Has anyone had it? And does anyone have some good ideas to beat it? Nothing really is working. I am not playing disc golf right now, trying to get back on my feet, so to speak. I tried playing a few tourneys with the pain, and it was the worst! Let me know if you have some good info, please.

Don

So, this is a problem with the area right around the bottom of my heel (more towards the inside). Some doctors say it is scar tissue caused by a small injury (over stretching the bottom of your foot causing a small tear, perhaps when pushing a car). When you sleep, your foot "points" and the tear heals in that position, then when you take a step, it re-tears. This is very painful! As the day goes on, the pain dies down, only to start again in the morning, or through the night if you have to get up. Playing disc golf made the symptoms many times worse. I haven't played for three weeks, yet it won't go away. I am taking an anti-flammatory prescribed by my doctor.

Has anyone had something like this? What did you do?

I've had it before and it can take some time to heal. Contributing factors include age, health, how much time you spend on your feet, how carefully you prevent re-injuring the area, etc.

The most important thing while healing, AFAIK, is to never go barefoot. Since some shoes aren't much better than barefoot, wear shoes that have some support or add arch supports.

The worst moments for me were stepping out of bed first thing in the morning so I tried to remember to do some lower leg stretches, ankle movements, flexing toes and feet, stuff like that before getting out of bed to loosen things up. Then put on a pair of supportive shoes or shoes with added arch support before taking my first steps of the day.

If you spend a lot of time sitting down, you can do different exercises to improve flexibility and strength in the foot and lower leg which can help keep the problem from coming back. Clench and unclench your feet just like making a fist / splaying fingers. Alternate pulling your toes back towards your shins, then pointing away. Massaging your foot with a tennis ball, or a can of peas, empty beer bottle, etc feels so good that it doesn't matter if it helps your PF :)

After your positive it's healed, the best thing you can do for your feet is to spend some time going barefoot. I think new DG vendor Vibram makes a line of walking-socks or foot-gloves or something like that - basically, barefoot but protected from the elements. If you see a podiatrist they are likely to prescribe foot orthotics whether you truly need them or not. You might ask at a very good running store or at a physical therapist if there is some cause for this in your stride, but I think you said this was caused by a trauma of some kind, so it doesn't sound like this is the issue.

Good luck

Has anyone had it? And does anyone have some good ideas to beat it? Nothing really is working. I am not playing disc golf right now, trying to get back on my feet, so to speak. I tried playing a few tourneys with the pain, and it was the worst! Let me know if you have some good info, please.

Don

I think new DG vendor Vibram makes a line of walking-socks or foot-gloves or something like that - basically, barefoot but protected from the elements.

Vibram Five Fingers: http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/

Other manufacturers offer barefoot-like products like Nike Free.

Earlier this year I had the same type of symptoms. My heels would throb hurt whether I disc golfed or not. So I figured if they were going to hurt anyway, I might as well disc golf.

I am now pain free. In June, I put WalkFit inserts into my shoes and added a gel heel cushion. I didn't rest or change my daily routines. The pain decreased dramatically the first month and was gone by August. Now I rarely even think about it anymore.

I also started doing heel/Achilles stretches to help prevent it from coming back. I still have the inserts in my shoes, but no longer need the gel pads.

bcary93,
Thanks for the insights. Most of what you said I know and am doing. I found a web sight that suggested using a frozen water bottle to roll on the bottom of your foot. That feels really good and ices nicely! I have not thought about going barefoot when this is all healed up, so that might be something to try in the future. Especially the Vibram �Five Fingers� (thanks for the link, CGPRush).

Thanks!

discette,
I am not sure if playing with this injury is a good idea, for me. I tried playing a tourney and bombed, and not in a good way. I have since tried a couple rounds and there is quite a lot of pain both during the round and the next morning. Not really enough to keep me from playing, but I know I can�t play well like that, so trying to get it all healed. The last tourney of the year in my area is coming up in a couple weeks and I would like to play. I am not sure how badly I want to play, but I think I would play no matter what. Then again� Will have to see.

I did order a pair of heel inserts but they did not get here yet. Today, I was talking about this at a men�s breakfast and one of the guys said that he had it a while back and had used Birkenstock inserts (that actually makes sense)! I might try those if these don�t work. I also might try the gel heel cushions. Right now I am wearing Crocs. Another friend suggested them. They feel better than shoes, but the pain returns when I sit down!

Anyway, thanks for the advice!

