Plantar fasciitis and exercise machine

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
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Seattle, WA
Last year, after spending miles walking in Atlanta at CEDIA (what a poor choice) in dress shoes, I came back with burning foot pain and inability to stand. Went to the doctor and was told I have Plantar Fasciitis. Was told to take OTC anti-inflammatory which I did. That got rid of most of the discomfort but the symptoms are still there and my mobility is perhaps 30% of what it used to be.

I have a treadmill but can't use it anymore due to above symptoms -- or at least I think I should not be using it. What advice does anyone have for me to get proper exercise? I tried a stationary pro bike at the last hotel I stayed at and it was quite comfortable on my feet but my back couldn't handle it.

Appreciate any and all advice. :)
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
Have you tried a reclining bike.

I've had plantar fasciitis and it's no fun. Classic symptom I pain in the heel of your upon getting out of bed. After doing what you did I finally had mine injected with steroid and lidocaine. I am asymptomatic ever since.
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
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Seattle, WA
We had a cheap recumbent bike years ago. But no, I have not tried new ones and was thinking about that option.

On injections, I have read they can be quite painful. Are they?
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
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Seattle, WA
Ah, damn the bad advice on the Internet.... My doctor suggested that if it doesn't get better, they would refer me to a foot doctor. Should I go that route to look into above option?
 

Ron Party

WBF Founding Member
Apr 30, 2010
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Amir, I have been battling plantar fasciitis for 3 years. I tried every conservative treatment regimen there is, including PT, injections, custom orthodics, etc. Then I went to more aggressive treatment, including shockwave treatment, which is done on an out-patient basis. Finally, last December, I went under the knife and had a medial plantar release. I still am recovering and am in PT 3-4 days per week. My situation was a bit different because I also developed tarsal tunnel, a not too uncommon problem for people battling plantar fasciitis on a prolonged basis, and had surgery for that condition as well.

I would recommend calf stretching exercises and using a Strassburg sock. The sock provided me with the greatest relief of all of the conservative measures, including shots which, BTW, are not painful if your podiatrist has any skill whatsoever. Tony Parker, point guard for the San Antonion Spurs, missed several weeks this year due to plantar fasciitis and he reported the Strassburg sock was the only thing that worked for him.

Regarding riding a stationary bike, be it upright or recumbent, there is nothing whatsoever wrong with doing it with respect to plantar fasciitis. Treadmill - heck no.
 

RBFC

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
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Albuquerque, NM
www.fightingconcepts.com
Amir,

There are two separate strands of the plantar fascia. The medial portion is the most often injured, as it occurs typically with collapse of the arches. Imagine a string between your heel and the base of your big toe. As the arch flattens, this string is stretched. Usually, it's a large increase (overuse) situation that causes it to flare up. Plantar fasciitis can be crippling. I would know, as I've been recovering from a severe bout myself, where I could not walk for several days. I stepped in a hole while running and severely stretched mine. I had the injection (cortisone/marcaine) that reduces the inflammation and relieves the pain, but does nothing to correct the structural problem that causes this in the first place. For a long term solution, custom orthotic footbeds are the best current answer. A molded arch support maintains the correct arch in your foot, so that the plantar fascia cannot be stretched to the same degree anymore.

Orthotics can be rigid, or they can be progressively supportive. Progressive orthotics are softer and compress when you place load upon them. However, they can be molded with a more aggressive initial profile for increased arch support when under little/no load. I find this design to be superior in my case. You can do an inexpensive experiment by looking for Easton[/i] insole orthotics. They are often sold in running footwear stores for about $20. They offer several different sizes and a few different arch profiles. They are rigid plastic, and will let you know immediately if an orthotic will help you.

If you have specific questions, I'll PM you my phone number.

Lee
 

Dimfer

Member Sponsor
May 8, 2010
621
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Canada
I used to golf a lot and since I am very flat footed and was walking average of 5 rounds a week in the summer , had a lot of problem, plantar fasciitis is just one of them. I've had cortisone injection, had a lot of custom fitted orthotics - but it came to a point that I was compensating so much when walking that knee problems started to show up too. My wife's officemate recommended us to go to a store called Good Feet and try what they would recommend. We drove 300 kms to go to the nearest branch and listened to what they had to say. I was skeptical at first, because they look like just a regular shoe store, the store staff appeared to me as somebody who has no medical training, just somebody who has been trained to sell the product. But since I had tried many solutions that did not work before, I willingly shelled $450 for a pair orthotics that looks like these .

The lady warned me that it will hurt like hell in the beginning but things will get better in 2-3 weeks. Sure it did, imagine walking with a golf ball cut into half underneath your feet. But she was right, things got better after a while. Now, 6 years later, I can't live without them. Everytime I go around too much on sandals (without the orthotics), my problems will surely show up. Their approach is different from the approach of the outfits who offer custom fitted orthotics. The lady said our feet problems are mostly caused by the wrong shape/structure of our feet, and most orthotics don't work because you are still trying to conform to the wrong structure. What their product does is force your feet to change in structure (that's why it hurts in the beginning), and I think they're right. Even the shape of my footprints changed. I have no scientific explanation for it, but sure it worked for me.
 

