Plantar Fasciitis

J

John Singer

Well-known member
I am 56 years old. A few months ago, I noticed a pain and stiffness in my left heal when I got up in the morning. It usually went away as I started moving.

I did about 16 days/half days of pheasant hunting this year. I noticed in December that the pain sometimes worsened as I hunted. My last time out, my 6-month old lab worked a bird for over 400 yards before it flushed. After I shot the bird, I noticed that the pain was severe. I quit hunting and worked the dog back to the vehicle and drove home. Later that evening, I could hardly walk.

That was a little over two weeks ago. I purchased a splint/brace that I wear at night and some orthotics for my shoes. I do physical therapy/stretching exercises daily.

I can walk well now and while the pain is still there, it is much less than a few weeks ago.

Last night, I had a guest at my house tell me that his father quit pheasant hunting over the very same issue.

My season is over. I do not want to quit. I hope that I can continue to pheasant hunt for many years.

Have any of you dealt with this issue? Were you able to overcome it?

I am looking for some good news stories, got any?
 
I had the problem a few years ago. I talked to a chiropractor about it. He asked me if I had changed shoes, which I had so I switched back and things got better. Good luck
 
I had some problems with that a couple of years ago. First in one foot then both. It would be painful in the morning like you said then subside as I walked around. If I sat for any length of time, the pain would come back when I stood up. Tried some shoe inserts that seemed to help a little, but the problem continued. I started soaking my feet in hot water frequently and that helped some more. After a few months, one foot cleared up and then shortly after that the other did. Haven't had any recurrence in the last year.

My experience sounds a little different from yours in that mine never got worse as I walked. It was only inactivity that would bring the pain back when I stood up again. Perhaps you have a second problem starting. Might be time to visit a podiatrist.

Jerry
 
Been wearing orthotics for 30 some years now. Got them from my foot doctor and they cost about 300 dollars a pair. Changed my life. In the directions, it was said that I should wear them maybe an hour a day for the first few days, and add an hour or so as I felt comfortable. I put them in the first day, realized that they were so comfortable and supportive that I would not have to ever take them out, and never looked back. It really is as simple as that for me.
So, my advice to you would be to go see a foot specialist and have him or her help you in your quest to continue walking in comfort while hunting.
 
Your presenting symptoms suggest plantar fasciitis and or a heel bone spur. Without getting to deep winded on the subject do the following. See a Chiropractor for a exam / differential diagnosis , take x- rays to rule out a bone spur . Odds are you do need custom orthotics , be sure the Chiropractor prescribes Foot Leveler custom orthotics.
OTC orthotics , orthotics prescribed by a podiatrist or orthopedist use stone age technology.
If a spur is present the orthotics by foot levelers have a correction for bone spurs.
No affiliation with FL , I am a DC with 23 years practice experience. Let me know if I can be further assistance.
 
Thank you all for the replies.

I will see a chiropractor that a trust for a proper exam and diagnosis and treatment.
 
I had a similar issue a couple years ago. I did all the stretching and all that, but the thing that helped me the most was to take a golf ball and roll it around on my arch and heel every morning. This helped to break up the muscles that were tightened up. Stretched the tendons/ligaments, after about a week the issues went away. I kept at it for a month or so, and now only do it when I feel things starting to tighten up. I also try to keep my hamstrings and calves nice and stretched out.

Good luck with things. It shouldn't be something that ends hunting for you, but it may take time to get things worked out.
 
Take a plastic pop or water bottle, fill it with water and freeze it. Use it to roll under your arch back and forth. Kind of like what the previous poster said with a golf ball except if also has the advantage of applying ice to the effected area.
 
I had it bad until my doc gave me a leaflet with some exercises which cured it and kept it away.

About three times a week while seated in my bare feet I clinch my toes forcefully as if trying to grab the carpeting. I do that 25 times in a row, both feet at the same time. And then with each foot I clinch my toes trying to grab the hair on the shin of my leg or the fabric of my pants on the other leg. I move my toes up and down the shin from ankle to just below the knee as I try to grab with my toes, about 15 or 20 grabs with each foot.

I repeat the entire series again after a short rest period, maybe five or ten minutes. So, two sets.

Doing this about three times a week cured me and has kept me cured.
 
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Dakotazeb said:
Take a plastic pop or water bottle, fill it with water and freeze it. Use it to roll under your arch back and forth. Kind of like what the previous poster said with a golf ball except if also has the advantage of applying ice to the effected area.
Click to expand...

Yep, I did this as well. Not sure why I only focused on the golf ball.
 
Both schemy and zeb have good advice there. I had an athlete have the surgery where they go in and make cuts in the fascia. Basically the cuts they make fill in with scar tissue essentially making them longer. Then they stretch further. The rehab was only like 2 months and she was back playing soccer with minimal to no pain. Something to look into in the offseason.
 
I have had the issue as well. Playing softball (when I was younger) I torn one of the tendons in my arch! Painful but immediately removed the plantar fascitis problems in that foot. I had some insert made and I wear them occasionally when I start to feel the pain coming on and that takes it away.

I also have a brother with the same issue. I told him about these little braces you buy at the pharmacy. Looks like an ace bandage but it is just like a wrap for your ankle. It goes under your arch and around your ankle. Wear these at night and it holds the arch in place. When you wake up in the morning you will notice a huge improvement. Sometimes he wears them for a few weeks at a time, but at least he can walk and hunt now with no pain.

Good luck and let us know.
 
I fought that for a year or more. Happened while running.

