sudden return of plantar fasciitis

Been a while now since I've walked. I suppose there's a chance the
muscle is sore, but I'm beginning to think that I may have splintered
the bone as someone pointed out. Whatever the case, I haven't been
walking much at all unless I have to. There's a touch of pain
especially if I don't wear the Superfeet shoes, so it's still going to
take quite some time yet before I'm ready to resume. I've lost even
more weight, but that has been basically through diet alone. I'm just
glad I've lost and not gained this time! As for the exercises, I've
been hesitant to do those other than stretching the toes upward. The
dips seemed to exacerbate the pain so I haven't tried them again.

Sam

Well, it's been nearly a month since the onset of the fasciitis. I
still haven't tried extended walking as an activity because I still feel
a touch of pain, sometimes with just normal walking and sometimes during
or just after I've lifted something heavy. I initially tried the
stretches suggested here, but I found that, aside from the pulling the
toes back stretch, that the one you do on a step just aggravated the
pain so I stopped it for now. I guess the good news in all of this was
that I still managed to lose the weight I needed to, basically through
diet alone, and in fact my weight is now about 3 lbs less than my
initial goal, so quite satisfied there. I do have two questions though:

1) Would the fasciitis take this long or longer to heal completely?

2) Someone had mentioned a possible bone fracture in addition to or
instead of the fasciitis. Since it's taking longer to completely heal
than I suspected, is the fracture a possibility?

Sam

On 09/06/2015 04:37 PM, Ed Prochak wrote:
Bone takes about 6 weeks to knit back together. Tendons take longer.


So it's hard to say which case it is.


Not too concerned about it. As long as I don't eat like a horse, and I
haven't been, my weight is stable and in fact still I've still been
losing. As of today, there is still a touch of tenderness now and
again, but not taking any chances and I will give it some more time.

Ok, today, after just over a month, and armed with the "orange"
Superfoot insert in each shoe, I decided to try and go for 1/2 my prior
distance at full speed. The result: disappointment. I originally aimed
for 45 minutes, but stopped around 35 min when I started feeling pain in
the affected foot. I was afraid to go any further for fear of
triggering a total relapse. So that was that . You know, when my hip
acted up three years ago, it took a good 3 months to heal and even today
it can be "tender" at times.

I tried doing the stretches for the foot suggested here early on, but
all it seemed to do was make the symptoms worse. Not sure what would
happen at this point, but I may try and start the stretches tomorrow.

I thought the Superfoot would do the trick at this point, but it isn't.
Rats.

Sam

Another update today. On a whim and sort of out of desperation, I
revisited the local Walmart footcare isle as I had noticed a variety of
cheap inserts there in the past. I decided to simply purchase any that
said they were for "plantar fasciitis". Even in total, the cost for 4
pairs was still less than one Superfoot and a lot easier to return if I
have problems. So tonight, I started testing. I started off with a
single Dr. Scholl's athletic insert with supposed support for plantars,
but after just general, slow normal walking I found that it wasn't
enough. I then decided to try another insert especially made for
plantar fasciitis (or at least that's how it was marked). Still some
pain. Finally, I decided to try an experiment: re-insert the Dr.
Scholl's and then place the "specially made" one for PF on top of the
Dr. Scholl's. There was initial concern here as the PF insole was a bit
small and that this might cause discomfort (I had blisters start to form
recently from too small a Superfoot insert). Anyway, I did start
walking with the combination, slow at first and.... no pain! I then
proceeded to go my normal athletic walking speed, and I was able to go
1/2 my normal distance virtually without pain! Just a touch, but
nowhere near like the recent try with the Superfoot. Not getting too
excited yet, but I believe I have found my preliminary answer.
Apparently, the double inserts must relieve the pressure even better
than the one plus add additional padding where needed. I won't know for
sure until I try the combination a few more times, and I definitely
won't start pushing too much yet until I'm sure the pain is no longer an
issue. It would be great if so! One thing I didn't have on were my
socks, but I was still able to complete my half distance without blister
formation, couple of hot spots but no broken skin easily solved next
time when I wear my socks.

Hopefully, this is a breakthrough for me. Hopefully.

Sam



Ok, today, after just over a month, and armed with the "orange"
Superfoot insert in each shoe, I decided to try and go for 1/2 my prior
distance at full speed. The result: disappointment. I originally aimed
for 45 minutes, but stopped around 35 min when I started feeling pain in
the affected foot. I was afraid to go any further for fear of
triggering a total relapse. So that was that . You know, when my hip
acted up three years ago, it took a good 3 months to heal and even today
it can be "tender" at times.

I tried doing the stretches for the foot suggested here early on, but
all it seemed to do was make the symptoms worse. Not sure what would
happen at this point, but I may try and start the stretches tomorrow.

I thought the Superfoot would do the trick at this point, but it isn't.
Rats.

Sam

Ok, since some folks asked, here is the latest update after just over 8
months. After the plantar onset, I stopped walking until it healed and
it has basically taken this long. I tried about 4 different types of
inserts (Superfoot, Pinnacle, Walmart, etc) and doubling them up, but my
distance was still severely limited until the onset of the pain.

The good news is that I didn't gain much weight at all despite not being
able to walk, maybe 6 lbs and this varies by 3 lbs due to water weight.
So the task of losing the weight is much easier. Of course, I'm out
of shape cardiovascularly and it shows during the walks with the HR
jumping up a lot.

So, yesterday, after placing the Pinnacle inserts in my shoes, I started
walking again. I no longer plan on the 6.5-9 mi/ day walks like I used
to. As long as I manage to keep my weight steady, the most I will ever
walk for now on is 4 mi, but this won't be everyday. I may end up
alternating days of biking with walking, but I prefer to stick with
walking as long as I limit my distance this time.

