20much%20cheaper%20on%20ebay,%20%20just%20make%20sure%20that%20they%20are%20the%20right%20width%20for%20you,%20%20and%20that%20they%20are%20genuine%20birkenstock,%20not%20birki%20or%20the%20offbrands.”>/url</a></p>
<p>anxiousmom—just wondered—in your experience, would the soft-footbed Birks be good for those who need strong arch support? Or, are they 2 opposite-type conditions? Always looking for another good style of shoe…!!!</p>
<p>Ugly shoes…but if they helped with my foot pain, I’d wear them. I basically wear my Merrell slip ons all the time.</p>