Help heel pain? plantar fascitis?

[Roforot]

Recently I'm noticing that my foot hurts, just between the heel and ankle. It's mainly my left foot and the soreness is worse the next day. I don't have any calf pain, but I've been trying to stretch that area. Does anyone have any other reccomendations; it's not too much of a problem now, but I would like to be preventitive. Are there any specific shoes features that I should look into? Is there a better way to isolate that area w/ a stretch?

thanks,

Arjun.

[jayserinos99]

I have the same problem. Every morning I roll a golf ball under my foot to massage it; that helps a lot. One equipment problem that I had was I bought shoes that didn't have enough arch support, so I bought footmaxx full-length arch supports.

[sportsfan10]

Good idea to take preventive measures now. I began to have problems with PF over 6 months ago. Played through it at first as the pain was mostly the next day or after I played. It progressed to the point where it bothered me to play and then to the point that I couldn't play. Been out of commission since Nov.

Preventive measures would be stretches (standing on a step, let your heel drop down or raise your leg up on a chair/counter and pull your toes toward you) and arch supports/orthotics. I have purchased heat moldable inserts (www . yoursole . com) rather than custom orthotics.

Current treatment by my orthopedic is to immobilize the foot in a soft,walking cast. This finally seems to be helping and I hope to be able to play later in the spring.

Take care of it now and good luck!

[cenzo]

I would stay away from that step stretch. Some say it does more harm than good. Do a lot of research and decide what type of treatment works best for you. You can start by visiting www.heelspurs.com (also search their message boards) and visit www.foottrainer.com (for types of exercises and information about the causes of PF). Good luck.

[Roforot]

Thank you all for the advice and suggestions! You have been most helpful.

Arjun.

[VJH]

I had debilitating PF a few years back. I finally went to a pediatrist who prescribed a nighttime boot for me. Essentially I went to a medical supply place. They made a cast of my foot and custom built this boot that I wore at night when sleeping. Essentially, the boot kept my foot in a perfect 90 degree angle. It was amazing. I felt appreciably better after wearing that thing for a week. I haven't worn it in years and haven't had a problem since.

By the way, you don't have to have a custom boot made. It is more difficult to get your foot in the optimum position without one. The off the shelf versions require some level of expertise to use with success.

[Jack Romeo]

I suffered from symptoms of plantar fasciitis about 6 months ago and had to stop playing tennis for about 2 months. after that i started wearing ankle supports and orthotics. i also made it a point to properly stretch before playing. and after playing i would ice my feet. now i don't feel any pain anymore and am back to my old self on the courts.

Another good website to check out is http://www.heel-spur-treatments.com

they have some good information on what heel spurs are and they have several options for treatment. I also think that they have a downloadable treatment pdf.

[paulfreda]

After taking 3 months off to let my PF pain go
away, I bought shoes that are 2 sizes larger, 13's.
Then I put in as many DR Shoals foam and gel pads
as I can. I feel like I am walking on air and my PF
has never appeared again.
I am 57 and someitmes play for 3-4 hrs in one day.
Still no problems.
Good luck and I hope this helps you.

[Ronaldo]

To temporarily ease pain, freeze a bottle of water and roll it under your foot after exercising.