I had it REAL bad a few years ago.

Went to the doctor, got some shots, problem solved.

Sketchers with the built in insoles. Helped me tremendously.
Every morning it when if I sat for to long my feet would hurt so bad. Started wearing sketchers and after a week my feet were better.

The cortisone shots I got lasted about a week before the pain came back. The day after the shots was magic. I could have been a ballerina my foot felt so good.

The brace fixed it for good (I hope)

I went with the Bondi 8 and Sheep Feet custom orthotics. Me feet have been happy ever since.

This

Had it really bad a few years ago. Just getting out of bed in the morning was a brutal experience.

I tried shoe inserts which only offered temporary relief. Cortisone shot was good for a couple weeks.

Then I finally listened to my doc:
I started doing the stretches and I noticed an improvement within a couple days.
Stretching works, but you have to do them correctly and religiously.
Go figure.

And

Try the frozen water bottles

Buying some of these today. Thanks.

Buy a tens unit off Amazon and shock the hell out of it.

I had those and they helped, but when I bought a pair of Saucony shoes, the issue went away.

Olukai flip flops did the trick for me, for whatever reason they just stretched my foot just right. Would we are them after soccer.

I had it bad.  Started wearing Vibram Five Finger shoes everywhere.   Cured it. Haven't had a problem since.

@waldo. IM sent

I tried those. It helped a little. But I always take them off in my sleep.

I have something with a long name similar to plantar warts that I have trimmed off about every 3-4 months or I’m a cripple. Both feet. Instant relief when he does it.

Now I know how @Foxtrot08 feels when he sees a POL thread.

I’m a podiatrist.   I rarely have to give shots and much more rarely have to do surgery.    

Not only do I treat it, I had it.

Without doing a history and physical exam, I can neither make a diagnosis or give you specific treatment recommendations…..

The plantar fascia is a support structure on the bottom of your foot.  It’s a fascial band, but we’ll treat it like a ligament for simplicity.

Generally plantar fasciitis occurs when it’s overused and it gets small tears, most often where it attaches to the heel at the ‘arch’ (front of the heel, big toe side).

Hurts a lot in the AM, because it’s been tightening up slowly as you sleep.  Happens if you sit or drive for a while too.

So:  how does one get it better?

Stretching and Arch supports.

Stretch often throughout the day, but most importantly, before you put your body weight on it in the AM or after sitting.   Look up Plantar fasciitis stretches.

Then you put your foot into a shoe/slipper that has a decent arch support in it before you put your weight on the floor.   Leave it on as long as your feet are touching the floor.

Stretching and Arch supports.

Not to dismiss the suggestions made already.  Those ‘braces’ mentioned?  They’re night splints.  They keep your foot gently stretched when it would normally be tightening up,

Rolling stuff (ice, weird objects) can help with the pain and do some stretching.

Expensive Shoes?  They’ll have (in some cases) a better arch than cheaper shoes…but:  why not use the shoes you already have, and replace the insole with a much better one?

Someone linked ‘Walk Hero’ orthotics.  I have a couple of pairs.  They’re not bad.   I prefer Powersteps a bit better.  Most drug/box stores have crap orthotics.  

Once the pain is gone, don’t stop with the orthotics, as it can reoccur.  

There’s more, but I hate typing on my phone.

I was really wondering why I was I tagged in this thread.  I’m like “what the fuck? I’m not a doctor.  I date one but what the fuck do I know about this?”


Lolol. Thanks for the thoughts. 😂

Walking barefoot in the woods helped strengthen my arches tremendously and beat PF after 7 years. I won't walk barefoot on hardwood floors in the house though.

Loosing 50 lbs, cross over calf stretches, and going barefoot to strengthen my feet did the trick for me.

Now way I'm doing drugs or surgery.  I could not take the prospect of wearing old man shoes either.

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I had it once and recovered years ago. Purchased superfeet insoles at the Pharmacy and got a cortisone shot that was easy peasy.  My father had it in the Navy and the ship doctor carved insoles for him that worked great. Apparently, planter fasciitis is common in the Navy due to the shoes and hard deck surfaces.

 Off the shelf inserts cured mine fairly quickly.

I had it pop up out of the blue for no reason that I could tell.

It was bad off and on for about a year, then it just vanished.

Only one foot; could not imagine both. I would have been crawling to the toilet.

Getting old sucks. My friend said it best “you hit 50 and the warranty expires”

Cortisone shots in the affected arches.  Then do the physical therapy, icing, tennis ball rolling and the stretches.

I've been disabled almost 30 years dealing with PF on and off.  It started when I started having back problems.  My PF is complicated due to nerve damage in my back and chronic Rheumatoid Arthritis.  My most recent attack is because I put my night splints on too tight after a day of moving myself to a new house.  That night I put my splints on.  After I'd had the splints on for an hour I was in severe pain.  I took them off, but the damage was done.

