| Author | Message | ||
     Ratbuell |
This sucks. For those just tuning in...my legs were rebuilt in Maryland shock-trauma in July 2008, after an accident. So, aches and pains are a fact of life for me. However. This week, my feet have felt like GLASS. Like...where's a meat cleaver so I can just cut the bastards OFF?? Admittedly I have been pushing over-hard lately - doing tile floors in an apartment, working my day job, doing gigs and carrying heavy sound equipment, and doubling down on the elliptical for cardio (and to try and look as good as possible for a particular little blonde...). Overexertion, plain and simple. Researching the symptoms, I have come to the conclusion that I have - oh joy - bilateral plantar fasciitis. BOTH feet, same time. This is a contraction of the tendons that connect your calf to your toes, through the heel and arch. When those tendons contract/shrink/whatever it is they do...they rub on your heel. HARD. Those of you with normal feet, take off your shoe and sock and feel your heel. It's not deep, but it's soft. You can press into it a little bit, and it gives...until you hit bone. My heels both feel like drum heads, or full-to-bursting water balloons (choose your metaphor). The "therapy" that seems to be working best for me at the moment is amazingly painful...but seems to be helping. Rolling bare feet around on balls - I have rubber chewtoys for the dogs that are about the size and firmness of a tennis ball that I've been using. Hurts like a sumbitch...but seems to help. ish. I have also added the special insole inserts to my shoes. Has anyone here also enjoyed the pleasure of this little "muscle feature"? Have any tips to coping, clearing, fixing, or otherwise dealing with the problems? I would reeeally love to have it sorted before riding season (and yardwork season) hit full-force... | ||
| Damnut |
I would suggest soaking your feet in a hot bath before doing the ball trick. I'm guessing it would help. Hopefully you find something that works. | ||
| Pwnzor |
New Balance shoes with their best inserts will help. | ||
| Griffmeister |
Do what you're doing, time is the final factor. I was lucky (?) enough to have just one foot affected. Orthotics helped me the most on a day to day basis but still hurt like hell. Gradually the pain subsided until it was completely gone. Only one problem though, it took almost two years. Results may vary on an individual basis. | ||
| Nukeblue |
here's the thread I had a couple years ago. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/406 2/687949.html the cortisone (sp?) shot helped for about a month. custom insoles, $350, actually ended up putting more pressure up on the arch & I cant say it did anything but remind me it hurt. like someone said, time will heal this. the softball or baseball under the arch rolling around on it feels good & helped some I think. good shoes go a long way, although I don't think I had 'bad' shoes at any time when it happened. you know when you lean forward with your foot flat on the ground behind you too stretch your calf? I think that helps a lot. after a year or so of recovering I chased my cat around the garage one night like a dumb ass after a couple beers, totally blew it out again! be careful & take it easy lol arch support insoles helped a lot but took a year and a half or so to heal up. now I jog etc & no pain! | ||
| Trackdad |
I had it after driving many hours holding the gas pedal on my truck last summer. Bought better shoes, actually did massages nightly on my right foot. Ended up buying this http://www.footcaredepot.com/plantar-pft-soft-nigh t-splint-plantar-fasciitis-treatment/?gclid=CjwKEA jw6Z2pBRCmvaXq6d7FjUoSJAAc5Lri8-wnxmplhphUcwuKLT5J pskKjgOZfkQUbbufQujU2RoCbOTw_wcB for night time use. After 10 moths of effort, its finally to the point that I can comfortably walk anywhere without gimping!!! Good luck it takes time!!! | ||
| Bigdaddy |
Ratbuell, I've suffered from profound foot pain for a number of years. You can only have so much Cortisone (i'm not sure what the limits are) but the Army/VA cut me off. I spent 20+ years jumping out of airplanes, breaking bones in my lower legs and feet more times than I can accurately recall...all the while getting older and heavier. I cannot tolerate the plethora of narcotics they want to give me to take the edge off so I don't take them. So I'm not recommending this to you, or anyone else, but it is what I've used for a number of years. Naproxen and rub my feet and ankles down with DMSO. I have to take DMSO vacations as it can irritate the skin. It absolutely works for me...is it a real relief or imagined? Yea, I don't actually know either, but the relief is real and that's my goal. | ||
| Iamike |
