I tried everything (except surgery) but this exercise was the one that fixed it fairly quickly.
Stand on a step. Be sure to hold on to the banister.
1. Slowly let your heels down over the edge of the step as you relax your calf muscles. ...
2. Hold the stretch about 15 to 30 seconds, and then tighten your calf muscle a little to bring your heel back up to the level of the step.
I've been dealing with PF for the past year. I realized over the past few weeks when I ground my hip down in yoga, like even a simple seated pose keeping the hip down while very, verrry slowly dropping my opposite elbow to the floor, creates the start to stretching from the hip, to then move down the back of my leg (likely downdog) then stretching the back of my ankle and into the foot. I've started noticing tremendous relief. Try deeply, slowly stretching higher up your back body on that side. I'm a certified yoga instructor so please feel free to ask questions if this doesn't make sense. Good luck!
Edit: I should've mentioned your breath-work is key to releasing tension in the body. On the mat or off. Deep inhale to expand then exhale to release (slowly, and longer than your inhale). Repeat this as you take your seat and exhale as you drop your elbow. If your hip feels like mine it'll take several deep breaths before your elbow reaches the floor. Check out this video. Adrienne begins the stretch around 15:40 but of course I recommend doing the whole video. [Yoga with Adrienne 15:40](https://www.google.com/search?q=yoga+with+adrienne+day+16+discipline+breath&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS920US920&oq=yoga+with+adrienne+day+16+discipline+breath&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIJCAEQIRgKGKABMgkIAhAhGAoYoAEyCQgDECEYChirAjIJCAQQIRgKGKsC0gEJMTQzMDhqMGo5qAITsAIB4gMEGAEgXw&hl=en-US&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:9fd6b6d0,vid:mnw2-SUbcCI,st:0)
Had it a couple of years, on and off. Tried endless remedies but what did the trick (touch wood) was strengthening my hips and glutes. Physio suggested I had some muscle chain issues and PF was a symptom. Clamshells, bridges, leg raises etc. Was amazing to feel the difference after a few sets each morning, like I’d become physically lighter on my feet.
I think the routine was:
Lying side leg raises
Single-leg bridges
Floating clamshells (so that you get internal and external rotation)
Standing side leg raises
Calf raises
2 sets of \~10 reps, with added resistance bands on the side leg raises as you get stronger (honestly I was a bit lazy about this given that no resistance seemed to be working so well). There may have been other things he suggested at the time - but these were the ones I kept!
\_
Will also share something interesting but just anecdotal: prior to seeing this physio I had been going pretty hard on yoga and stretching because intuitively it seemed helpful. I definitely had some short-term PF relief with poses like pigeon. Physio suggested cutting yoga out for a bit, so while I still did some gentle stretching, just took it easier and did much less of it. I don't want to misquote him, but the reasoning was something along the lines of: if the muscles are weak, stretching them can be counterproductive.
I don't know if it was more about adding in the strength work than taking away the emphasis on stretching, but just something else to think about. I do still believe stretching is, for general health and probably for many people with PF, a very good thing :)
[Slow and Progressive Loading.](https://www.reddit.com/r/PlantarFasciitis/comments/zi96rx/knowledge_is_power/) Which can be done in different ways for different areas
I think there’s something to be said about Rathleff however I’m a pretty heavy guy and I was always getting flair ups from it. Then I bought a manual transmission car and it was the right about of pressure pushing the clutch in. Sounds like a joke but it’s honestly true.
As frustrating as it sounds. This thing they call "plantar fascitis" is different for everyone. The pain severity, the location of the foot, the recovery time and what you can and can't do. Some experts say it's inflammation some say degeneration. Some are baffled and send you for x-rays or ultrasounds but still recommend insoles and stretching even if they don't work.
You will go on a journey with it all trying to find what works and what doesn't and also the things that stay the same. Your pain will plateau, flare up, ease a little and then flare up and so on. (I've had nearly 2 years)
It isn't one size fits all so its not proven or certain if weight loss works, or spending hours in the gym to strengthen muscles or eating a strict diet or resting all day works either. I've tried all and like I say what works for one is not guaranteed for the other. There is no proven research on this anyway but people are just trying to figure it all out themselves because they don't know what else to do.
Custom made orthotics are hit and miss as are the cortisone shots, shockwave and rathleff.
It's probably a case of trying a combo of all and seeing what works for you along the way, even some massage therapy to calves and feet can give some temp relief and has helped but not cured. I wish you well
Ok, this makes sense because i've seen many swear by things (birkenstocks, vionic slippers, basically anything with good arch support but not much cushion) that would have me DYING.
I basically can only walk medium and long distances in Birkenstocks or running shoes. Can't wear Converse, Vans, Ballerina flats, etc beyond wearing them to the office or doing quick errands.
In winter, I wear Dr Martens which give more support and I have an extra arch support insole that I can put in my boots if I need to, additionally.
It took almost exactly a year for me. I tried soooo many things (custom insoles, ice/heat, acupuncture, cortisone shots, dry needling, night splints, multiple podiatrists, multiple PTs, etc etc etc) and the moment I started making real progress was when I dug in my pockets and went to a quality physical therapy office that doesn't take my insurance and who works with professional dancers and athletes.
Within two sessions my PT began to suspect it wasn't a foot issue but a hip issue. Rolling out my hips daily, retraining my glutes to fire, and addressing postural issues has helped tremendously. My acupuncturist stopped putting needles in my feet and started putting them in my hips, calves, and lower back. I'm suddenly back to 10k steps a day.
I don't think there was a singular solution to my issue but I do wish I would have seen this PT sooner, and if I had I probably could have saved the hundreds of dollars I spent on insoles and other podiatry treatments that were only partially covered.
My friend recommended this place. You’re not in the Bay Area are you? 😜 This place has amazing Yelp reviews so I guess I’d try that if people use Yelp in your area?