That was 8 years ago.  In about 6 years I've been unable to leave my house.  Haven't driven either.  A family member takes me to the doctor.  Any attempt to stretch them out ends in pain no matter how gentle I try it.  I'm really in a mess right now.  I couldn't live without ice and Celebrex.  

The only advice I can give is just because it feels better doesn't mean you're clear.  Continue to stretch every morning whether you want to or not.  Just 2-3 minutes of stretching means a lot.  Try to pay close attention to how your feet feel and don't damage them if you can help it.  Don't put your splints on too tight and go to sleep.

Yeah mine flared up for the first time in a long time. Walking around barefoot too much. Orthotics with arch support and frozen water bottle and now I'm 80% better

It has helped me a lot over the last year.....also inserts for the arch

Gospel truth!

Even after having fasciotomy surgery (cutting the plantar fascia, and spending six weeks in a boot), I still can't walk around barefoot more than a midnight run to pee.

Orthofeet did the job for me. I have super high arches, and PF was not an uncommon occurrence. My daily as well as my dress shoes are made by them.

A brace was the thing that helped me the most.

PT was good for me, but you can do the exercises on your own.  After that, hard soled shoes and flip flops.  You shouldn’t be able to bend them, at least that’s my standard.  I stick to New Balance.  No, not the goofy all white leather ones, they have plenty of decent looking running shoes.  I got Vionic flip flops, but there are other ones out there.  Throw in some OTC Dr. Scholls inserts and you should be GTG.

Totally fun to have. Even more fun when you have a gout attack in the toes at the same time. Had to switch from my every day wear work boots to tennis shoes for a while. Stretching, ice packs and tylenol/advil rotation killed the pain.

Also have arthritis in the knee since 8yrs old. I have a very high pain tolerance. But I have had times where its so bad I coulnt walk from that alone.

It is very painful.  You can beat it though.

icebug medium or high arch insole and hoka shoes.  should help

Don't go barefoot in the house. Get sandals or shoes. Find a good physical therapist. Good footwear during the day. And my wife found this ball that you can freeze has a rope through it at a Physical therapist convention. Tennis ball sized. Put it in the freezer get it frozen, and then use it to roll your foot while use the rope in each hand to control it. Game changer.

Do what you're supposed to do with PT and the right tools and you'll be better in 2 to 6 months.

Sucks when you have it.  It's slow to fix but not hard. Learn the signs and what you can and can't do then it's not a big deal. I fought it for about five months. It flared up one time after not having good footwear on my feet during the day. I knew how to fix it right away and so it wasn't a big deal. Been great for the last several years.

If you need to lose a few pounds, that's certainly a factor too.

Prednisone followed by an anti inflammatory then custom shoe inserts

I've been dealing with it for a while now.  New orthotics didn't do much.  The usual stretches helped somewhat.  Got physical therapy, helped but it keeps creeping back in.

After much research, and talking to my chiropractor, massage therapist, and my orthopedic guy, some things became evident...

I have chronically tight hamstrings, which seem to tighten up my IT bands and calves, which then aggravates my ankles, leading to fascitis.   Contributing to the tight hamstrings are weak glutes from sitting so much - the hamstrings get overworked compensating for the weak glutes.   I also on occasion when I walk too much get leg twitches at night, similar to restless leg syndrome.  Walking definitely does seem to aggravate it; if I walk more than 20-30 minutes I get the leg twiches and tightness later on.

So here's what I do.

Get up in AM, before I stand start walking, squat down holding onto my nightstand for support.  This stretches out the calves/ankles some, so that when I do start walking I'm not hurting.  

Do some hip and leg stretches, Pigeon pose (yoga move) seems to help.  Do this in AM and before bed.

Stretch legs (quads) and put foot up on counter to stretch out hamstring.  Stand on the basement stairs facing upwards, with most of my foot off the step (basically the front 1/3rd of the foot around the ball forward supporting you), hold onto rail and let yourself sag downwards to stretch out the calves - this helps ALOT.  Hold 30+ seconds if you can.

Strengthen the glutes with lunges and squats, and some Yoga bridge poses, marching bridge pose, etc.  This helps reduce the strain on the hamstring which has to work too much compensating for weak glutes.  This is VERY important

I've also been doing a lot more stairstepper, keeping myself near the middle, not the top of the "stairs" to strengthen the quads.   Lunges and squats are good too.  I also find that when I get the night leg twitches that 30-40 squats tightens up the quads and alleviates it so I can get back to sleep.  I guess it puts the muscles back into more of a balance?  I completely avoid the treadmill as it greatly aggravates things, even more so than regular walking.

I also normally sleep with a knee pillow to keep my hips from slouching over and causing hip pain and tightness - I'm a side sleeper.  I used to keep the pillow at the knee, because I didn't know any better, but I was still waking up with hip pain.  On a whim, I tried moving the pillow up to my crotch, and damn if it didn't eliminate about 95% of the hip pain upon waking.  I actually sleep better when I'm not having a constant low grade hip pain during the night.  This has helped my fascitis as well, surprisingly.

