Hi, my name is Pilot2001!

I have it too. Do you have a question?

Hi Andy. Before getting into what I've tried.... Do you know that plantar fascitis can be caused by many different problems? So the first and the main treatment is to treat the cause of the plantar fascitis. Do you know the cause of yours?

Hi again, Andy! Continuation from above….. I'll give the skinny to just illustrate health problems related to the plantar fascitis, not knowing what health problems you have that are related to your plantar fascitis.

In the spring of 2023, X-rays and ultrasound showed that I had bilateral plantar fascitis, bilateral plantar fascial tears, as well as bilateral heels spurs. So no wonder I was in such pain! I had to start with mobility aids and progressed in March 2023 from a cane, to crutches, to a walker by September 2023. That spring and summer I had three sessions of cortisone injections in the soles of both feet that did virtually nothing. The pain was unbelievable. That summer I also changed my footwear drastically and purchased better orthotics. But the mobility aids caused tears in my right shoulder rotator cuff that is still causing a frozen shoulder and my back pain got worse. So I rarely went out because I couldn't get around. Between February and October 2023 I had come off all the other meds that could cause GI upset and could contribute to neuropathy (an antidepressant, a sleeping pill, osteoporosis meds and cholesterol meds). I learned stretches and exercises to target the plantar fascitis, which include my whole body. I learned self-massage of my feet and calves to improve circulation, relax the muscles and maybe even stimulate regrowth of nerves. I've stayed with the massage, stretches and exercises, making changes as I go along. In the fall of 2023 I also had ESWL (extracorporeal shockwave therapy) on the soles of my feet which was like having a jackhammer drilling into your feet. The pain was unbearable, so I stopped during the second session.

I have also been doing various therapies to learn to connect to my body, as I am a childhood trauma survivor who has coped by dissociating from my body. My ability to tolerate pain is through the roof because of this dissociation, so you can imagine by not connecting to my pain, I'm not moving properly. But I've made huge improvements in the past three years.

In June 2024, my Mom bought me a mobility scooter so that I could get out and about. That improved my mental health beyond words. But I am still very limited as to where I can go with it because it is so big and heavy. In the fall last year, I bought a foldable, electric tricycle, which has opened up a lot, a lot, a lot of the world. Yay!

Since the spring of 2023 I used to use a cane inside my home, and then a walking boot that I put on the sorest foot, which I rarely use now. I change my footwear a lot at home to do a sort of cross-training of the foot muscles. Like you say, it's not a good idea to wear the same orthotic all the time because your foot doesn't get a work-out. But it does need rest. I still can't go barefoot or just with socks due to pain. But I'm sure the fascial tears have healed almost completely. I know the plantar fascitis has also diminished because I can see the inflammation has diminished, but it's still there. The heel spurs are also better but still there. But - and that's a big but - as soon as I walk, the pain comes back. So I don't know if I will ever be able to walk again. But at least I can walk inside my home, which is amazing. And the pain has dropped drastically, so I can think about things other than pain now, which is awesome. And I'm getting adapted to my new life. I've had to change absolutely everything. The most important things have been to rest my feet, to massage them, to do my stretches and exercises, and to change how I move my body and how I connect with my body.

One more thing I've been doing is EMS (electronic muscle stimulation) on the soles of my feet. I do it for about 20 minutes every morning. I've been doing it for about two years now. Oh, and one more thing is softly rolling a ball under my feet before the EMS and any time they feel really tight.

So that's all I've got. Hopefully there are some things there that might interest you. I hope more than anything that you don't give up. As long as we're trying, there's the possibility of getting better - knowing that 'better' can mean a lot of things. 😊