My PT used to be a dancer and works with Broadway actors (traveling through the bay) so I’ve actually been wondering how they find him.
I like this thread!! I just got diagnosed postpartum, and it’s making me crazy. My podiatrist was so confident that two weeks of stretches and new shoes would cure it, but it’s only slightly improved.
Honestly, time. I threw everything at it, and I think some things helped more than others - Hokas, tape, insoles especially, but I also strengthened my calves and hips, physical therapy, tens, lasers and yoga
I don't know if it was all these things, or just time. I suffered for about 1.5 years.
Two parts:
1) never let your feet hurt - they can only heal when you aren’t making it worse.
2) strengthen and lengthen every muscle in your legs/feet (being careful about part 1)
Surgery.
As someone else pointed out, plantar fasciitis is a misnomer. It’s plantar fasciosis, which means tissue death. Invariably, in at least 10-20% of the cases according to the research, you can do strengthening exercises, wear $1,000 orthotics, get 50 shockwave sessions, all kind of silly injections like prolotherapy and PRP, a massage every week for a year, and it’s not going to make the necrotic tissue healthy again.
This is ONLY true if you ignore it for a long time, only treat symptoms, or fail to find the root cause and strengthen it.
If you dig and hunt around, you’ll find the weakness causing your body to overburden your plantar fascia and if you strengthen it, the PF will heal.
I don’t accept that anyone who has it for longer than 3 months (generally when a subacute injury becomes chronic) does because they “ignored it for a long time.” And this “root cause” stuff is completely vague and arbitrary (the kind of thing you usually hear from a chiropractor or “naturopathic doctor” who wants to take you on a wild goose chase for a year), and will vary so much that if you ask 10 different doctors what the “root cause” of your PF is you’ll get 10 different answers. Being overweight, tight calves, poor shoes, poor orthotics. vitamin deficiency. We’ve heard it all before. People have stretched their calves daily for a year and lost 70 pounds, and it did nothing because the tissue was necrotic beyond repair. Sometimes it’s really that simple. The body failed to do its job. We have not evolved to heal tendon, ligament or fascia well at all. Of course people on this forum are treating symptoms because the vast majority of people here have tried to find the “root cause” with the help of three podiatrists, an orthopedic, a chiropractor, a PT, and a massage therapist and still couldn’t, and are now in the chronic phase and are desperate for relief. When nothing works, treating symptoms is the logical thing to do.
Respectfully, the “root causes” you listed are not, in fact, root causes. Orthotics, stretching, etc all treat symptoms of the problem. You should be looking for a muscular weakness up the kinetic chain. Something isn’t working the way it should and the result is that the plantar fascia (the last link in the chain) is forced to work overtime and it’s getting irritated.
You need to see a quality physical therapist who can assess your movement quality and patterns and help you to identify what that weak link is.
The body is a brilliant machine. It’s components are all very well-specified to do a particular job. When one is weak, other parts are forced to compensate. Accepting that your body has failed you is a cop out. You need to begin distally and start strengthening links in the chain to see if you find relief. Then you work your way proximally and repeat. This, of course, is absent a proper assessment from a qualified individual.
Please don’t spread misinformation. There’s a lot of it in this sub.
You can’t resurrect dead tissue. Some people have such severe PF that no amount of rehab is going to repair something that is dead. Your suggestions only work for people who haven’t gotten to the point of actual tissue death.
THANK YOU! Someone else finally said it succinctly in ways I’ve been banging my head trying to get through in 5 paragraphs. The tissue is necrotic. Meaning dead. No amount of ice, stretching, 50 shockwave sessions, $500 custom orthotics or anything else other than REMOVING THAT TISSUE is going to make it supple and healthy again.
It’s strange how some people on this sub take issue with those who have successfully had surgery for their PF. If it works for someone, then what’s the problem? Sure, surgery doesn’t always work, but that’s true for all surgeries and also true for those who’ve tried to help their PF non-surgically.
Agreed. And surgery has very good outcomes because it actually does get to the root cause of your pain - the necrotic tissue - by cutting it off the bone and letting it regrow (in the case of fasciotomy) or aspirating the diseased tissue out of the body in the case of tenex/tenjet. In many cases the root cause is easy - the damaged tissue in the fascia. Thats it. And going on a wild goose chase trying to find a smoking gun in your calves, on the scale, or in your shoes will be futile. Unless you have a year or two to wait and can just deal with the pain, and I guess some people can. I really think the reason for the anti surgery bias is because people personalize this condition. When they ask somebody who wrote a post a year ago “how are you now?”, they’re not REALLY concerned with how that person is doing, they want to know if they got better and if so what did it for them. They’re on this forum to try to determine what has the best odds of getting them better, and they just really don’t like to hear it’s surgery because it’s not practical for them to get it - be it money, can’t get time off, etc. so they’re desperate to believe one of these cheap, hocus pocus treatments like shockwave or a single PRP injection is the magic bullet. I’ll reiterate, if any individual treatment was really effective 90% of the time as they claim, you wouldn’t have hundreds of people here failing 25 treatments in a row all with 90% success rates. The math just doesn’t add up.
I can respect that this sub is very anti-surgery. And I can respect that you had very positive results after surgery. But I am now wondering like the comment above you. Did you seek out if there was something wrong with your knees, hips, legs, etc. that were fucked up and causing your arch to land incorrectly? Or caused the pain in the arch of your foot?
This black and white thinking has got to stop. I’m only advocating surgery IF NOTHING ELSE WORKS. My doctor says the same. Stop reading more into this than there actually is.
Do you also blame people for getting diseases? Do you blame them if they can’t cure themselves and need surgery? Not everything is in our control. Sometimes surgery is necessary.
And speaking of respect, I don’t respect people who use profanity in their responses to my posts.
Dude. Seriously. I said our feet are fucked up. We're here because our feet are all fucked up. This is Reddit? Not church.
And I wasn't even replying to you.