I tried the frozen bottle thing with a little success. Finally went to an orthopedic surgeon for evaluation. Possible surgery or cortisone shots.

He suggested I go to a physical therapist and have inserts made for all my shoes.

Here is the secret: with the inserts it will get worse before it gets better. You have to stretch that ligament or whatever. About 4 months later, all gone. I still use the inserts and got new ones made when they broke down.

Now the Dr said we can do a mold of your foot and make some high dollar ones or you can get some hot plastic ones made for $40 a pair, same result according to him. I went with the $40 ones.
 
When I was in my 50's I was running track in the Senior Games. Ran the 100M, 200M and 400M. I developed Planar Fasciitis and a bone spur on my heel. Then in a 100M dash I tore my plantar fasciitis. It was extremely painful and took 6 months to recover, but that tear released the tension and I have never been bothered by it again. That was about 15 years ago.
 
Me too!

I abstained from hunting the last five weeks of last year's season because of a piercing pain in my left foot's heel. I think I caused it by wearing shoes a half-size larger to ease arthritis pain in the toe and ball of my right foot.

The left foot was sliding around a bit in the shoe, and the fleshy pad at the heel seems to have torn loose from flexing. I had no apparent injury to the foot, but had spent some time that day helping another hunter scout around for his meandering lab pup. It took a lot of up and down hillside walking before he went off to look in the woods and I limped back to the car with Tink.

I was told to just rest it, support the foot, and cushion the heel. The only pain relief medication I took was Aleve.

Well, it's still there to a minor degree, but it put paid to any thoughts of hunting---pheasant or deer---during the last weeks of the year.

It is (literally) a crippling injury.
 
McFarmer said:
I fought that for a year or more. Happened while running.

Now the Dr said we can do a mold of your foot.

I went with the $40 ones.
Click to expand...

A mold of your foot is ok if you step into the mold, this reflects the pronation with weight bearing.
A cast of the foot is a poor way to correct pronation as this does not reflect the pronation with weight bearing.
Most accurate way to determine arch deficiency / pronation is digital optical laser scan standing.
Sometimes the inexpensive arch supports work or can exacerbate the condition.
 
John,

As the manager of a run specialty shoe store, I see PF symptom complaints on a daily basis. I would highly recommend seeking out a speciality running shoe store and seek advise there (not a big box sporting good store). I would say about 30% of my overall business is from folks just like yourself. Get a properly fitted shoe for your foot type for daily wear and check out aftermarket insoles for any boots and dress shoes that you'd be in on a regular basis. (bring these boots/shoes with you to get the insoles fitted) You should look into insoles like Superfeet and Powerstep before spending the $$$ on custom orthotics. Many podiatrists in my my area send their patients to my store for shoes and inserts because they realize that the custom orthotic route is very pricey and the quality of the aforementioned insert bands are top notch.

Many things that have been already mentioned are great therapies.
-Night splint
-Foot massage rubbing before getting out of bed
-Ice
-Rest
-anti-inflammatories
-Shoe fitting
-Inserts

I have seen PF disappear as quickly as it came on and I've seen it last and last. The key is to be diligent with all the activities previously mentioned. As soon as you stop doing these therapies, it can come back in a snap.

Good Luck!

PS Where are you located? I can potentially recommend a running specialty store in your area!
 
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Z.Andreski said:
John,

As the manager of a run specialty shoe store, I see PF symptom complaints on a daily basis. I would highly recommend seeking out a speciality running shoe store and seek advise there (not a big box sporting good store). I would say about 30% of my overall business is from folks just like yourself. Get a properly fitted shoe for your foot type for daily wear and check out aftermarket insoles for any boots and dress shoes that you'd be in on a regular basis. (bring these boots/shoes with you to get the insoles fitted) You should look into insoles like Superfeet and Powerstep before spending the $$$ on custom orthotics. Many podiatrists in my my area send their patients to my store for shoes and inserts because they realize that the custom orthotic route is very pricey and the quality of the aforementioned insert bands are top notch.

Many things that have been already mentioned are great therapies.
-Night splint
-Foot massage rubbing before getting out of bed
-Ice
-Rest
-anti-inflammatories
-Shoe fitting
-Inserts

I have seen PF disappear as quickly as it came on and I've seen it last and last. The key is to be diligent with all the activities previously mentioned. As soon as you stop doing these therapies, it can come back in a snap.

Good Luck!

PS Where are you located? I can potentially recommend a running specialty store in your area!
Click to expand...

Some OK recommendations but super feet are perhaps at best just a fair product.
Running shoes that claim to help foot pronation typically exacerbate the condition.
Most patients that cut corners with substandard foot correction end up with Knee and Spinal Pelvic problems due to compensation.
 
Peter M said:
Some OK recommendations but super feet are perhaps at best just a fair product.
Running shoes that claim to help foot pronation typically exacerbate the condition.
Most patients that cut corners with substandard foot correction end up with Knee and Spinal Pelvic problems due to compensation.
Click to expand...

As a medial professional, you did say you were a DC right, you feel ice, rest, massage, supportive footwear etc are only "ok" recommendations to help treat planter fasciitis? I guess the Podiatrists in my area have it all wrong then.

What makes superfeet a fair product? The fact that they are a fraction of the price of custom orthotics?

By cutting corners you're referring to...anything that isn't custom molded? Why then are the foot MD's prescribing these non-custom over the counter inserts, when they could be zinging their patients hundreds for dollars for procedures and custom orthotics?

But, you're the Chiropractor with years of experience. What does a running store employee know about shoes and inserts and matching them to feet...
 
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