One thing I have heard that works is to almost fill up a plastic pop bottle with water, then freeze. Each night sit down and roll the bottle under your foot. One person who told me about it builds houses and uses ladders quite often. | ||
| Sagehawk |
if you know a good reflexologist in your area, give that a try, if you can stand the foot massage. That helps a whole lot of problems with pressure on the pressure points. | ||
| Ceejay |
the fascia are becoming calcified, that is what causes the pain - they no longer are stretching or working in the method that they are supposed to, after time you will develop bone spurs from the heel forward, I had 3/8" and 1/4" long spurs forming in mine. It is painful. Similar to a leaf spring, the facia is supposed to flex, contract, stretch, and it is supporting your weight with each step. It is caused by overuse and lack of full foot flexion (heel to toe walking) which forces the foot to "roll" and thus full stretch of the facia. Mine was caused in part to needing knee surgery, thus I couldn't use a full stride due to pain incurred in my knee(I held off for a year until I finally broke down and repaired/removed ligament and cartilage damage). Due to your legs being previously injured, and carrying large equipment around on a regular basis, you more than likely are not getting full foot flexion either - it's hard to have a decent stride when your carrying something. Like others have stated, time is the only real cure, better footware if possible that allows full range of motion with your foot, and stretching on the facia - this is best accomplished with a towel and doing hamstring stretch while the towel is wrapped around your foot and you pull on it. Wall "presses" also help. Act like your trying to push a wall, while keeping the back heel on the floor, repeat with the other leg. Overall flexibility will hamper this initially. Resting my not be possible so paying attention to your walking habits to ensure full foot flexion which helps break up the calcification. It took me over a year to get pain free, but my job required lots of standing, carrying, walking, etc. For me losing weight helped too. Good luck! | ||
| Ratbuell |
great advice, all - thank you. I have been thinking about the night splints, because my size 13's definitely droop at night! However, I appear to be ahead of the "time curve" - got up this morning, and they were sore...from all the ball-rolling...but definitely did NOT feel like glass! Wore my shoes with inserts all day doing yard stuff. I dug out my car trailer, hooked it to my diesel, loaded two lawn tractors (one running, one not), and took them down to trade in on a new zero-turn. Never had an ounce of what I'd consider "pain" - good flexibility, good range of motion, no cramping, and no "WTF did I just step on that made my foot explode??". Then for grins when I got home, I put new belts on my 91 Daytona. Nice quiet day.  | ||
| Ratbuell |
Well...spoke too soon on that one. Barely made it across the hall this morning to the bathroom, damn feet hurt so bad. GOT to get some of those night splints... | ||
| 86129squids |
Dang Joe- hope you find a good solution and get to feeling better! FWIW, last Sunday I was driving anchor spikes in some landscaping timber to frame my new garden, missed a strike badly and sliced open my left index finger! OWIE. About 3 pepperoni's worth, or a quarter piece of bologna. Let's all try to NOT hurt...  | ||
| Pwnzor |
Squids, Pour BBQ sauce on it, let it marinate for a few hours. I laid out 55 bags of mulch on my steeply sloped yard on Sunday, pruned a bunch of bushes, found a hose bib I had only heard of in legends, soaked the whole place in ant poison, bagged up all the dead fall from the trees... I'm still hurting. All over. | ||
| Ceejay |
Rat - I tried the splints. They did little for me, except made it tougher to sleep. | ||
| Ratbuell |
I now have a pair of splints on. Good news, they were "buy one, get one half price". Wheee. Bad news, I look like that blade-runner amputee marathon guy. We'll see how sleep goes. Can't be any worse than last night - pain woke me at 02:30 and I couldn't do anything about it till I gave in, soaked my feet/legs in a hot tub, and took half a dozen ibuprofen. THEN I slept for a bit. | ||
| Robertl |
