<p>Years ago, I had heel pain where I used to walk around on the balls of my feet to keep the pressure off the heels. I tried a pair of ASICS with gel soles and my heels still hurt, but felt comfortable. After about 3-4 weeks, the heel pain went away. I worn ASICS ever since. The nice thing was that after the heel pain went away, I’m able to wear other types of shoes without any pain. They have several styles so be certain to get the style that best fits your feet. RoadRunner Sports has a Shoe Dog system for finding shoes to fit your foot.</p>
<p>Oh, wow, Famolares! What a blast from the past! I wore them in the 70s and really loved them.</p>
<p>Ah, I’ve been fooling with this for a solid year.</p>
<p>I bought a boot thing to wear at night to keep the foot flexed–and this helps a lot. I iced and stretched and all that, and it did get better–but it didn’t get so much better that I could forget about my sore foot. </p>
<p>I’ve been living in Birkenstocks and Merrill trail shoes. By the way, all the non-ugly Birks are now sold on QVC.com. I’ll be getting some clogs for winter.</p>
<p>Anyway, I thought I could heal this myself after all the reading, but it just was not completely going away, so I finally went to a podiatrist.</p>
<p>He pads and tapes it weekly with ligament tape, and I have to keep it dry so I wear a cast protector by Curad when I shower. The weekly taping is to support the foot enough to let it heal–which it is. When it is finally calmed down enough to go without taping–probably a couple more weeks, then I’ll get inserts made. I have a pair of happy feet, but they don’t hit my arch in the right place in several pairs of my shoes so I’ve had mixed success with them.</p>
<p>If you have decent insurance then I suggest going to the podiatrist. I had been babying my foot all summer–icing, taking it easy after a day of activity, and for the first time in a year I am not in pain. I wish I wouldn’t have waited so long!</p>
<p>I read all this and then went and put on my new Yoga Toes, which is another “I swear by this” treatment for plantar fasciitis that I am hoping will work.</p>
<p>I have had PF for 11 years, on and off, depending on how careful I am being about taking care of my foot health.</p>
<p>These are things that work:</p>
<p>*seeing a foot specialist who made orthotics–casting the foot with me upside down (which was the one position we found where my feet didn’t hurt)
*one aspirin/advil/tylenol (whichever) in the AM and one in the PM whether you hurt or not, to reduce inflammation
*alternating ice/hot water baths (three minutes in ice water, one min in hot, repeat 3x twice a day)
*stretching before you get out of bed in the morning
*better shoes (for me, it’s Birkenstocks and Crocs)
*wear high heels (or clogs) to walk to the bathroom if you get up during the night because that way you don’t walk without stretching out your foot
*standing on a foam balance pad to stretch your feet
*walking only on dirt paths</p>
<p>These methods have mostly taken care of the PF. It is currently flaring up because I ran downhill a few weeks ago. Oh well. Now I know not to do that.</p>
<p>make sure it’s pf and not a bone spur. I lived with pain for about a year until I finally had an xray. One well-placed cortisone shot worked miracles.</p>
<p>My brother also has it. In the UK it is called Policeman’s Foot (common in bobbies on the beat I guess). </p>
<p>When he told me he had policeman’s foot I wondered it it was planter fasciitis as it sounded similar to what I had had. After googling it I found out it is the same thing.</p>
<p>I have had PF many years ago, and have very high arches. I find Dansko shoes, especially the clogs, to be about the only pair I can wear without inserts. What a luxury it is to slip on my shoes without having to fiddle with the inserts.</p>
<p>Also, we are trying these custom molded inserts:</p>
<p>[Archmolds</a> Custom Shoe Insoles - Online Store](<a href=“http://www.archmolds.com/insoles/]Archmolds”>http://www.archmolds.com/insoles/)</p>
<p>You heat them in your oven then step into them, and the prices are not too high. Did a pair for DS but he is not yet using them.</p>
<p>Finally, get thee to a Yoga class. After a year or so of yoga twice a week, and after my feet healed from getting (wait for it) black and blue across the soles (That was Interesting), I can now walk comfortably bare foot for a short while, around the house. The feet have lots of muscles and they can strengthen up. Those downward facing dogs really do a good stretch across the whole foot and up the legs and hips. The shin bone’s connected…</p>
<p>Try using Foot Rubz – a small, firm massage ball that you roll beneath your foot. A podiatrist who was treating me for a different foot pain issue suggested this product, which he said “hurts so good”. I ignored this advice for a couple of months, thinking it couldn’t make much difference, but finally picked one up a couple of weeks ago. It’s amazing how much this has helped relieve my foot pain and increased my mobility. Available for $5 at REI. Two of the six customer reviews on the REI website are from people with pf.</p>
<p>Will try it ZYL. REI is just a few miles from my house.</p>
<p>A runner here w/ PF. I didn’t wait around to get diagnosed and cortisone shots in the heel. Had 2 shots in early May and was running 150 miles/month by June. Still have mild discomfort, but the shots did it for me. I tried the exercises, wearing shoes all the time (prefer to be barefoot) bought inserts. Nothing worked except the cortisone shots.</p>
<p>I had a bad bout of plantar fasciitis more than 5 years ago. Since then I have worn mostly Born & Merrell shoes/sandals/boots. Found a pair of Damiani cork wedges (Italian) wedges this summer that were just as comfortable and a heel, yea! Love my Borns but lots of them of just hideous to look at. I a pair of Clarks I like but most don’t fit well. Tried Sofft but again no luck.</p>