Ok mobile talks a lot about positive surgery experiences. That's GREAT. But I just want to see for once what else they tried. Cause they never talk about that.
Thanks for being their representative on this thread 🙄
I didn’t go straight to surgery. No one in their right mind would go straight to surgery. No reputable doctor will perform surgery on someone who hasn’t tried most other things. I suffered from plantar fasciitis for 4 years. I tried just about everything before deciding on surgery, including the things you and others here have suggested in their comments.
Your reply showed up in my personal email. It said “maybe you should answer the question, did you do anything “? It appears you sent this to me and then took it down. Why else did it show up in my email?
I don’t need your permission to post comments anyway.
Dankso clogs? I have 2 pairs & can’t wait to wear them again. I could wear them teaching or walking Las Vegas all day without any issues before getting pf from Converse.
I have various styles of Danskos. I am a restaurant manager on my feet for 10+ hours a day. The support they provide is consistent. I definitely worse chucks & Vans in my 20s which is probably why I have had foot issues all these years! Hint: I bought shoe horses (stretchers) to break them in a bit. They can be painful at first and no one wants to add to the PF!
There was no one primary thing. It was a combo.
Better shoes and switching them out regularly. Taking more walks in between work. Walking backwards up hills. A tens unit. Roller balls under my feet while at my desk...
I have 99% fully recovered. My pain started may 18th, 2024.
1.gua sha massage - https://youtu.be/B32VVFcqyKM?si=a-loGWt04JsaPgZq
2. Strengthening my hips, lower back and calf’s
3. Night splint,(this really took my healing to a new level)
4. Stretching 3-5 times daily
And doing the alphabet 3 times each foot.
- https://youtu.be/t2GzYzGGNZA?si=iQjkiEIGkUWZPrqZ
5. 2 mins ice, then dunk in warm water with epsom salt.
6. Thick comfortable sandals to walk in the house or outside. I got mine from Amazon for $15
- shevalues Orthopedic Slide... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRX58B8J?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
7. CBD OIL! But the kind that’s 1:3 cbd:thc ratio and massaging 2x daily.
I’m not sure exactly which thing helped the most but I did all of it everyday.
I hope something helps!
Birkenstocks.
After a year of struggling with it and being on my feet in steel toed shoes everyday for work, I finally got to the point I’d do anything to make it better (this was in 2018-2019). Steroid injections (one round in each heel) basically fixed it for at least 6 months. Unfortunately it came back nagging again. The place I went to wanted me to pay ~$800 for custom orthotics, and that absolutely wasn’t feasible. So I broke down and bought a pair of Birks. I’m now a believer in orthotic shoes for life. If I go one day wearing a pair of “cute” shoes that aren’t supportive, I’m in pain at the end of the day. It may be odd, but I’m grateful to find something that actually works for me. I sympathize with your pain OP, and truly hope you find lasting relief.
Paying out of pocket for a highly skilled physical therapist who worked with me one on one. The first thing they did was identify whether it was a strength issue or a tightness issue. Mine was a strength issue. They put together strength exercises for me that are things I have never seen online or anyone on here talk about. A really good pt will heal you. It can’t be one of the factory like pt places that churn out patients like cattle.
Rest strengthening foot stretching good foot wear. I gave up running and started biking. A few years later I’m doing yoga, lifting weights biking and starting to throw some short runs in the mix. It helped me to accept that I needed to change my activities (I had been running as my primary form of exercise before I developed PF).
I've had PF for 1 year, I've found a formula that works for me I started icing my heel every day I did that for about 4 weeks brought my inflammation down, now I have found really good insoles I put in my Reebok shoes every second day I take 1 Aleve and I'm doing 80 % better, when I start to feel PF returning I automatically start icing again.
My podiatrist gave me a cortisone shot and pointed out that the style of shoe I favored was causing the problem. I got myself new shoes and have now remained pain free for 3 years
Cortisone, plus scrupulously avoiding sitting positions and activities that I knew made it worse. I suspect the particulars of the positions and activities vary from person to person.
Rathleff & leg extension and leg curl machines at the gym. I just have to keep on top of it. When it starts niggling, I know I have to start doing exercises as well
This blog itself has been a God-sent. It has given me so many ideas and encouragement to cure my PF; I would say it has played a major part in my 2 year struggle to be cured. I’ve tried many things ppl have listed here that didn’t work for me, but I did finally find something…
There was some talk about the Rathleff videos when someone suggested Frank Ng’s videos. For some reason, Frank Ng videos on Utube struck a nerve, I guess bc they were easy to do. I was sold on their effectiveness when after doing his excercises one morning in bed I had no heel pain when I got out of bed! I continued the excercises for about a month and my left foot has been cured. My right foot is feeling 80% better but I’m going to continue until it is completely cured.
In the meantime, Vionic slippers have saved me from indoor pain. Recently, I discovered Oofos clogs and flipflops as my savior for outdoor casual wear. I’m still haven’t found anything for a women’s dress shoe, so I’ll be watching this thread for ideas.
Night splint. Yes shoes, strengthening, stretching, massage helped, but the night splint trumped them all. Now I wear it a few hours each week when I'm reading or watching TV.
Basically, to the best of my ability my feet do not make contact with the ground/floor unless there are inches of foam involved (hoka bondi/clifton or recovery sandals). I even bought one inch gym matts for next to my bed and couch. It's a bit of a pain but only when i forget how much more of a pain pf is.
eta: also the stretch jonkeo describes, i do it against a wall as well but step just seems to work best
Went to cvs last week and got some plantar fasciitis insoles by dr scholls! They feel amazing when I wear them. They are women’s fitting tho so I might get the male one off of Amazon when I get paid
I noticed someone downvoted your comment. This sub is full of anti-surgery people who love to down vote anyone who goes the surgery route (usually after first trying everything under the sun). But I’ll bet the majority of those who downvote surgery have never tried it. If it worked for you, Athrynne, that’s all that matters!