Just over 2 years so far with this, starting in Jan 2013. Rolling on frozen bottle (definitely helps with the pain) Night splint (sometimes wear during day if home) Kinesiology tape (helps some and you can get some at Walgreens for $10-12; youtube has videos on how to use it) Stretching (PT training videos) 5 shots (no change other than hurting from shots for a few days) 5 or 6 different insoles (Spenco Total Support Max are the best so far but I need the oem ones too for enough cushion). Finally had surgery June 2014 I see surgery made a difference in how tight that tendon is across the bottom of my foot but it still hurts like all hell. I walk 4-8 miles a day so although not completely lazy, I wouldn't say I am athletic either. Doc says it is still healing but I just don't know if I believe that any more. Tomorrow I am going to ktape the hell out of it and walk a damn 5K. In my countless hours of research, the key is to stretch the tendon and support it in that stretched position so it will heal at the base of the heel where it connects. That is the idea behind the ktape, supporting the tendon while it heals. Same is true with the night splint, especially for stomach sleepers. Some of the insoles will actually hurt more at first because they are trying to stretch it so it heals in that position. When it really hurts, I put an ice pack in the bottom of the night splint and rest it a while. Each is his own and we all heal slightly different so just have to keep trying until you find what works best for you. I read one guy fixed his over a few months time by wrapping duck tape around his sock because he could adjust how tight it was. There is a PT sock/wrap for that now though. Good luck and I hope to hell next year I can report all this crap was worth it. If you or anyone has any questions, just let me know. Robert ps: stretch people, and then stretch some more. none of us are getting any younger. | ||
| Ratbuell |
I guarantee mine is lack-of-stretch. I haven't been able to run since 2008, when both my legs were shattered in an accident. That keeps me from "a lot" of heel-toe propulsion. Walking...doesn't put me on my toes nearly as much. I also have size 13 feet - they definitely droop, stomach- or back-sleeping, helping the tendons shrink. All that considered, I was probably doing fine and wouldn't have had issues given my level of activity (4 miles or so a day at work; caring for a 4 acre yard and 3500sf home; doing shows that require moving very heavy equipment once a week; rebuilding/renovating a 2br rental apartment with my own 2 hands). But...I also decided now would be a good time to double-down on my elliptical workouts (remember that heel-toe running I haven't done since...2008?) because I'm tired of being single and want to look presentable for the ladies. Whooops. All things considered, I think I are stronger than I are smart. And not real good at either one. | ||
| Ulywife |
I just got over this within the past year. I went to the Podiatrist for 18+ months. During that I received 3 cortisone shots, took steroids packs, wore heel cups in my shoes and wore the dreaded boot for 8 weeks with no relief in sight. He was talking surgery. Chatted with my friend who is a physical therapist, he promised me he'd have me walking without pain and without surgery. True to his word, within 8 weeks I was pain free, boot free and no longer using heel cups. That was last summer. The stretches (not from a staircase...more harm that good) and rolling your foot on an frozen bottle of water are a big factor, but along with that will be the taping of your arch to give your foot the support it's lacking right now. There are sneakers by Brooks that are for designed for those of us with Plantar Fasciitis. They are well worth the money. Here's a link for several suggested sneakers. http://www.plantarfasciitisresource.com/best-runni ng-shoes-for-plantar-fasciitis-men-women/ Find a good PT that can address this issue for you. Ask about the taping of your arch. It's a special heavy duty tape that you wear 24/7 and it gets changed every 3-4 days. It works and I've been pain free for over 9 months. Word of warning....do not take the tapings shown on facebook and websites as the gospel. Charlie told me that several of the ones shown would do more harm that good. I think the PT aspect is that they focus on the muscle and movement. Charlie did more for me in 2 months than the foot doctor ever dreamed of doing. Doesn't hurt that he lives 4 blocks from me and got paid in Jack Daniels  Good luck! (Message edited by ulywife on April 17, 2015) | ||
| Ratbuell |
Definitely checking out shoes this weekend, if I survive today (work all day then have a gig tonight, will be on my feet till 0230 non stop). Will look into taping as well, thanks!! | ||
| Bads1 |
Rat this might sound crazy but here we go. I suffered with the problem for 2 years. Foot doctor .... shots after shots.... pig skin orthodics that cost 1200.00 and buying new shoes bymonthly. My father was a Chiropractor here for 43 years. He helped me with various issues in my wrists from work. He passed some years ago but the women that bought my Fathers practice I asked for help. She adjusted me and my feet and legs. I cant say it will work for you but Im pain free of over 2 years now and I dont have anything in my shoes any longer. Try a Chiropractor,look for one that has been around for awhile and a Palmer graduate. They alot of time advertise thats where they went to school on the account its where it all started. If you can.... ask to be adjusted the old school way. Its rough but boy is it effective. | ||