<p>I had a nasty case of Plantar Fasciitis about three years ago. Worked with a podiatrist who prescribed many of the items mentioned above:</p>
<p>1) Reach down and touch your toes in the morning, pulling back on them slightly to get a good stretch going. Then lean against the wall, pushing your heel down to get a good stretch across your heel. </p>
<p>2) Put on your shoes and keep them on your feet all day</p>
<p>3) Ice using a can of frozen juice, sliding it back and forth under the ball of your foot</p>
<p>4) Finally, he made a pair of custom orthotics. I rip out the built in arch supports on all of my shoes and slide these in every time I change shoes. </p>
<p>It’s been a couple of years since I had any problems.</p>
<p>Another excercise is to stand on a bottom step (so you don’t fall down a flight) and tip back to stretch your calves.</p>
<p>A podiatrist I saw said that one should always wear one inch heels - not flat or high heels. The custom orthotics do help a lot too.</p>
<p>I’ve been having a terrible bout with PF for the past 2 weeks- my own fault, because I stopped to ponder the fact that although I had a really bad time with it about 3 years ago, it had gone away and was just a memory… now I have to deal with what my curiosity unleashed! Isn’t it awful? I can’t even bear the thought of getting up in the middle of the night for a bathroom run because I have to step down on my right foot! I have custom orthotics and they help somewhat but they can only be worn in athletic-type shoes, which really don’t suit me all the time, so I have tried those Dr. Scholl’s, blue-gel heel cushions- not much help from those, but the memory-foam type 2/3 foot ones provide a bit of relief in dressier shoes, and even in the several pairs of ballet flats my D left behind when she packed! The best relief, other than staying completely off of it, is to wear my Birkenstocks- the sandals are OK, but the best relief comes from the really high-end clogs and “fisherman” shoes that I used when I had to be on my feet for long periods when teaching. There are things that a Podiatrist can do to alleviate some of the pain, but I’m no longer a candidate for those due to RSD in my right leg-ugh! One thing that helps ease the transition from day to bedtime is Biofreeze Gel. Rub some in and at it seems to help a little. If anyone ever finds a cure for this, I vote that he/she is automatically elevated to sainthood! :)</p>
<p>And yes, ballet flats or any kind of flats are terrible for PF, but what am I to do since a knee injury prevents me from ever wearing “real” heels?</p>
<p>I had a terrible 3-4 years with PF until I started wearing better support shoes such as Merrils shoes and sandals, but even better is a heel cup, they are rubber and can fit into any shoe. This was a recommendation from an orthpedic surgeon that i work with I found them at a surgical supply store. I have not had a problem since.
Footsmar.com also has some very good options for PF.</p>
<p>OP here again, a fellow CC’er pm’d me about some inserts she had success with. They are called “Heel That Pain”. I ordered some online and received them on Saturday. They are the half-length (unlike my Superfeet full length insert in my running shoes) so they fit well in my Merrells and other slimmer shoes. So far I think they are great. My feet feel much better. They have a 120 day money back guarantee so I figured there was nothing to lose. I have also ordered some Birkenstocks online (drats…no UPS delivery on Labor Day) since reading some many endorsements. I am committed to getting rid of PF. When I do, I’m never wearing cheap shoes again:)</p>
<p>I also have arthritis in one knee and have noticed an improvement since wearing the new inserts…or maybe it’s the Fish Oil capsules…who knows?</p>
<p>I looked them up, PackMom, and they have 2 types. Which did you get?</p>
<p>A week ago I started trying Yoga Toes for my PF. It’s terribly embarrassing to admit that you paid $35 (list if $50 but you can easily google for a discount code) for some blue plastic to put between your toes. (My husband was very sweet: “I’d happily pay that much not to walk you limp across the room.”)</p>
<p>Bizarrely, the silly things appear to be working. I had to spend two days this weekend wearing heels–family funeral (he was 89), and my only good black shoes have a low heel (and won’t accommodate my inserts–and my feet actually do not hurt.</p>
<p>sorry that I am posting before I have read all this, but the answer is: SOFT-FOOTBED Birkinstocks!!! Only the soft-footbed ones, and not the knock-offs, or birkis or pappillos or other connected brands. They are heavenly soft right from the start. I wear mine (and I have all the models available… ;)) every day to work - on my feet all day at school. I have neuromas in both feet, and I have no problems because I wear these shoes. Available on ebay - once you know your size it is easy to order and cheaper than in stores… Regular footbed birkinstocks are too hard for people with plantar f. I also have “custom orthotics” to the tune of over $300. My soft-footbed birkenstocks fit and support better than my orthotics!!!</p>
<p>My New Balance UltraArch Insoles inserts cost $45 but they last for about three pairs of shoes which I pay $20 to $30 for. I would love a less expensive solution but I would rather not have to deal with the pain. At the moment, my pain problems are in the knees. It is time to dump my current pair of shoes. They have been in use for over six months and that’s the upper limit to which my shoes (used for Tennis) provide sufficient cushioning to avoid knee or other problems.</p>