Heel Cups Didn't Live Up to the Hype

A Note About Heel Cups/Lifts 

Heel cups are small plastic heel-shaped devices worn in the heels of shoes.  They raise the heel so that less stress is placed on an injured plantar fascia while walking and standing.  When I first saw a doctor for my plantar fasciitis, I tried heel cups for a while at his recommendation - I honestly don't remember for how long.  A few days? Weeks?  I found out later that this is a common first-line-of-defense recommendation doctors make.

I was not impressed.  They didn't help me beyond a tiny bit of pain easing in the beginning. 

If you do try heel lifts, I have this - perhaps obvious - advice to give:

1. Don't wear just one heel lift.  Even if only one foot is affected by plantar fasciitis, wear a cup on each foot.  You don't want one leg higher than the other!
2. Once your foot is healed up, there's no need to wear the heel lifts anymore.  I mentioned to a friend suffering from plantar fasciitis that my doctor had told me not to wear the heel lifts once I was healed up.  She'd been helped by heel lifts and her foot was all better, but she was continuing to wear them.  When I told her she probably didn't need them anymore, she stopped wearing them. Her pain didn't come back and she was a bit irritated with her own doctor, who had not mentioned she would not need the things forever.  (Of course, if your own experience or physician says otherwise, go with that!)