My Experience With Chronic Plantar Fasciitis

At least fifteen years ago, I had my first encounter with plantar fasciitis.  Since then, I've had only sporadic, minor bouts of heel pain until a second major bout many years later. I recovered each time to the point of being pain free. The second time was far worse than the first, but ended much more quickly, because I knew more about how to treat it. I'm lucky - the two major bouts of plantar fasciitis I suffered never lasted longer than a year.

Here is my experience with this condition, in a nutshell.

1. The first time I had plantar fasciitis, it was caused by playing racquetball. I was in my late twenties.  My doctor said it was the twisting motion of my foot that wrenched the plantar fascia.
2. The pain felt like a dull throbbing in the area where the arch of my foot met the heel.  It hurt while walking, especially at the beginning.  It was worse in the mornings.
3. I used a whole suite of treatments, adding new ones on gradually, but keeping up with the old treatments.  I never knew for sure which treatment (or treatments) helped the most.  I just continued with all of them until I felt better. (Note that according to The Top 10 Things Foot and Ankle Specialists Wish Every Primary Care Physician Knew, 80 percent of plantar fasciitis patients get better within one year, no matter what they do.)
4. This is the short version of what I did: I stopped playing racquetball and continued to walk.  I taped my foot. I did foot exercises.  I iced the foot. I massaged the foot and stretched the calf.  I never went barefoot.  I bought and wore shoes with arch support and orthotic insoles.  The only expense incurred were doctor copays, sports tape, and the cost of new shoes and insoles.  For the longer version of how I healed myself, see the other pages on this website.
5. Some things didn't work.  For example, I tried heel cups, but they only relieved some of the pain for a short while.   
6. Things I didn't try included taking anti-inflammatories, though I recall that the doctor prescribed them (I just hated taking meds).  I did not try a night splint or brace at that time.  I did not try any invasive treatment like surgery or steroids.  Everything I did was on the order of physical therapy or occupational therapy at home.  
7. The pain went away.  It took almost a year to get rid of it.
8. I slacked off on stretching and exercising the foot, but continued to wear shoes with arch support.
9. Every year or so since that first long episode, I had a minor flare up.  It would consist of some twinges of pain in the heel and arch area.  I treated it early using massage and stretching, and it always staved off the pain the same day.
10. A couple of years ago, I injured my knee.  This caused a cascade of other physical problems that included, this last year, a return of plantar fasciitis about six months ago.  This was my second major bout with heel pain.
11. This time I didn't have health insurance.
12. I expected the pain in my foot to get better, as it always did after I massaged and stretched the foot and calf.  Instead, it got worse over the next few months.  I tried all the things I tried before that had worked, like stretching, exercise, icing, walking, wearing arch support always, etc. but the pain kept getting worse.  It became so bad that I could barely walk.
13. I redoubled my efforts with my known therapies.  I bought new shoes.  I even tried new brands and new kinds of shoes.
14. My husband spent weeks releasing tight calf muscles that had been building up tension over the last couple of years since my knee went out - and perhaps even longer.  That helped more than anything else, but the pain continued and I couldn't seem to heal up.
15. I did not see a doctor, but was ready to see one at my own expense if I couldn't fix it myself.
16. Having researched how plantar fasciitis becomes chronic because of reinjury due to healing in a foreshortened position, and being reluctant to try a night brace designed to counter this, I decided to try holding my foot in a neutral position when I was sitting or resting.
17. That seemed to help a lot.  But progress was still painfully slow and I couldn't hold the foot in position while I was sleeping.
18. I broke down and decided to buy a night splint or night brace.  The problem was choosing one for my large calf and short leg.  I finally found one that I thought would work and tried it.  Within a couple of weeks, I'd noticed a major improvement.  The plantar fasciitis improved steadily after that.  A couple of months later, I am 99% pain free, with just a tiny twinge of a reminder of the heel pain every couple of days.  Apparently the thing that was holding back my healing was stepping on the foreshortened plantar fascia and tearing it every time I got up.
19. I don't wear the brace anymore, but I continue to wear my good-arch-support shoes and slippers.  I've neglected stretching and exercising.  I'm on my feet for hours every day.

For details on the different things I tried, plus updates on my case, read the other pages on this website where I talk about them by topic.