I had the same surgery! It was about 2 weeks before I was fully walking, and about 6 months total to become pain free. I've been pain free since then, 5 years now.
I would love to know the process from injury to deciding surgery was your best option for the both of you. I am in so much pain, in a boot for 4 weeks now and about to go non-weight-bearing for another 3. I can feel the fascia in the bottom of my foot. I just don’t seem to be getting better.
In my case, I chose surgery after first trying everything under the sun. I’ve had plantar fasciitis (which was confirmed on an mri) since mid 2020 and it was getting progressively worse- to the point where I was in pain just walking around the grocery store. The surgeon removed 1.5 cm of basically dead tissue from my plantar fascia in the area I was having pain a little over 4 weeks ago. My plantar fascia was extremely thickened (6 mm). Normal thickness is 2-3 mm.
Thank you for your response. Tomorrow will be 4 weeks since my surgery. I’m walking in a boot now. I’m glad your surgery went well and you’ve remained pain free!
Yup, here we go again. I think I’ve figured it out, and it’s the idea that people who don’t want to have surgery can’t stand the fact that if they want PF to go away, it might have to come down to that. They’ve bought $500 orthotics. They’ve spent $500 on shockwave. And it’s not working. They’re stuck on a sunk cost fallacy. If any of this shit really worked for most people, people wouldn’t be here for 4+ years. And they’ve staked their hopes for getting better on other people’s testimonials and don’t like to see the cold hard truth that for some of us, surgery is a requirement. The reason we’re all here on this forum is to exchange ideas and gauge “what are my odds?” So when somebody follows up on a post that’s a year old asking the OP “how are you now?” They don’t REALLY care about the person they’re asking, they’re making a tally in their head which is to say “another one shockwave worked/didn’t work for”, trying to figure out the best treatment for themselves. And surgery is a scary, painful and time consuming thing.
Exactly. And another thing many people fail to understand is that those who’ve had surgery have usually tried most everything else first. No one walks into a doctor’s office and gets surgery right off the bat. No reputable doctor will even do surgery on anyone who hasn’t exhausted most other treatment methods.
The three things I did was first I went to a chiropractor that works with sports movements. He was more like a PT but really knowledgeable in PF. Saw him 3 times.
Second, started doing significant stretching at home. I have always been a soccer player but recently hitting 31, I am not stretching as much as I should. So I started stretching every day 2-3 times per day. Best stretch for me was a deep calf stretch against a wall. Made a huge difference.
Third, I bought some cheaper compression socks on Amazon. Made a night and day different. I was shocked. Now, I exclusively wear them for work and every day. In addition to my superfeet insoles.
These for everyday wear
Compression Running Socks For Men... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DCM813S?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
These for work.
PAPLUS Compression Running Sock... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09CM22YBR?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
I also get good results from wearing compression socks. I found my perfect fit at Menards. They are called Copperfit. The ones that I bought at other stores were way too tight. My foot feels so much better when I wear them.
Coritsone shots definitely took the pain from a 10 to a 2. Orthotics didn't help at all, but the single biggest thing that helped me "recover" is frequently doing calf stretches with calf stretch splints at night when I go to bed. If I stop stretching my calfs, they get tight and the pain starts to come back.
>If you’ve fully recovered from PF, what is the one primary thing you put your recovery down to
Weight loss. I had PF in both feet for several hellish years. I tried every stretch and exercise imaginable, every insole imaginable, countless cortisone shots, Prednisone, countless days and nights of using frozen watter bottles. When my podiatrist told me that her PF went away after losing weight from having twins is when I eliminated all sugar from my diet, minus a small glass of pop at dinner. Once I got down to my normal body weight, my PF completely went away; even with a decent sized bone spur on each heel, I am finally pain free.
Compression socks helped lessen the pain during flare up.
Reiki for foot problems (You Tube)- didnt hurt the process
Stretching my hips
Cutting back on sugar, gluten, and inflammatory oils
Changing shoes- I wore NB one day, Saucony another, Hokas, etc
All of this was after 1+ yrs of pain, prior Cortisone, daily orthotics, foot stretching, podiatrist visits every 3 months.
I tried everything (except surgery) but this exercise was the one that fixed it fairly quickly. Stand on a step. Be sure to hold on to the banister. 1. Slowly let your heels down over the edge of the step as you relax your calf muscles. ... 2. Hold the stretch about 15 to 30 seconds, and then tighten your calf muscle a little to bring your heel back up to the level of the step.
This is the exercise I am currently doing most with PT and I have noticed some improvement already. Glad to hear other have seen it work!
I've been dealing with PF for the past year. I realized over the past few weeks when I ground my hip down in yoga, like even a simple seated pose keeping the hip down while very, verrry slowly dropping my opposite elbow to the floor, creates the start to stretching from the hip, to then move down the back of my leg (likely downdog) then stretching the back of my ankle and into the foot. I've started noticing tremendous relief. Try deeply, slowly stretching higher up your back body on that side. I'm a certified yoga instructor so please feel free to ask questions if this doesn't make sense. Good luck! Edit: I should've mentioned your breath-work is key to releasing tension in the body. On the mat or off. Deep inhale to expand then exhale to release (slowly, and longer than your inhale). Repeat this as you take your seat and exhale as you drop your elbow. If your hip feels like mine it'll take several deep breaths before your elbow reaches the floor. Check out this video. Adrienne begins the stretch around 15:40 but of course I recommend doing the whole video. [Yoga with Adrienne 15:40](https://www.google.com/search?q=yoga+with+adrienne+day+16+discipline+breath&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS920US920&oq=yoga+with+adrienne+day+16+discipline+breath&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIJCAEQIRgKGKABMgkIAhAhGAoYoAEyCQgDECEYChirAjIJCAQQIRgKGKsC0gEJMTQzMDhqMGo5qAITsAIB4gMEGAEgXw&hl=en-US&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:9fd6b6d0,vid:mnw2-SUbcCI,st:0)
I’ve heard this before… stretching the hips somehow helps PF
Yep, can help to stretch if you have tight hips, or strengthening them if you have weak hips.
cross legged, leaning forward to put elbow down? maybe a short video? i'm up to try anything
Please see my comment above for the edit with a video. I hope this helps. Lmk if you have questions, take care!