| Indy_bueller |
Ratbuell, check this out: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Graston+Technique+plantar+fas ciitis (Not trying to be a smartass with the lmgtfy.com, just showing a lot of helpful links) | ||
| Ratbuell |
Well shoes definitely helped. I skated at lunch and bought a pair of Asics GT-2000 per the article Kristi posted above. First pair of "running" shoes I've owned in years, and WOW. Just wearing them for the remainder of my work day, I could feel the difference - I had my insoles in for extra support, but DAMN these help out! The heel is super-soft, so no strike pain; the arch has tons of support; there's good torsional strength; and they're LIGHT. Finished my workday. Went home, tried to power-nap, that didn't work so I hit the gym downstairs. Soaked in the tub for a bit, got dressed, fired up the truck and went to a gig. Loaded my 5000W PA system into a bar, set up, did the show (on my feet the whole time, mind you), struck the gear, loaded it back in the truck, got home around 02:40 as I had predicted. Was TERRIFIED of how I'd feel this morning. I'm walking. I have the most MINOR (relative to recently, anyway) heel pain, but the left ankle (which was the size of a softball when I went to bed) doesn't hurt, I have decent flex even in my night splints...needless to say, I am thrilled! I put my feet through probably the most abuse possible yesterday - worked all day, and added a gig on top of that - and I'm still able to walk. Hmm....that's an idea, Dana. I've done chiropractic before (a long time ago), and there is this awfully cute little blonde I've been hanging out with, trying to do more than hang out...she happens to be a DC, just returned from the UK. Could prove interesting...hehe... All seriousness, though - I would definitely prefer adjustments to shots. The one thing that has always stuck with me from my chiropractic in the past is this phrase: "don't medicate the symptom, treat the problem". Maybe I'll give Angela a call...  | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
Hey Rat- You still doing better? I have not had foot pain since I first started coaching and trial and errored it til I found the right boots. However this week I over did the trifecta of spring cleaning...housework, yardwork, and post winter car cleaning while wearing jackass shoes (basically ballet slippers). Woke up the next day with pain..no big deal. Next day worse. Next day even worse so I got insoles. No help. Ice and aleve helped a little. Followed this thread to the pf shoe link and decided it was time to try new shoes as my sneaks were 8 or so months old (ironically purchased in the aftermath of wearing cowboy boots on a long hike to a broncos game...live n learn right?) My shoe search was very focused and my foot feels light years better today in the brooks gts 14s I got than they did yesterday. Thanks for posting this timely link and I hope everyone that has foot or other pain finds relief. Nobody deserves to suffer. b. | ||
| Cyclonedon |
I've had that twice and both times my foot doctor made a elastic foot wrap to support my arch and gave me a prescription and both times the pain went away within a week. But I highly recommend comfortable shoes to help solve the problem | ||
| Ratbuell |
Still loving the Asics. I also got a pair of cheaper (slightly, anyway) Nike's at the outlets, for yardwork and stuff. Both have inserts in them now, I've found the ones at Rite-Aid are the best for me in the Asics, but too severe for the Nike's. So, those have an off-brand ("Air") from WalMart. Also at Rite-Aid are Futuro standalone arch supports - I put these on the instant I take my shoes off at home. Link is a Target page, same product: http://www.target.com/p/futuro-therapeutic-arch-su pport-adjustable-1-pair/-/A-15118226?ref=tgt_adv_X SG10001&AFID=google_pla_df&LNM=15118226&CPNG=Healt h+Beauty&kpid=15118226&LID=17pgs&ci_src=17588969&c i_sku=15118226&kpid=15118226&gclid=CjwKEAjwmfKpBRC 8tb3Mh5rs23ASJACWy1QPS2RnvuY8ZWrY-zhgxHkHeKIbP00LU 8dxDSDmeKj5EhoCIxXw_wcB I have ordered (not here yet) some adjustable night splints that will allow me to hold my feet in a tighter-than-90-degree angle overnight, to put some stretch back into my achilles. I worked on a buddy's Jeep yesterday - WHY he wants to keep it carbureted, I'll never know...I hatehateHATE old, gunked up, crappy Weber carbs!! - and while I could feel the burn in my achilles and knees from leaning forward for hours over the engine...no foot pain (well, relative to recently anyway). I've also altered my diet a bit - more milk, put Ensure back into my daily intake to get more nutrients (one a day), more juice and gatorade / less soda, and I'm drinking less at night. All of that is helping; I'm sure the standalone arch supports help; but I know the most help is the NEW SHOES. I tossed five or six old pair the other day - still serviceable, still presentable...but totally worn out as far as actual support goes. Ironically...my feet feel best in my Sidi touring boots | ||
