Experiences with Plantar Fasciitis

Discussion in 'Injuries' started by Mikael, Jan 6, 2009.

  1. Mikael

    Mikael Regular Member

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    HI

    I got Plantar Fasciitis for more than 6 months and still I cannot start my training :( - just hitting the racket in the air is kind of getting boring...

    I know this is not a medical forum, and of course I have talked with my doctor and on my own with a therapist, and talked with different people about it, but they all state different things, so I would like to here if anybody have expericences with speeding up the heeling process?

    My doctor just gave me the RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression Elevation) concept, and then it should all be fine. On the other hand my therapist stated that RICE is only relevant just after the damaged happen, and not for the long run. I have tried to put ice underneath my food, but I am not sure whether it helps or not.
    The thearapist gave me some kind of ultrasound I think it was, but probaly it only made it worse. He also showed me how to tape up my food, which I think help a little. I saw on the internet some strecht exercises, but my therapist believed that the tape thing should be fine and no strech exercises was needed. Some other guy also told me that strechting could make it even worse, as you strech the wounded part!?

    I can only walk around in my running shoes or badminton shoes and I bought a good heelcup, that I expect also to use when I some day can start to play again.

    I got a little tip from the professional world, about some NSAID medicine, as it actually is an inflammatory. Does anybody have any experience with that?

    BTW: I have no problem with weigth, as I am the skinny kind of bodybuild.
     
  2. cappy75

    cappy75 Regular Member

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    Plantar Fasciitis? Is that pain on the heel area? I have that before until I started using gel heel lifts (or heel cups) for all my regular shoes (not baddy shoes though). No more pain after that. My problem was that I was wearing out my regular shoes so long that there's no much cushion left, which in turn started to stretch out my achille's heel. I wasn't able to walk properly for weeks until I put those gel wedges in my shoes. Now I get those stuff for all my shoes and boots.
     
  3. daimond88

    daimond88 Regular Member

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    Hi Mikael,
    I have the same problem as you. Initially, it hurt only after my badminton session but it seem to getting worst as I can feel the pain even on normal day. For my case, it was due to the high archs which I have. I not sure what did your doctor told you about the various heeling process, but I will list down down here on what my doctor had told me.

    1)Customised a pair of insole to support my high archs. (I had choose this)
    2)Wave therapy. Kindly of wave frequency to reduce the inflammation.
    3)Injection (Best of all but risk involved)

    About the streching exercise, the theory behind is that it help to strengthen the "muscle" and so injury is reduce. I am currently doing it everyday and it have some good effect.

    If your area do have chinese accupunture, it will definately help to reduce the inflammation. I had tried before and it did lessen the pain. However, since my problme is high arch, the problem come back again when i play badminton. So the only solution for me is to wear the insole. I have yet to collect and so cant tell you how effective it is. Anyway, it will take 1 month before i can see result.

    Will keep you posted in due time :)
     
  4. wocdam

    wocdam Regular Member

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    1)Proper Rest - not to damage the tissues further
    2)Stretches - to keep the flexibility, but must do with caution to prevent overdoing
    3)Medication - anti-inflammatory
    4)Taping - during exercise to prevent overstraining
    5)Orthotics - custom made shoes/ footbeds/ insoles etc. See a podiatrist

    these are some of the things i can think of. i had this condition since 1996
     
  5. stumblingfeet

    stumblingfeet Regular Member

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    Let's face it: most doctors are not highly trained in sports medicine. They learn a few basic things like RICE and then tell their patients to rest until things get better. If that doesn't work they'll refer the patient to some kind of specialist.

    RICE is a protocol for reducing inflammation and the secondary damage that comes with it. It is useful for acute injuries, like sprained ankles, because it can prevent a sudden large increase in inflammation, but for chronic injuries it is not really the solution.

    Now, for this or any other chronic physical injury, there are a few steps that need to be followed:

    1) First of all, stop doing any activities that make it worse. Take the time to heal yourself properly now, or you'll just set yourself up for a bigger fall later on.

    2) You probably have a ton of adhesions and scar tissue in your legs. Use a tennis ball to roll out trigger points in the bottom of your feet, lower legs and butt. Use this video as an example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8caF1Keg2XU This will be very uncomfortable as you do it, but your muscles will feel much better afterwards.

    3) Of course, trigger points will come back unless you address how you got them in the first place: dysfunctional movement patterns. This is the hardest part to diagnose over the internet. You should probably take a look at your foot tripod, where you stand on one foot with three points of contact with the ground: the heel, behind the big toe and behind the small toe. First you need to learn how to hold this foot posture in a stationary position, then while moving.

    Another thing to look at would be the hips. Do your glutes initiate hip movement or do they fire late? Maybe they don't fire at all? Look up hip mobility and glute activation to deal with this.

    Anyhow, good luck with this. Be wary of short term fixes that don't address the root cause of the injury.
     