cjfrbw

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
3,323
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Pleasanton, CA
Plantar fasciitis seems to be an epidemic. I had it a couple of years ago out of the blue. I have been "jogging" for years on machines for a couple of miles. When I got this, it happened suddenly and in both feet equally, even though I had been conditioned already on the machines for a long time.
I thought it was from packing too many pounds in middle age, but a lot of very thin people that I know seem to have gotten it as well.
I have a bizarre theory that a minor stress or injury could have been followed by a shingles like viral inflammation that seems to resolve over 6 months to a couple of years, because of the way it occurs bilaterally and doesn't seem to heal like a normal stress injury.
I talk with a very thin Asian gentleman at my gym who has struggled with it for over a year, and suddenly and quickly, it just seems to be going away for him, it is more like a chronic, slow resolving disease than an orthopedic strain. He has no memory of injuring the feet or doing anything stress related.
Fortunately, mine resolved with ongoing physical use over about 8 months.
As for the bizarre theory, stranger things than that seem to occur in the medical world.
Don't hold me to the theory, though, it just seems that plantar fasciitis is an unusually common thing for many people the past couple of years.
 

MylesBAstor

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
11,236
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New York City
Unfortunately there's many etiologies for PF (just like Parkinsons). PF is essentially an inflammation of the plantar fascia that begins at the heel and ends at the toes. Many experience it as pain anywhere from the heel to the front of the feet. For some, it's a collapse of the arch (and remember that's there's actually three arches that make up the "arch") of the foot; that can be corrected with orthotics or with hard work, the bones that make up the foot can be brought into better position. But for some PF could also be the result of bone spurs (an x-ray might be useful in this case). For others, it can be brought on by an instability in the opposite ankle.

So it's best always to find a good orthopedist, not a podiatrist, who seem to always want to cut. There are many options among them PT, cortisone injections, iontophoresis patches, changing one's shoes, etc. The cortisone shots tend to work-and the only pain is generally a burning sensation for some for 24 hrs after the shot (ice can help relieve the sensation too).

What I've found to work for many clients is a heel cup that has a section removed so as to remove the pressure from the heel-not a plain heel cup. It will take a month but one should start to feel some relief after a couple of weeks and should be largely pain free in a month. The heel cups run about $5 and can be found at most pharmacies.
 

cjfrbw

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
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Pleasanton, CA
I would agree that one should pursue all possible non surgical options before considering any kind of surgery, especially since time seems to eventually resolve the condition, however slow and lengthy. However, that could be a hard sell since it really hurts like a son of a bitch, makes it hard to get around, restricts activity, causes poor sleep etc.
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
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Seattle, WA
Thanks guys! This is really useful information and far more than I expected. I don't have any issues sleeping. The pain is modest and for some reason, shows up most when I am on the computer, with my feet resting on my Ekorness footrest. It is not really pain per-se but burning sensation in the heel -- kind of like needles going into it. Any chance it could be something else, perhaps by lack of circulation when I am resting the back of my feet on the footrest?

I have gotten better foot insoles and they helped a lot. As did wearing sandals around the house.
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
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Seattle, WA
I had read that but I asked the doctor that and she was pretty sure that wasn't it. But I keep thinking maybe it could be. I don't have any other issues and last check up was fine (but was a while ago).

If it is diabetis, why would it get aggravated with how I rest my feet?
 

Ron Party

WBF Founding Member
Apr 30, 2010
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Oakland, CA
Thanks guys! This is really useful information and far more than I expected. I don't have any issues sleeping. The pain is modest and for some reason, shows up most when I am on the computer, with my feet resting on my Ekorness footrest. It is not really pain per-se but burning sensation in the heel -- kind of like needles going into it. Any chance it could be something else, perhaps by lack of circulation when I am resting the back of my feet on the footrest?

I have gotten better foot insoles and they helped a lot. As did wearing sandals around the house.
There most certainly is a chance it could be something else. If it is, the most likely condition would be a bone spur. An x-ray would answer that question. It also could be a nerve problem. A neurologist consultation would help to rule in or out that diagnosis. An MRI also might reveal nerve entrapment - it did in my case.

I have a 5 inch scar on my ankle and another 1 inch scar just below that from the surgery I had in December. All of the conservative measures others posted I tried, without success. That is not to say one or more won't work for you. It is not a one size fits all. It's more like a weight loss diet - there are lots of diet plans and the trick is to find the one that works for you.

Avoid walking barefoot, even in the house. If it is really bad, even in the shower wear rubber sandals or use a shower stool. Bare feet with heel pain on shower tiles is like oil & water.
 

RBFC

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
5,158
46
1,225
Albuquerque, NM
www.fightingconcepts.com
Amir,

If you get a foot xray, you can get a solid diagnostic. Plantar fasciitis is almost always accompanied by heel spurs, where extra calcification lays down a "stalagmite" of bone that points toward the toes from the calcaneus (heel bone). This heel spur is caused by microtears of the fascia and their accompanying inflammation. This condition causes bone deposition through granulation and healing.

A bone spur that does not point directly toward the toes can cause simple pressure point irritation. You can fashion a "donut" pad that surrounds the spur and eliminates direct pressure on it, or have the spur surgically removed.

If your pain does not reappear when you use an alternate foot rest/position, then you may have solved your problem. Also, try to avoid walking around barefoot without any support in the arch and padding in the heel.

Lee
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
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0
Seattle, WA
Thanks Lee. I do wear shoes inside the house and that helped a lot but had not thought about wearing something in the shower! I would actually feel the pressure on my feet and stupid me, didn't think about wearing something waterproof there.
 

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