I use this leg space/knee pillow:
https://www.coreproducts.com/products/leg-spacer-foam

Unless you are a huge person, try the petite size, which I use (I'm 5'10 tall).

I used to wear a night splint, which did help stretch my ankle/calves out, but after a while, it seemed to not help anymore, so I stopped using it.  It did help get my muscles stretched out enough that I could get out of bed w/o too much pain though.

I tried everything the doctors and occupational therapists suggested for 1.5 years. Nothing worked. At the time, the only thing that ‘helped’ me walk was Dansko shoes.

The “cure” for me was a coincidental situation where I had to fast for chemo because of GI discomfort. I drank only milk for 1-2 weeks and it re-set something in my body. According to my rheumatologist, I had systemic inflammation that was causing the PF. I slowly introduced food back and found that soy and gluten (to a lesser extent) was causing the inflammation.  BTW soy is in a ton of foods.

As a side note, my PF was so bad prior to the fast that I had a surgeon appointment for shots in my feet (that I ended up not needing because the PF went away entirely at the end of the fast.)

If it hadn’t happened to me, I probably wouldn’t have believed that food could’ve played such a part in inflammation.

So my suggestion is to figure out what triggered it and eliminate that or reduce exposure. Based on my experience, I’d somehow reset your system through brief fasting and avoid the common inflammatory foods.

Stretching my calves, hamstrings and back always help with my plantar fasciitis. It is one big long string from your neck to your toes, so stretching the other parts helps my feet. YMMV, but it certainly is worth a try. PF sucks.

Its inflammation of the plantar fascia. There are a shit ton of non-surgical ways to reduce/eliminate inflammation and keep it away.

Even when mine was at its worst, ultrasound helped and cortisone finally did the trick. Surgery is pretty damn severe.

This is a big deal.  First and foremost before you get out of bed do this.  Sit on the side of the bed, cross your leg.  With one hand pull the toes upward,
now massage the entire fascia with your middle knuckle.  You have to stretch it before you put weight on it. You simply re-injure it every morning if you don't.

Second and I know many of you will call bullshit but I dealt with PF for many years and the only thing that would heal it quickly was dry needling.
Find a therapist that believes in the benefits of dry needling. It's miraculous.  The last time (a few years ago) I was pain free after two sessions.  Like,
one on Monday and Wednesday on Friday my foot was 100%.  This was a brutal flair up and I could barely walk.  
You will also need to get a pair custom orthodics for long term health of your PF.

Yep. Stretching exercises work. Especially the side to side ankle stretches. Everyone thinks PF is a foot issue, it's not, the foot is just where the pain is. It is actually an ankle issue causing you to inadvertently walk wierd that results in foot arch pain. Stretch your ankles side to side before getting out of bed every morning.

After fighting it for over a year, I got some orthotics.

Wore them in my work boots.
At some point over the next few months my plantar fasciitis cleared up.

My wife ended up ordering MBT shoes and wearing them.
She kept wearing them after hers cleared up, so it wouldn’t come back.

Do the exercises and this too shall pass.

Good luck.

I don't understand the stretching thing.  It hurts because you are pulling things apart, I think you would be ahead to let it heal instead of pulling it more, do the stretching afterwards.  I've had it in my left foot, ended up replacing several sets of boots to get better arch support and buying high arch inserts.  No longer wear Redwings, switched to Ariat.  Had the best luck with Easy Feet insoles.

Arch supports and everything else the damn podiatrists tell you is a bandaid and doesn't fix shit.
Your calves and overall legs are weak and not being used properly. The more we sit, the more the wrong muscles in our legs are overly tight, then we do a spat of excessive on vacation or something and end up miserable.

I fought with PF for years, and then I started biking for exercise. The motion of biking helped my calves so much that the PF went from painful to the occasional minor annoyance. Now, I haven't biked much in the last few years and not a big change back.  I do take better care of my feet w/ quality insoles, but not prescription. I like the Sole' brand. They are heat mold-able. About $50-65 typically. Last years.

Find the right exercises and stretches.

Had it very bad for a while.  Believe it or not, it first occurred the day I met DJT when he was running for President in 2016.   I was working a detail inside a large venue with local LE and USSS.   I wore a pair of old but but shiny Hi-tec boots or similar and was on my feet for 8 hours with no sitting...after all, I was the senior guy and old man and could not let the younger dudes show me up. Esp since a female SAIC kept having to go sit down lol.   After the event was over, I drove my to local BBQ and when I exited vehicle to go in restaurant, I had this intense pain I had never felt.  I was about 55 then.  

I tried stretches, cortisone shots, frozen water ball, etc.   what cured it?   I bought a Gladiator Jeep with Standard 6 speed as a DD about 2 years ago....   Without realizing it, the constant use of the clutch has pretty much mitigated the issue.  I am still cautious and only wear good boots/shoes with great arch, but the horrible pain is gone.  

So for me, the constant stretch of bringing my toes up works those shin muscles and whatever else.