Plantar fasciitis= surgery

[Blueberry]

I had PF, tried stretching, etc. Nothing helped. I got busy with work and didn't have time to address it. It went away on its own. Very strange.

I think danskos can make it worse because of the relatively raised heels. Crocs are flat, and were fine for me. As were Chacos (I live in them).

[Running Mommy]

ohhh TG!!! I sure do feel for you. I've had PF in the past and it is horrible! And having not been able to train at all for over a week do to my back is making me cranky too. So I know how you feel. UGH it sucks!! hang in there, and be smart w/your training.
Oh boy life does hand us lemons sometimes... sigh...
But lets look on the good side. Other than that you have your health, and are able to ride and swim. It could always be worse!

take care

Denise

[IFjane]

TG - I have had PF in both feet; orthotics, Chacos, PT....nothing helped. I eventually had to have surgery on each foot - 2 years apart - and have been perfectly fine ever since. No pain, nothing. And now I'm back to wearing flipflops in the summer! (Never was much of a "cute shoes" person unless you consider Chacos & Keens cute!)

Good luck!

[mimitabby]

so IFjane, what IS the surgery?

[wackyjacky1]

My PF developed several years ago when I was playing tennis a lot. Stretching, icing it down, and ibuprofen eventually took care of it.

Then, a couple of months ago, I bought a pair of Crocs. As a baker, I am on my feet all day, and I'd heard such good things about them. Wouldn't you know it, the PF came right back and is worse than ever! For me, there doesn't seem to be enough arch support in Crocs. So I'd have to give Crocs a thumbs-down for PF.

My Birkies are very comfortable, and I can wear them all day long with no problem. I love my Keens, but if I do a lot of walking in them, my foot will be killing me the next day.

So far the same techniques that cleared it up during my tennis days are not having any effect right now. If the pain keeps up, I'll have to see a doctor, too, I guess.

[IFjane]

so IFjane, what IS the surgery?

Mimi - it's arthroscopic - heavy sedation but not general anesthesia. A tiny incision is made on each side of the heel, one for the scope, and one for all the other stuff The surgeon clips a tiny hole in the tendon to let the bone spur (cause of all the pain) poke through. I still have my bone spurs but they have nothing to rub against and there is no pain.

Recovery is crutches for a couple days to a week, then a walking-type cast for 4 weeks. I had to take it easy for about 6 weeks but after that was back to normal and had no residual pain once the inflammation in the tendon healed.

[KnottedYet]

We used to treat bone spurs with iontophoresis using acetic acid. One of the podiatrists had us doing it. I must say, it's the only time I've ever seen ionto to be really effective at *resolving* a symptom, rather than just burying it.

(the acid helps the body resorb the spur, and the PT exercises and footwear modifications take the strain off the foot which caused the pf and spur in the first place. Remember, pf is never spontaneous: it is always a symptom of something else awry in the kinetic chain. Gotta fix the original problem, or the pf will come back; acetic acid or no.)

Spurs are never resorbed completely, the periosteum has been pulled away from the bone and the body has responded by building new bone to fill in the gap created. But if you can resorb it enough to take the pain out of the equation, you can generally cope with the remaining spur. (and if that doesn't suffice, surgery is a welcome relief)

[Tri Girl]

The surgery he described is a bit different than the one you had, IFjane. He said I don't have a bone spur, but that the PF is too short and needs to be lengthened. He said they'd cut the entire width of the PF, then set it, cast it, and it would grow back together longer than before. He said I'd have a cast for 4 weeks, then I'd have to use the giant boot for a few weeks. He also said I couldn't run for about 3 months afterward.
I didn't ask many more details because I wasn't really considering surgery at that moment. I'm all about exploring EVERY other option before I go under the knife (but I think it may come down to surgery in the end).
I ran 6 today because I have a race this weekend that I needed to make sure I could do. During the run no pain at all. The rest of the day; pain on and off. He showed me a different foot taping technique that held my arch much more securely than before. Between the tape, the orthotics, and the motion control shoes: I think I did OK.