Heel Pain

[livingwith]

2 years ago I was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis Went to see a DPM. He taped my foot, had custom made orthonics, exercises (which I do regularly) & a MRI. He suggested that I wear New Balance shoes. Nothing helped. I changed doctors and I am seeing an Orthopedic guy. Now I wear a night splint, I do my exercises, I wear New Balance and Birkenstock shoes, last week I had a Nerve Conduction Test (Dr said he doesn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Still waiting for the actual res...Read the full article

[NOLA_70119]

My story goes like this:

I have suffered heel pain for aprrox: 2 years. It was gradual at first and then it continued to get worst. I have purchased over the counter ortho-inserts many times and only with temporary relief at first. Then, the pain grew worst and it was to much, I decided to see a podiatrist.

March 2008 - Went to the podiatrist and an xray was taken of both my feet. Nothing was discovered at that point. I described my discomfort & pain and was told it was plantar fasciitis. Both my feet hurt almost constantly. When I 'm at rest they let up a little and then when I try to get up and start moving about, I'm bothered again much worst from earlier in the day with intense pain in my arch, heel sides & bottoms. The podiatrist prescribed their version of custom made ortho-inserts for my shoes and prescribed night splints as well.

April 2008 - My podiatrist ordered custom made orthotics by making a cast of my feet then sending it off to a place where they are made. The podiatrist originally sold me in March shoe orthotic inserts for $35.00, $150.00 for the 2 splints, then this month I was billed for the cast orthotics $855.00. This is not even including the charges for x-rays and evaluations, etc. Ouch! Still no relief in sight, I decide to launch a new plan. This was costing way to much.

May 2008 - Went to my family physician and explained my delemma and she prescibed physical therapy (3 times a week). $200.00 a session, I later realized. I use the splints at night, use heat, ice, pain ointment lotions & then it's the never ending foot massages & home exercises/stretches. I also use arch support socks and worry the pain will not go away. Lots of exercises & stretching of my feet. Ultrasounds and pain patches. Pain patches are 85.00 each foot and I'm not sure what they will charge for the 3 ultrasounds & pain gel! When I found this out I stop going. Hope my Inurance picks up some of this tab, yikes! Not a good plan!

I began my own research again and noticed with a prescription I may be able to get my Insurance to help with the cost for z-coil shoes for pain relief. I ran to my family doctor and got the script and off to the z-coil shoe distributor in my area to get fitted for the the z-coil pain relief shoes. What a pleasant surprise! I felt immediate comfort from the z-coil orthotic shoes. I like the pressure off my feet for a change! Z-Coils are another hefty cost of $200.00 and again I am hoping my Insurance will offer relief with the cost. I am told they will fix them at no cost every 4-6 mos. if they need repair. I ws again seeking help and came across this website with the shoes you mentioned and certainly I will look into them as well. I hope your journey for relief from painful heel pain will come to a close soon. You are not alone. Wish you well and Good luck!

[love2teach]

I have also been having great pain with plantar fasciitis for over 7 mos. now with, finally, some relief. I have been seeing a podiatrist, had xrays, cortizone shots, wear orthotics, have a night splint (I can only wear in day when sitting due to discomfort), stretch regularly, and have just started seeing a physical therapist (PT). The shots were extremely painful, but necessary due to the fact I have to stand all day for my job (junior high teacher). I just recently had a cast created so that special orthotics could be made at a whopping $400! I told my PT and she said she could have created equivalent orthotics for only $75 - I would have liked to have tried the cheaper ones first, had I known.

I have started to feel much better after seeing the PT, especially after she taught me how to tape my foot up properly. I notice a huge difference when I wear good shoes with the old orthotic inserts and tape my foot. Another thing that is helpful: sitting in a chair and rolling the foot's arch and heel over a rolling pin (without pushing down). I have now graduated to a tennis ball and, hopefully, next is a golf ball.

The most important thing that helps me now is to massage it. There is no way I can go straight for the tender spot, but I start massaging all around it. Then I gently work my way into the tender area. My PT said I need to break up the hard lump of scar tissue in order to relieve the inflammation and that will help it heal more quickly.

Stretching, rolling over a rolling pin/tennis ball and massaging it hurts at first, but the pain eases up quickly so I can at least walk without a noticeable limp.

Hope this helps others.
Good luck ~ Bonnie