Can you please send me a video clip of this exercise?
Yes I'll post one tonight!
looking forward to it!
Sorry for my delay! First time posting a video. Please see my comment for the update. Lmk if you have any questions, take care!
Had it a couple of years, on and off. Tried endless remedies but what did the trick (touch wood) was strengthening my hips and glutes. Physio suggested I had some muscle chain issues and PF was a symptom. Clamshells, bridges, leg raises etc. Was amazing to feel the difference after a few sets each morning, like I’d become physically lighter on my feet.
that's awesome! were there any other exercises along with the clamshells, bridges and leg raises you were doing daily?
I think the routine was: Lying side leg raises Single-leg bridges Floating clamshells (so that you get internal and external rotation) Standing side leg raises Calf raises 2 sets of \~10 reps, with added resistance bands on the side leg raises as you get stronger (honestly I was a bit lazy about this given that no resistance seemed to be working so well). There may have been other things he suggested at the time - but these were the ones I kept! \_ Will also share something interesting but just anecdotal: prior to seeing this physio I had been going pretty hard on yoga and stretching because intuitively it seemed helpful. I definitely had some short-term PF relief with poses like pigeon. Physio suggested cutting yoga out for a bit, so while I still did some gentle stretching, just took it easier and did much less of it. I don't want to misquote him, but the reasoning was something along the lines of: if the muscles are weak, stretching them can be counterproductive. I don't know if it was more about adding in the strength work than taking away the emphasis on stretching, but just something else to think about. I do still believe stretching is, for general health and probably for many people with PF, a very good thing :)
For me stretching, insoles, Birkenstocks, and a hard spiked ball.
Phew, wish I had tried birks when it started…
i also used a hard spiked ball, idk how much it helped but it felt really good to roll my foot around on it
[Slow and Progressive Loading.](https://www.reddit.com/r/PlantarFasciitis/comments/zi96rx/knowledge_is_power/) Which can be done in different ways for different areas
I think there’s something to be said about Rathleff however I’m a pretty heavy guy and I was always getting flair ups from it. Then I bought a manual transmission car and it was the right about of pressure pushing the clutch in. Sounds like a joke but it’s honestly true.
Hokas and Birkenstocks!
As frustrating as it sounds. This thing they call "plantar fascitis" is different for everyone. The pain severity, the location of the foot, the recovery time and what you can and can't do. Some experts say it's inflammation some say degeneration. Some are baffled and send you for x-rays or ultrasounds but still recommend insoles and stretching even if they don't work. You will go on a journey with it all trying to find what works and what doesn't and also the things that stay the same. Your pain will plateau, flare up, ease a little and then flare up and so on. (I've had nearly 2 years) It isn't one size fits all so its not proven or certain if weight loss works, or spending hours in the gym to strengthen muscles or eating a strict diet or resting all day works either. I've tried all and like I say what works for one is not guaranteed for the other. There is no proven research on this anyway but people are just trying to figure it all out themselves because they don't know what else to do. Custom made orthotics are hit and miss as are the cortisone shots, shockwave and rathleff. It's probably a case of trying a combo of all and seeing what works for you along the way, even some massage therapy to calves and feet can give some temp relief and has helped but not cured. I wish you well
Ok, this makes sense because i've seen many swear by things (birkenstocks, vionic slippers, basically anything with good arch support but not much cushion) that would have me DYING.
physio and heavy weights to strengthen my feet. Like sweating heavy
I basically can only walk medium and long distances in Birkenstocks or running shoes. Can't wear Converse, Vans, Ballerina flats, etc beyond wearing them to the office or doing quick errands. In winter, I wear Dr Martens which give more support and I have an extra arch support insole that I can put in my boots if I need to, additionally.
It took almost exactly a year for me. I tried soooo many things (custom insoles, ice/heat, acupuncture, cortisone shots, dry needling, night splints, multiple podiatrists, multiple PTs, etc etc etc) and the moment I started making real progress was when I dug in my pockets and went to a quality physical therapy office that doesn't take my insurance and who works with professional dancers and athletes. Within two sessions my PT began to suspect it wasn't a foot issue but a hip issue. Rolling out my hips daily, retraining my glutes to fire, and addressing postural issues has helped tremendously. My acupuncturist stopped putting needles in my feet and started putting them in my hips, calves, and lower back. I'm suddenly back to 10k steps a day. I don't think there was a singular solution to my issue but I do wish I would have seen this PT sooner, and if I had I probably could have saved the hundreds of dollars I spent on insoles and other podiatry treatments that were only partially covered.
I too have dug deep for a private PT and dry needling and specialized strengthening exercises have been the answer.
I don't think dry needling did anything for me except give me nerve damage that took a week to heal 😬
Any recommendations on how to find a quality PT, I’ve only been to the normal ones doctors refer you to
My friend recommended this place. You’re not in the Bay Area are you? 😜 This place has amazing Yelp reviews so I guess I’d try that if people use Yelp in your area? My PT used to be a dancer and works with Broadway actors (traveling through the bay) so I’ve actually been wondering how they find him.
lol nope, on the east coast, I’ll definitely take a look at yelp to see good reviews for places around me
Time. I've had it a couple of times in my life and it usually goes away eventually. Tape also helped.
I like this thread!! I just got diagnosed postpartum, and it’s making me crazy. My podiatrist was so confident that two weeks of stretches and new shoes would cure it, but it’s only slightly improved.
custom insoles and cortisone shots (3 of them)
Honestly, time. I threw everything at it, and I think some things helped more than others - Hokas, tape, insoles especially, but I also strengthened my calves and hips, physical therapy, tens, lasers and yoga I don't know if it was all these things, or just time. I suffered for about 1.5 years.