Not much more to say other than folks wishing me luck maybe. I sure
don't want to end up with the fasciitis again and hope the shorter
distances, less total miles per week, and the inserts will do the trick.

Thanks again for all those who tried to help.

Sam

On 04/19/2016 01:11 PM, Beach Runner wrote:
On Friday, April 15, 2016 at 7:09:42 PM UTC-7, Sam Seagate wrote:
Ok, since some folks asked, here is the latest update after just over 8
months. After the plantar onset, I stopped walking until it healed and
it has basically taken this long. I tried about 4 different types of
inserts (Superfoot, Pinnacle, Walmart, etc) and doubling them up, but my
distance was still severely limited until the onset of the pain.

The good news is that I didn't gain much weight at all despite not being
able to walk, maybe 6 lbs and this varies by 3 lbs due to water weight.
So the task of losing the weight is much easier. Of course, I'm out
of shape cardiovascularly and it shows during the walks with the HR
jumping up a lot.

So, yesterday, after placing the Pinnacle inserts in my shoes, I started
walking again. I no longer plan on the 6.5-9 mi/ day walks like I used
to. As long as I manage to keep my weight steady, the most I will ever
walk for now on is 4 mi, but this won't be everyday. I may end up
alternating days of biking with walking, but I prefer to stick with
walking as long as I limit my distance this time.

Not much more to say other than folks wishing me luck maybe. I sure
don't want to end up with the fasciitis again and hope the shorter
distances, less total miles per week, and the inserts will do the trick.

Thanks again for all those who tried to help.

Sam

Inserts, really orthodics that don't match the shape of your foot, and compensate for your gait really won't do you much good.

Generally, podiatrists make molds of your feet, watch your gait, and make
hard orthodics. They are expensive and covered by insurance. They can help.
They need to be refurbished every few years.

Next, great chiropractors make orthodics, once again based on molds, and great ones watch your gait, and decide on specific features. The difference is these are flexible and use the natural motion of your feet. They have limited lifetimes.

Then something great and new has come out. The Walking Store, found in many
malls has a machine you walk on, it measures the exact shape of your foot,
exactly where your arch is, and also where the pressure your feet have. In addition, you walk through the sensor so it gets your gait. Then, based on all that they have great orthodics, that I've found are wonderful, and also, much
less expensive. I recommend trying them.

This information is what I was waiting to hear. Unfortunately, two days
out after a LONG recess from walking, and I could start to feel the pain
return to the affected foot. This is with my current shoes and Pinnacle
inserts. So that meant stopping walking once again and going back to
the bicycle, but I'm not ready to throw in the towel quite yet with
walking. I'm going to give your suggestion a try, visiting The Walking
Company. I'm assuming their machine is different from the Dr. Scholl's
machine Walmart uses as that one did me no good. Anyway, there's a store
about 25 mi away from me and I'll be visiting it soon and report back.
It's been nearly a week since I attempted any more speed walking and the
foot is back to normal. Luckily, I stopped soon enough this time that I
didn't end up missing any work, and I was able to carry on the normal
routines of life.

Thanks again and I'll report back soon.

Sam




All standard inserts do not match your specific feet.

On 04/21/2016 08:43 AM, Ed Prochak wrote:
Sam,
Sounds like you are finding ways to manage this.

No, not really. Truly wish I had this time.


IIRC you decided not to have surgery to correct this. But I will mention for others that may be an option. my wife had it done and she no longer has problems with plantar faciitus.

I wish you well and glad to hear you found a way to keep moving.

As a last resort, I'm going to give Beach Runner's suggestion a try
first before moving on to a podiatrist.

Sam


Enjoy the walk.
Ed

On 04/23/2016 02:01 PM, Beach Runner wrote:
On Saturday, April 23, 2016 at 1:37:07 AM UTC-7, Sam Seagate wrote:
On 04/21/2016 08:43 AM, Ed Prochak wrote:
Sam,
Sounds like you are finding ways to manage this.

No, not really. Truly wish I had this time.


IIRC you decided not to have surgery to correct this. But I will mention for others that may be an option. my wife had it done and she no longer has problems with plantar faciitus.

I wish you well and glad to hear you found a way to keep moving.

As a last resort, I'm going to give Beach Runner's suggestion a try
first before moving on to a podiatrist.

Sam


Enjoy the walk.
Ed


Hi, I went back to the Walking Company to update my inserts. They have improved their technology and I love the improvements in their sport orthodic. Besides their sensors measuring the foot, your pressure points,
your gait, they are now water wicking and breath.


I was finally able to visit the store today. My feet were measured
twice: first by taking a step with each foot across a platform, and then
standing on the platform. From this information, they computed an
insert for my shoes. This is the first time my feet have been checked
in more than one way. With the Dr. Scholl's machine, there was only a
single standing measurement, so with the additional method I'm hopeful.
Since this particular store is in a mall, I then walked very fast a
couple of miles around the mall with the new inserts. So far, so good
and no pain, but I won't really know until I get out to my walking
locales and go three+ miles for a couple of days. Keeping my fingers
crossed. Will report back.

Sam

On 04/26/2016 08:41 PM, Twittering One wrote:
DON'T


After reviewing your replies and sarcasm in the group, I've decided to
filter you out, but I'll reply just this once: Do you have anything
useful to contribute here or are you just the group resident troll? You
might want to reconsider if you are the latter. In any case, whether
you answer or not will no longer be seen. Bye.