| Ratbuell |
...and for more "overworking weirdness"...today I spent the day in the garage. I have a 1972 Plymouth Satellite wagon that I'm gradually getting back in shape. Today, I reinstalled the fuel tank (in a wagon, it tucks rubiks-cube-style into the drivers quarter panel) and tinkered with the Holley carb. Also did some more monkeying with Roy's Jeep and its Weber. Other than tweaking my lower back (lift/twist angered it while wedging the tank back up into the quarter)...I was doing a lot of squatting, floor work, kneeling, and leaning. My feet feel...not just reduced-pain, but nearly pain-FREE. We'll see how the morning is... | ||
| Figorvonbuellingham |
I had it 20 years ago. It would take 25 minutes to walk from my work station to my car in the parking lot. I went to an orthopedic doctor and had some inserts made for my feet. It took a while to notice any difference but eventually my feet got back to normal. I wore them until they broke and then I just made sure I bought shoes with a high arch and very short heel ( I used to wear loggers boots). The inserts themselves were very expensive back then. they were like $700 and then all the doctors appointments were additional. My insurance didn't cover any of it. It was well worth my money. Now I am battling damaged Achilles tendons. 6 months ago a doctor prescribed me an antibiotic. It was a variant of Cipro. Two days after taking them my tendons got so tight they felt like they would snap. I called the doctor and she said keep taking it. A few days later I could barely walk. It turns out the doctor had no idea this drug can damage tendons. I actually found out myself by looking at their website where they clearly say it can. I had to wear leg casts for a while and take some more stupid meds which had warnings too for other crap. Now I hobble around. I talked to a lawyer and she said I couldn't do anything about it since the company advises that the damage can occur. So I hobble. | ||
| 86129squids |
Good to hear it Joe! 2 weeks out, my finger is becoming functional again... gonna have a pretty scar there soon! My beautiful day will soon involve lots of yardwork, and later this afternoon I get to pressure-wash the house. Fun! | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
Glad to hear your foot seems to be on the mend, rat. Love the comfort of my sidis as well but have not slipped mine on since this episode. I totally agree with the importance of good shoes aspect for both preventative and healing. I should have learned from my sisters broken foot experience when her doc told her to toss all her flip flops and ballet slippers. I usually learn from things like watching others grab the front brake in the corner instead of having to grab the front brake in the corner myself to figure out the consequences but i missed the boat on this one. Stretching before getting busy with chores or teaching a three wheeled class is something my florida chiropractor used to preach as well. You ever notice how some people don't pay attention to things until its right up in their face? One example might be a certain vehicle. For me it was jeeps. I personally never paid much attention to jeeps until my coworker and neighbor both got one. Then I started seeing them everywhere whereas the reality was they were probably everywhere to begin with and I just did not notice them because no one I knew personally had them. For me this foot pain/pf thing was not relative until the.morning I woke up in pain. Now I am hearing about people I know - maybe not close friends - but casual friends who have had to cut back on marathons and other running activities - because of pf. No idea it was so common. As for me I am much better today. Iced foot down about 4 times yesterday. Once errands were done yesterday morning-I plopped down on the couch and elevated my foot. I grabbed an ace bandage and wrapped it around the ball of my foot and pulled it towards me til i felt the muscles in my heel and calf stretch. It must have helped because I was walking fine in my new shoes from the get go today. Hoping it continues to get better. Been a wake up call for sure. |