I kept playing through it mostly because I figured if it hurt when I sat down and it hurt when I played, I might as well play. However, playing did cause it to hurt a lot more when I rested. Aspirin provided some relief - I didn't know about the frozen water bottle (that sounds excellent).

I think the Walk Fit inserts are what helped "cure" the problem. The gel pads just made it less painful.

Best of luck.

I've had it for 20 years. It never goes away completely. When it gets real bad, I sleep with my shoe on.

When you sleep your feet relax and curl, which allows the tendons in the sole of your foot to shorten. You need to keep them stretched. Take out any insert and tie your shoe as tightly as you can without having the foot go numb. Then just go to sleep.

It also may help to keep the achilles tendon stretched, and they sell a special boot for doing that. I had one once. It's more of a pain in the neck, and I get just as much relief using my regular shoe.

When it gets real bad, I sleep with my shoe on.

I forgot wearing shoes to bed for a couple months. That was even less fun than one might think :(

I've had it for 20 years....

This doesn't sound promising. Apparently I may have only gone through my first bout with it.:( The pain was not always severe but it was certainly constant and throbbing. Much like a toothache, you can dull the pain, but it never really goes away.

I found a web site on this and after watching some of their videos, I ordered some of their products. Their night splint is really good. It has buckles, so it stays adjusted for the next night! The other one I have just has velcro straps, so I was re-adjusting them a lot. If my toes were tingling, it was too tight. Then too loose. Argh! This one also has these side straps to keep your foot at the proper angle! Now, if it actually helps the pain...

Also, I got the heel seats. They are hard rubber. Feels like rubber rocks in my shoes. When I walk, there is pain, but it's not in the same spot. I would imagine that this will go away as I get used to them, but I am not sure. When I sit down, the pain from the PF comes back in my right foot. But it really isn't bad. Kind of like discette said, a dull ache. If I remember to put my foot back behind me a tad, it goes away.

Maybe in a week or so, I will try some drives, but the tourney is in a week. Right now it's not gonna happen, but we will see.

Mr. Shive, thanks for your insights and suggestions!

Oh, the web site is-

http://www.heel-that-pain.com/

Stretching helps. I had it acting up in one foot and now it's a lot better. ibuprofin, which I try to minimize taking but really needed for this, plus finding a rock or a curb to put the ball of my foot on and stretch with after every round. And also every time I would sit down I would hold my achilles with one hand to prop up my foot and pull back on toes with the other hand (leg crossed over the other). The doctor told me about that one and it seemed to help.

Here's another, more long-term, thought. Most of us wear shoes with built-up heels. Just about all running shoes and sports type shoes are like that. Over time the raised heel allows the Achilles to shorten, and this can also contribute to pf. Are your Achilles too tight? Here's an easy check. Try walking downstairs in your bare feet, with your heels contacting every step. You should be able to do that without feeling tightness in the ankle joint. If you can't, you need to work on your Achilles.

Best way to do that is just to go barefoot around the house, or wear slippers or sandals or any shoe without raised heels. Stretching also helps pf, and all the other ideas posted here are also good. I wear inserts, for example.

Yes, I've had it for 20 years, but it's never knocked me out of an event. When I was younger and it got real bad, I'd go out and run ten miles on pavement! The first mile was hell, but it eased off. It's certainly a quick way to stretch out the fascia. Maybe it was dumb (my PT was horrified), but it did work for me.

Everyone under thirty should take this thread as a reason to go barefoot as often as possible. Shoes are bad for our feet.

Latest problem, I got a new night splint from the link I listed in one of the other posts. It works very well, except when I fall asleep, I try to point my toe to the point in cuts off the blood flow to my foot. The clasps do not loosen, like the velcro on my other splint. One of my toes is now numb on the end, and a bit swollen. It was worse yesterday, and some feeling has returned, but I went back to the old splint. I am not sure if this will be a lasting effect or not.

krazyeye, as my symptoms improve, I plan on doing just that!

petershive, you are a much stronger individual than I am! The ten mile run on pavement with PF is what I am talking about! I know I couldn't do that. Actually, even without the PF, I couldn't do that. I was jogging a couple of miles a day two summers ago. Had to stop because, well, not sure why, but didn't get back to it. And now this. I hope to be able to run again soon (by run I mean a very slow jog).

Thanks all for your input on this!