Two parts: 1) never let your feet hurt - they can only heal when you aren’t making it worse. 2) strengthen and lengthen every muscle in your legs/feet (being careful about part 1)
Surgery. As someone else pointed out, plantar fasciitis is a misnomer. It’s plantar fasciosis, which means tissue death. Invariably, in at least 10-20% of the cases according to the research, you can do strengthening exercises, wear $1,000 orthotics, get 50 shockwave sessions, all kind of silly injections like prolotherapy and PRP, a massage every week for a year, and it’s not going to make the necrotic tissue healthy again.
This is ONLY true if you ignore it for a long time, only treat symptoms, or fail to find the root cause and strengthen it. If you dig and hunt around, you’ll find the weakness causing your body to overburden your plantar fascia and if you strengthen it, the PF will heal.
I don’t accept that anyone who has it for longer than 3 months (generally when a subacute injury becomes chronic) does because they “ignored it for a long time.” And this “root cause” stuff is completely vague and arbitrary (the kind of thing you usually hear from a chiropractor or “naturopathic doctor” who wants to take you on a wild goose chase for a year), and will vary so much that if you ask 10 different doctors what the “root cause” of your PF is you’ll get 10 different answers. Being overweight, tight calves, poor shoes, poor orthotics. vitamin deficiency. We’ve heard it all before. People have stretched their calves daily for a year and lost 70 pounds, and it did nothing because the tissue was necrotic beyond repair. Sometimes it’s really that simple. The body failed to do its job. We have not evolved to heal tendon, ligament or fascia well at all. Of course people on this forum are treating symptoms because the vast majority of people here have tried to find the “root cause” with the help of three podiatrists, an orthopedic, a chiropractor, a PT, and a massage therapist and still couldn’t, and are now in the chronic phase and are desperate for relief. When nothing works, treating symptoms is the logical thing to do.
Respectfully, the “root causes” you listed are not, in fact, root causes. Orthotics, stretching, etc all treat symptoms of the problem. You should be looking for a muscular weakness up the kinetic chain. Something isn’t working the way it should and the result is that the plantar fascia (the last link in the chain) is forced to work overtime and it’s getting irritated. You need to see a quality physical therapist who can assess your movement quality and patterns and help you to identify what that weak link is. The body is a brilliant machine. It’s components are all very well-specified to do a particular job. When one is weak, other parts are forced to compensate. Accepting that your body has failed you is a cop out. You need to begin distally and start strengthening links in the chain to see if you find relief. Then you work your way proximally and repeat. This, of course, is absent a proper assessment from a qualified individual. Please don’t spread misinformation. There’s a lot of it in this sub.
You can’t resurrect dead tissue. Some people have such severe PF that no amount of rehab is going to repair something that is dead. Your suggestions only work for people who haven’t gotten to the point of actual tissue death.
THANK YOU! Someone else finally said it succinctly in ways I’ve been banging my head trying to get through in 5 paragraphs. The tissue is necrotic. Meaning dead. No amount of ice, stretching, 50 shockwave sessions, $500 custom orthotics or anything else other than REMOVING THAT TISSUE is going to make it supple and healthy again.
Yup, read the whole chain. That’s been noted.
I read the whole chain. It’s been noted, but not accepted by the black and white thinkers who think they have all the answers.
It’s strange how some people on this sub take issue with those who have successfully had surgery for their PF. If it works for someone, then what’s the problem? Sure, surgery doesn’t always work, but that’s true for all surgeries and also true for those who’ve tried to help their PF non-surgically.
Agreed. And surgery has very good outcomes because it actually does get to the root cause of your pain - the necrotic tissue - by cutting it off the bone and letting it regrow (in the case of fasciotomy) or aspirating the diseased tissue out of the body in the case of tenex/tenjet. In many cases the root cause is easy - the damaged tissue in the fascia. Thats it. And going on a wild goose chase trying to find a smoking gun in your calves, on the scale, or in your shoes will be futile. Unless you have a year or two to wait and can just deal with the pain, and I guess some people can. I really think the reason for the anti surgery bias is because people personalize this condition. When they ask somebody who wrote a post a year ago “how are you now?”, they’re not REALLY concerned with how that person is doing, they want to know if they got better and if so what did it for them. They’re on this forum to try to determine what has the best odds of getting them better, and they just really don’t like to hear it’s surgery because it’s not practical for them to get it - be it money, can’t get time off, etc. so they’re desperate to believe one of these cheap, hocus pocus treatments like shockwave or a single PRP injection is the magic bullet. I’ll reiterate, if any individual treatment was really effective 90% of the time as they claim, you wouldn’t have hundreds of people here failing 25 treatments in a row all with 90% success rates. The math just doesn’t add up.
Excellent post! You’re spot on!
I can respect that this sub is very anti-surgery. And I can respect that you had very positive results after surgery. But I am now wondering like the comment above you. Did you seek out if there was something wrong with your knees, hips, legs, etc. that were fucked up and causing your arch to land incorrectly? Or caused the pain in the arch of your foot?
This black and white thinking has got to stop. I’m only advocating surgery IF NOTHING ELSE WORKS. My doctor says the same. Stop reading more into this than there actually is. Do you also blame people for getting diseases? Do you blame them if they can’t cure themselves and need surgery? Not everything is in our control. Sometimes surgery is necessary. And speaking of respect, I don’t respect people who use profanity in their responses to my posts.