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  6. Mikael

    Mikael Regular Member

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    First Cappy75: "Is that pain on the heel area?" No, but as I have understood it can be one of the symptoms! Of course we cannot do diagnosis in this forum, but probaly your problem was more old shoes...

    daimond88: In my country you first go to a general doctor, who is responisible for you in the aera were you live, the quality of these doctors can vary a lot. He decides whether you should go to a specialist or something else. Unfortunatley I was only told about the RICE and then I showed my shoes - thats it :(
    On my own I went to a physiotherapist, and as I mentioned he gave me some laser treatment, it is called: "Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT)" - Is that what you called "Wave therapy"? Anyway I don´t think LLLT is helpfull. He tried to sell some soles but they were not customized, so I did not buy them as they did not fit at all. Customized soles are very expensive here, what brand do you buy? I look forward to hear about it!

    Chinese accupunture I don't think that is well-known in Denmark.

    Injection sounds comprehensive, I will first try medicine if that does not help I must try to find a good specialist.

    wocdam: "i had this condition since 1996" : Do you try to tell me that this is a lifetime project. :crying: :crying: :crying:

    What kind of medicine do you prefer?

    stumblingfeet: Yes, I think that my doctor and physiotherapist unfortunately have not been the greatest help. But only very few people have access to profesional sportsdoctors.

    "... a ton of adhesions and scar tissue in your legs..." I am not sure how to translate this??? But do you mean some kind of knots..., I don't feel that this is the problem.

    The cause should not not be from playing badminton and I don't think a wrong walking style either is the problem. The cause was from some very "fine" Lloyd shoes, I was required to wear for a party, I put somthing in for the heels, but I believe it only made it worse. For the next days I could hardly walk. Im convinced that was the cause.

    Thank you all for the informations :)
     
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  7. ViningWolff

    ViningWolff Regular Member

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    Get yourself a golf ball and roll it under your foot (keep your socks on) from the ball of your foot to your heel. It's going to hurt like hell, but it will break up the interlinking tissue and will.

    After about 5-6 days, my FP was gone. Best and cheapest advice I got from a physiotherapist.
     
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  8. stumblingfeet

    stumblingfeet Regular Member

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    Whenever you move your muscles, they get slightly damaged as part of normal wear and tear. If the load on the muscles is unbalanced, then particular areas get more damaged and your body lays down scar tissue around there. This brings out a couple of issues:

    1) Muscle fibres are typically lined up in straight or fan shapes which gives it particular structural properties. Scar tissue has collagen fibres distributed more randomly which gives it anisotropic properties. Therefore, the presence of a significant amount of scar tissue means that the muscle will not move as smoothly as an unscarred muscle.

    2) Scar tissue can actually bind two muscles together, so that when one muscle contracts it pulls on another.

    3) Actually, in some cases a nerve can get caught in scar tissue resulting in nerve entrapment issues. However, I don't think that's the case with your feet.

    As for the cause of your injury, these types of injuries aren't really caused by a single event. It's possible that the shoes you wore precipitated the injury, but the real damage was done at low level over a long period of time. After all, how many people actually have well developed foot posture, ankle mobility, hip mobility, lumbar spine stablity, etc? I would guess very few, even among high level athletes. Some physical trainers will work almost entirely with corrective exercises on some athletes and get great results.
     
  9. Mikael

    Mikael Regular Member

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    Thanks stumblingfeet, now I got it right :)

    Concerning the suggesting with the ball directly under the foot, I mean it kind of contradict with the concept of Rest!!?? Are u sure it is a good idea???


    BTW: I have found that using my hiking X-socks: http://www.x-socks.com/ is actually helpful. At the same time I use Strappal-tape (Which is the best tape I know about), the only problem is that it can stick to the X-sock, which is very close to the foot, so u need a second thinner taper to cover that.
     
  10. stumblingfeet

    stumblingfeet Regular Member

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    It's a poor man's version of manual therapy for your feet, like accupressure or active release therapy. Can it hurt? Yes, but as you roll over the really tight spots you feel this pleasant "release" after a while.

    Taping your foot is only a temporary measure. It's useful for when you need to get through some competitions that you must participate in. However, it doesn't fix faulty movement mechanics, which may leave you at an elevated risk of injury in the future.
     
  11. Skanbuzz

    Skanbuzz Regular Member

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    Hi,

    This sound familiar so I just want to share my experience.

    I was playing badminton one day in October when I suddenly felt as if my right foot slipped inside my badminton shoe (I can only describe it as - step on uneven ground). it hurt a little so after that game I stop.

    Next morning, the bottom of my foot(the arch) was swollen and the next day it went blue/black. I went to the hospital and the Dr told me that it is PF but since I was able to move toes etc she suspected that it is not as serious but gave me a elastic tube bandage and advised me to take anti-inflame tablets & rest, put feet up and no sports for two weeks.