Stretching is the best medicine along with wearing the Strassburg Sock at night.

http://www.footwearetc.com/Strassburg/Sock.html?gdftrk=gdfV269_a_7c99_a_7c174_a_7c15_d_6 77

These socks keep the toes up during the night and your foot in the stretched position. You can find them cheaper on ebay, but they are worth the money.

My wife has Plantar Fasciitis, or had it. She wore the socks and did stretching exerciese anytime she could. She still has little flare-ups, but not the crippling kind she once had. Now if it starts to flare-up, she ussually can wear the socks at night and it solves the problem. She still does many of the exercises everyday and some of them during the day while at work. She is a elementary librarian and she is on her feet all day.

A friend of hers had laser treatment on her feet. It is a level 3 or 4 laser treatment procedure. She was told that it would take 2-4 treatments to cure the planter faciitis. She walked out of the treatment center after only one treatment pain free, that was 6 months ago and she has had no problems since. Her Chiropractor specializes in Athletic Med.

Hopefully some help.

All of these iseas are great - I've suffered off & on with this & have found a few things helpful - streching (curling toes up with foot slat on the ground, picking things up with your toes, etc.), new shoes/inserts, message/body work, & acupunture really helped knock it out for me. Taking time off is also a big help, but only if your still treating the condition (otherwise once you go back to playing - it'll come back full force). Remember to strech when you're first getting up - before putting weight on your feet. The tendons really do shorten when not in use (sleeping) & the shock of just getting up & standing can cause an inflamation that ruins the rest of the day.

it will take time to heal and nothing will fix it right away. i had it for two seasons playing disc golf and it would start to feel better during the winter when my number of rounds decreased. a good pair of shoe inserts helped me the most. i put them in all of my DG shoes and i haven't had PF for a few years now.

Paul, I am going to have to look into Laser Treatment for sure! I have been to a chiropractor for my back, elbow and shoulder. Maybe I should try him for this.

Lala, I would like to give the message/body work, & acupuncture a try. I live in a very small community. I think we have a masseuse in the town where I live. Not sure on the acupuncture, but I doubt it.

Rocguy, got some inserts and they seem to be working.

I had to walk about 3 miles yesterday for Veteran's Day (my JH Band was in a parade honoring the Veteran's). When I got done, everything in both legs and feet were tight. But I took some Advil when I got home and stretched/iced. This morning felt like the past week or so, with not much soreness! I was really glad it wasn't that stabbing pain like it was early on! So things must be working! Can't play in the end of the year stuff which is tomorrow and Sunday, but I am sure there will be one next year.

Update;
I am doing much better! I still have pain in the mornings and if I sit for long periods of time. I have played in a few tourneys this year, and although I have not done well, I can't blame the foot! Yes it is stiff during rounds, but it doesn't bother me that much. I am more out of practice from missing so much last year! So I am kind of back on track, still stretching, and thinking about doing some things in bare feet, but not there yet. These inserts have worked well!

I've been using the Dr. Scholl's inserts and I've taken off 25 pounds since January. Both seem to be helping. My foot doc says I should take off another 25 pounds and see if it does not disappear entirely. I really want to take off another 50 so long as the diet is working so easy.

Good stuff in these posts...Thanks All!

I sit at a desk most of the workday, and now I've got a 4X4 piece of wood under the desk to put the stretch to my foot.

bruce_brakel reminded me. I have lost 25 lbs as well. And that seems to be helping the foot. I thought it might, with less lbs per step on each foot. I am not sure how much more I want to lose but I am eating right! Makes a big difference.

junky, the 4x4 piece of wood sounds like a good idea! I will have to try it.

Lavone Wolfe makes custom orthodicts for all kinds of feet aliments.
Maybe something like that would help?
You can also get a Rx for it and insurance will pay some.
Look around town for someplace that makes custom inserts.

I've kind of plateaued in the weight loss around -40 pounds and the plantars fascitis has been chronic.

Saturday evening, after the first two rounds of the Northern Waters tournament, I looked up a friend who lives in Traverse City who I have not seen for about five years. He was on the way to church, so I tagged along with. They had a guest speaker from Florida whose sermon was incomprehensible to me but at the end of his sermon he wanted to pray for people who had tendonitis and he asked those people to raise their hand and then go up there in front. I raised my hand and went up front but did not tell him what hurt.

During the Sunday round my feet did not hurt. Monday my feet did not hurt either. They feel good today too. So I guess you can add to weight loss and orthotics as potential sources of relief, faith healers. :D

I missed this reply until now, but that's good news! Did you get the guys number? :)