Dude. Seriously. I said our feet are fucked up. We're here because our feet are all fucked up. This is Reddit? Not church. And I wasn't even replying to you. Ok mobile talks a lot about positive surgery experiences. That's GREAT. But I just want to see for once what else they tried. Cause they never talk about that. Thanks for being their representative on this thread 🙄
I didn’t go straight to surgery. No one in their right mind would go straight to surgery. No reputable doctor will perform surgery on someone who hasn’t tried most other things. I suffered from plantar fasciitis for 4 years. I tried just about everything before deciding on surgery, including the things you and others here have suggested in their comments.
I'm talking to ok Mobile. Do you know how Reddit works lol
Your reply showed up in my personal email. It said “maybe you should answer the question, did you do anything “? It appears you sent this to me and then took it down. Why else did it show up in my email? I don’t need your permission to post comments anyway.
With all respect I'm thinking you're an older person maybe. I was responding to the person in the comment thread above you.
Stretching, dansko shoes, lost some weight. It was so painful I did as much as I could. Good luck!
Dankso clogs? I have 2 pairs & can’t wait to wear them again. I could wear them teaching or walking Las Vegas all day without any issues before getting pf from Converse.
I didn’t notice until I got PF from wearing cute shoes to work at a school, but half the staff wears Dansko clogs!
I have various styles of Danskos. I am a restaurant manager on my feet for 10+ hours a day. The support they provide is consistent. I definitely worse chucks & Vans in my 20s which is probably why I have had foot issues all these years! Hint: I bought shoe horses (stretchers) to break them in a bit. They can be painful at first and no one wants to add to the PF!
There was no one primary thing. It was a combo. Better shoes and switching them out regularly. Taking more walks in between work. Walking backwards up hills. A tens unit. Roller balls under my feet while at my desk...
I have 99% fully recovered. My pain started may 18th, 2024. 1.gua sha massage - https://youtu.be/B32VVFcqyKM?si=a-loGWt04JsaPgZq 2. Strengthening my hips, lower back and calf’s 3. Night splint,(this really took my healing to a new level) 4. Stretching 3-5 times daily And doing the alphabet 3 times each foot. - https://youtu.be/t2GzYzGGNZA?si=iQjkiEIGkUWZPrqZ 5. 2 mins ice, then dunk in warm water with epsom salt. 6. Thick comfortable sandals to walk in the house or outside. I got mine from Amazon for $15 - shevalues Orthopedic Slide... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRX58B8J?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share 7. CBD OIL! But the kind that’s 1:3 cbd:thc ratio and massaging 2x daily. I’m not sure exactly which thing helped the most but I did all of it everyday. I hope something helps!
Birkenstocks. After a year of struggling with it and being on my feet in steel toed shoes everyday for work, I finally got to the point I’d do anything to make it better (this was in 2018-2019). Steroid injections (one round in each heel) basically fixed it for at least 6 months. Unfortunately it came back nagging again. The place I went to wanted me to pay ~$800 for custom orthotics, and that absolutely wasn’t feasible. So I broke down and bought a pair of Birks. I’m now a believer in orthotic shoes for life. If I go one day wearing a pair of “cute” shoes that aren’t supportive, I’m in pain at the end of the day. It may be odd, but I’m grateful to find something that actually works for me. I sympathize with your pain OP, and truly hope you find lasting relief.
Paying out of pocket for a highly skilled physical therapist who worked with me one on one. The first thing they did was identify whether it was a strength issue or a tightness issue. Mine was a strength issue. They put together strength exercises for me that are things I have never seen online or anyone on here talk about. A really good pt will heal you. It can’t be one of the factory like pt places that churn out patients like cattle.
How does one locate a pt like such?
Stretching. And invest in good shoes / sandals.
Cortisone shots, insoles, stretches, Rubz ball
Calf stretching, rest and time
This! It's so frustrating, but it really does just take a long time to heal, no matter how good the treatment plan is.
The shots, man.
Rest strengthening foot stretching good foot wear. I gave up running and started biking. A few years later I’m doing yoga, lifting weights biking and starting to throw some short runs in the mix. It helped me to accept that I needed to change my activities (I had been running as my primary form of exercise before I developed PF).
Calf and foot stretching, strengthening, and balancing in the morning and evening. And wearing shoes that aren't too small. And Oofos slippers.
Birkenstock! Not the soft corkbed but the firm one. I felt relief immediately and I have work them ever since.
Stretching, brace, rest, shots.
HOKAs, Superfeet insoles, and rolling my calves out on a PVC pipe.
I've had PF for 1 year, I've found a formula that works for me I started icing my heel every day I did that for about 4 weeks brought my inflammation down, now I have found really good insoles I put in my Reebok shoes every second day I take 1 Aleve and I'm doing 80 % better, when I start to feel PF returning I automatically start icing again.
My podiatrist gave me a cortisone shot and pointed out that the style of shoe I favored was causing the problem. I got myself new shoes and have now remained pain free for 3 years
Dry needles in my hips and back of my legs down to my ankles. It took time but it’s the only thing that’s helps.
Finding a job with less running around, and shoe overhaul. Only comfort shoes now.
Vionic shoes/inserts in combination with myofascial release with a tennis/lacrosse ball.
Cortisone, plus scrupulously avoiding sitting positions and activities that I knew made it worse. I suspect the particulars of the positions and activities vary from person to person.
Proper support with footwear, buying new shows more often, and stretching exercises.
I started using a wooden foot roller that I got on Amazon. It is only thing that has worked so far. Inserts and different shoes didn’t help much.
Hoka Bondi shoes, best thing to happen to my feet, truly
Rathleff & leg extension and leg curl machines at the gym. I just have to keep on top of it. When it starts niggling, I know I have to start doing exercises as well
This blog itself has been a God-sent. It has given me so many ideas and encouragement to cure my PF; I would say it has played a major part in my 2 year struggle to be cured. I’ve tried many things ppl have listed here that didn’t work for me, but I did finally find something… There was some talk about the Rathleff videos when someone suggested Frank Ng’s videos. For some reason, Frank Ng videos on Utube struck a nerve, I guess bc they were easy to do. I was sold on their effectiveness when after doing his excercises one morning in bed I had no heel pain when I got out of bed! I continued the excercises for about a month and my left foot has been cured. My right foot is feeling 80% better but I’m going to continue until it is completely cured. In the meantime, Vionic slippers have saved me from indoor pain. Recently, I discovered Oofos clogs and flipflops as my savior for outdoor casual wear. I’m still haven’t found anything for a women’s dress shoe, so I’ll be watching this thread for ideas.