    What a torture!! the pain was so bad I can't put weight on
    The tablets only stop the swelling & occasional pain killer help but I am not one who like taking "Drug" to fix pain/problem but I have used some oilment that a Chinese friend had given me to rub twice a day - once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Really apply generously, rub/massage onto the bootom of my foor - a bit of pain (Bite my teeth) This he said helps to strengthen the tissue and so assist recovery - Don't ask me what is in the oilment but is sure smoothing and help. It smell strong.
    The torture is also unable to participate in badminton for two weeks.
    I also put an cushion insole in my badminton shoes but because I put the tube bandage on, I do not put any more cushion sole into my normal shoes

    I was back walking and light badminton after 2 weeks.
    No mare pain now & that was 2-3 months ago

    Could any of our Asian friends advise what are all these oilments available and surely that 100 & 1000 years of practice with natural remedies must be just as good as pain killer? Any good recommedation?

    What is the long term problem or solution for PF?

    Thanks
     
  12. biomik

    biomik Regular Member

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  13. Mikael

    Mikael Regular Member

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    Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I have tried Ibumetin, and does remove the pain at first, but whether it actually cure the problem, I don't know. My doctor (not the specialist) wants to give me an injection if it is not gone within the next couple of months.

    My badminton shoes is a yonex models with "power cushion", so I think they should be fine enough once I can start playing.

    A another common fault is to start walking on your toes, because of the pain towards the heel, but it can actually just make it worse in the long run (own experince).

    I just found on the internet, a statement which says that only flat footed people need arc support, but if the arc is lifted up, there is no need for arc support, well I thought it was just opposit???
     
  14. robc06

    robc06 Regular Member

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    The only real soloution is to rest and get a decent pair of badminton shoes that will provide more cushioning. I have had the same problem and the only real way to overcome the injury is to rest and buy a new pair of shoes with a lot of cushioning and wear a good pair of socks.
     
  15. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

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    This problem has been affecting me a nearly half a year. Even after walking ten minutes, my foot would become very painful. Needless to say playing games or training is out of the question.

    I have extra cushioning under my feet, custom made insoles, tried rolling tennis ball, golf ball, Chinese medicine but not much use.

    In the end, I am trying shockwave ultrasound (hurts a lot) which seems to help a bit. Needs weekly sessions.


    I have just seen a different physio who gave me some different exercises. This physio said the reason for plantar fasciitis was not the repeated impact but because my right leg was weak in certain areas. We both agreed about correcting the source of the problem. He has given me some other daily exercises to do. His opinion on the insoles is they are helpful in keeping the problem in a steady state but not actually curing the problem.

    Of course, why did I get it? The physio explained for my case, I suddenly increased my training load at the beginning of the year. I went from 2-3 hours a week on court with occasionally vigorous games to training and playing 8-10hours a week. I was also putting in some sessions in the gym to strengthen my core muscles. How sudden is sudden? From my point of view, gradually increasing activity over four weeks is a slow building up. For this physio, that was his definition of 'sudden' increase....
     
    #16 Cheung, Oct 4, 2016
    Last edited: Oct 4, 2016
  16. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    Steroid injection? But make sure to get a TUE first...
     
  17. fanfaron

    fanfaron Regular Member

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    Please allow me to share my experience, it might helpful for others...

    I have that pain for nearly two years now. The first year, i try to rest a much a possible but the feet still hurt. This spring I started the shockwave treatment, 300$ Cad for both feet, had 8 sessions (2400$) imagine a stringing machine instead of those treatment.... The pain didn't go away. Now every time I'm gonna play badminton, tennis or just lot of walking I tape the bottom of my feet. I can really feel a difference. Pain is gradually going away, still not 100% but very manageable. If the shockwave weren't paid by insurance I don't think I would go for that. I do admit it helps a little bit, but I think it didn't cure my pain and after a while the pain was as strong before the treatment. For a fact I stop shockwave treatment in this august and my feet still hurt like crazy. In septembre, I started to tape the bottom of my feet and I start to feel a difference. By taping it, I think the fascia stress less thus less inflamation. I just use regular tape where you see volleybal player use for their hands.

    On the x-ray I have bone heel spur on each feet. You can try the shockwave if you don't have to pay for it. but otherwise I don't recommend. I also try to put apple cider vinager, but it didn't work. Sleep with the boots which stress the fascia. didn't work. Wear compressif sock, didn't work. I try a lot of stuff. I really don't care if it make sense, just want to get rid of the pain. Didn't try acupunture because insurance doesn't cover it. I have insole that is heat molded to my feet. I don't have those 500$ insole from orthetist. The brand is Sole, I really like it around 40$. Also the first year, I had regular physiotherapist treatment(massage, ultra sound, laser, ice) no use at all over a period of 8 months. Rolling the golf ball under the feet didn't work for me. I was getting very desperate. With feet taping, I start to train again. Very happy. I'm also putting chinese medecine on the bottom of the feet. In cantonese it's call "metal" "hit" "wine", say it in cantonese it will make sense. So taping with those chinese medecine helped me.

    Everyone should try feet taping. Only 3$, it's a not brainer. Of course, get yourself a good shoes that fits your feet and good insole.
     
  18. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    @fanfaron
    Interesting... any pics of how you tape?
     
  19. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    @fanfaron
    Interesting... any pics of how you tape?
     

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