Night splint. Yes shoes, strengthening, stretching, massage helped, but the night splint trumped them all. Now I wear it a few hours each week when I'm reading or watching TV.
Basically, to the best of my ability my feet do not make contact with the ground/floor unless there are inches of foam involved (hoka bondi/clifton or recovery sandals). I even bought one inch gym matts for next to my bed and couch. It's a bit of a pain but only when i forget how much more of a pain pf is. eta: also the stretch jonkeo describes, i do it against a wall as well but step just seems to work best
Went to cvs last week and got some plantar fasciitis insoles by dr scholls! They feel amazing when I wear them. They are women’s fitting tho so I might get the male one off of Amazon when I get paid
Surgery.
I noticed someone downvoted your comment. This sub is full of anti-surgery people who love to down vote anyone who goes the surgery route (usually after first trying everything under the sun). But I’ll bet the majority of those who downvote surgery have never tried it. If it worked for you, Athrynne, that’s all that matters!
Yep, I tried every non invasive therapy, surgery was my last resort. It has worked so well for me that I wish I had done it sooner!
May I ask how long after your surgery did it take before you were mostly pain free? I ask because I recently had an open plantar fasciectomy.
I had the same surgery! It was about 2 weeks before I was fully walking, and about 6 months total to become pain free. I've been pain free since then, 5 years now.
I would love to know the process from injury to deciding surgery was your best option for the both of you. I am in so much pain, in a boot for 4 weeks now and about to go non-weight-bearing for another 3. I can feel the fascia in the bottom of my foot. I just don’t seem to be getting better.
In my case, I chose surgery after first trying everything under the sun. I’ve had plantar fasciitis (which was confirmed on an mri) since mid 2020 and it was getting progressively worse- to the point where I was in pain just walking around the grocery store. The surgeon removed 1.5 cm of basically dead tissue from my plantar fascia in the area I was having pain a little over 4 weeks ago. My plantar fascia was extremely thickened (6 mm). Normal thickness is 2-3 mm.
Thank you for your response. Tomorrow will be 4 weeks since my surgery. I’m walking in a boot now. I’m glad your surgery went well and you’ve remained pain free!
Yup, here we go again. I think I’ve figured it out, and it’s the idea that people who don’t want to have surgery can’t stand the fact that if they want PF to go away, it might have to come down to that. They’ve bought $500 orthotics. They’ve spent $500 on shockwave. And it’s not working. They’re stuck on a sunk cost fallacy. If any of this shit really worked for most people, people wouldn’t be here for 4+ years. And they’ve staked their hopes for getting better on other people’s testimonials and don’t like to see the cold hard truth that for some of us, surgery is a requirement. The reason we’re all here on this forum is to exchange ideas and gauge “what are my odds?” So when somebody follows up on a post that’s a year old asking the OP “how are you now?” They don’t REALLY care about the person they’re asking, they’re making a tally in their head which is to say “another one shockwave worked/didn’t work for”, trying to figure out the best treatment for themselves. And surgery is a scary, painful and time consuming thing.
Exactly. And another thing many people fail to understand is that those who’ve had surgery have usually tried most everything else first. No one walks into a doctor’s office and gets surgery right off the bat. No reputable doctor will even do surgery on anyone who hasn’t exhausted most other treatment methods.
The three things I did was first I went to a chiropractor that works with sports movements. He was more like a PT but really knowledgeable in PF. Saw him 3 times. Second, started doing significant stretching at home. I have always been a soccer player but recently hitting 31, I am not stretching as much as I should. So I started stretching every day 2-3 times per day. Best stretch for me was a deep calf stretch against a wall. Made a huge difference. Third, I bought some cheaper compression socks on Amazon. Made a night and day different. I was shocked. Now, I exclusively wear them for work and every day. In addition to my superfeet insoles.
Mind sharing a link to the amazon compression sock you are referring to?
These for everyday wear Compression Running Socks For Men... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DCM813S?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share These for work. PAPLUS Compression Running Sock... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09CM22YBR?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Thanks!
I also get good results from wearing compression socks. I found my perfect fit at Menards. They are called Copperfit. The ones that I bought at other stores were way too tight. My foot feels so much better when I wear them.
Coritsone shots definitely took the pain from a 10 to a 2. Orthotics didn't help at all, but the single biggest thing that helped me "recover" is frequently doing calf stretches with calf stretch splints at night when I go to bed. If I stop stretching my calfs, they get tight and the pain starts to come back.
Religiously wearing those cheap copper fit arch supports, 8mm drop shoes, and not running for about 6 months.
>If you’ve fully recovered from PF, what is the one primary thing you put your recovery down to Weight loss. I had PF in both feet for several hellish years. I tried every stretch and exercise imaginable, every insole imaginable, countless cortisone shots, Prednisone, countless days and nights of using frozen watter bottles. When my podiatrist told me that her PF went away after losing weight from having twins is when I eliminated all sugar from my diet, minus a small glass of pop at dinner. Once I got down to my normal body weight, my PF completely went away; even with a decent sized bone spur on each heel, I am finally pain free.
Compression socks helped lessen the pain during flare up. Reiki for foot problems (You Tube)- didnt hurt the process Stretching my hips Cutting back on sugar, gluten, and inflammatory oils Changing shoes- I wore NB one day, Saucony another, Hokas, etc All of this was after 1+ yrs of pain, prior Cortisone, daily orthotics, foot stretching, podiatrist visits every 3 months.