I have suffered for a couple of years with this and last May I had surgery for Tarsal tunnel syndrome (the facia blocked off the nerve) and then had surgery in September for the plantar fascia.

My podiatrist had tried everything, cortisone, inserts, a cam walker, narcotics, I mean everything! Unfortunately I started feeling wonderful in Jan with no pain at all so I started walking alot again...I got up to three-five miles a day. When I started the Atkins I continued walking but was having alot of hip and foot pain, come to find out my facia reattached on the left side of my left foot so I'm back to be taped and waiting for my orthotics to come in $190 ouch!

According to my Dr (he is fantastic!) I just have bad foot mechanics and it's really not something that will ever change I just roll my foot to much to the outside and I have the worst flat feet! I always have though!

Good luck with your feet, I understand the pain

I got plantar fasciitis from my internship-too much time on my feet. The only shoes I could wear for about a year were danskos. They have a slightly raised heel and very good support.

Check out www.dansko.com

Hope this helps too!
-animaldoc

I have had this problem since I broke the two bones under my big toe 15 years ago doing aerobics. They had to remove the two bones because they never healed and then my foot just didn't work right after that. I was not over weight when the problem occurred. Well, long story short, I have tried everything except surgery.

The only thing that you shouldn't do is JOG!!! I made the mistake of doing that 3 weeks ago and the pain has still not gone away.

Here's my list of home remedies:

1. Foot massage
2. Foot bath (this is great)
3. Paraffin treatment (ahhhhh)
4. Stretching
5. Aleve
6. NO BARE FEET EVER
7. No running or jumping and limit standing time
8. Ice pack after I aggrevate it
9. Never wear totally flat shoes and limit the use of any heal over 1 1/2 inches.

My dr. put in a foam arch and taped it to my foot. It felt better instantly. Went and bought those cheapo inserts and they really work!

A professional pedicure always help.

(Only, get this done after most of the pain goes away.)

You Guys are Great!

Thanks for all the great advice

Have to admit - I have never had a pedicure but it sounds lovely and I have a gift voucher which would include a pedicure instead of a manicure - think I'll do a swap!

I have also found a pair of WONDERFUL shoes/sandals - they are "Propet" Cell Cushion and absolutely wonderful - bought from my local "Foot Clinic". They are just about the best shoes I have ever owned - slight heel, velcro strap across the arch and across the "top" of the foot - above the toes. Adjustable and extremely comfortable - cushioned sole, full filled in heel (as distinct from the "sling back", so supports the heel and just wonderfully comfortable really.

I love the fact that now I am so far along the road to recovery, I can actually go about in BARE FEET for a whole day! Impossible before and awful for a person who loves being bare foot!

I still believe that the low carb diet reduces the body's tendency to "inflame" areas of irritation such as plantar faciitis - just my theory - but I'm sticking to it!

Thanks for all the wonderful advice

Bye now

Gemma

Bare feet can cause the foot to be reinjured, so be careful.

I would limit the barefeet. I know that after a day at the beach, my whole foot will start hurting. Teva's are a life saver!

Just some friendly advice!

Thanks Terri

Just the fact that so many people have responded to this thread has been fantastic.

I know that bare feet can be a major aggravation of the pain , but what is really fantastic for me is that I can now get through not only a day, but A WEEK-END without any pain! I used to be so aware of wearing my shoes with the inserts, but over the past six months things have improved so much I am actually without pain for days and days in a row Sometines I have slight stiffness after driving long distances,
BUT NO REAL HEEL-PAIN .

I think I am really on the last leg of the race to recovery!

Good luck to all those other low carbers - I still believe the diet has a lot to do with recovery - protein repairs ligaments as well as muscles and so on!

Bye for now

Gemma

Thanks Gemma for the hope!! I have not yet had a full day of no pain, but at least the pain has deminished some and I walk normally. I go to the podiatrist today, hope I don't get another cortizone shot.

My uncle has the same foot problem and he says his Birkenstocks work great. Any body else experiance this?

My podiatrist said I can wear really high heels, but not low heels. It sounds like others have gotten conflicting advice on heels. I don't know which way is right. Life can be so damn confusing sometimes!!

I had heel spurs - started 2 years ago. Both feet. My doctor said I could have physiotherapy which will massage it. It doesn't make it go away and if you cut if off it is likely to grow again, but what does make the pain go away is the tissue around the spur toughening up and this will happen as you walk on it. If you do nothing, he said, it will stop hurting in around 18 months. I didn't bother with the physio. I took some low level pain killers when I was out for a walk, and the internal tissue must have hardened up to protect me from the spur as it is fine now.

Good luck with yours

Sara

I can totally relate to the bone spurs. A few years ago when I was working like 15 hours a day, I developed bone spurs. My podatrist tried everything, physical therapy, meds but ended up removing the one bone spur. I don't think that did much good but it did ease the pain somewhat. I did notice though that when I started to lose weight, my feet felt better but this week they have been bothering me a bit. I dont know if it's b/c it's been so rainy here in ny or I might need a new pair of sneaks or what. My doc said the best thing u can do is replace ur sneaks every few months (like I can afford that!)....

--mary

I too, suffered from plantar facia, and I also saw the podiatrist, however I decided to give Birkenstocks a try before the just as expensive inserts, the cortisone shots or the surgery, even tho he didn't give it much of a chance. Well 2 weeks later I had no pain, and 5 years later I still had no pain tho gaining 35 pounds with pregnancy and 5 years since I STILL have no heel pain. I never looked back, and I can go 2 or 3 days wearing no support flats or flops if I wish. Plantar Facia is just a memory since Birkenstocks.
Lunabec

Hi folks:

By now I feel that I am an expert on this heel spur thing. No..I doubt that the Lcarbing made the pain go away. (I have been Lcarbing since Feb 1st, and just now have a terrible flair up)

Why? ...well I have not been exercising my feet with one of those suggested exercises- they do work, have been walking on flat surfaces- bare feet, bad shoes.

Best thing to do, in my humble opinion is work that arch, keep it supported, wear the best shoes you can, do the exercises, and use the orthos!.... and it WILL get better. But you must be diligent!

I attributed my "heeling" pun intended!..... on the best shoes possible. They are orthotic shoes called Finn something (If interested I will give you the full and correct name by E-mail to anyone who wants it). They have two types of inserts, the arch support and reflexology points in the insert...Wow!..terrifice therapy there!.....One problem however...they are expensive, but they literally cured my foot. Alas I did wear them day in and day out for at least 3 months.

My foot was perfect for years - until I got lazy and vane about looking after myself.

I am back wearing my shoes and expect a "cure" imminently!

Good luck everyone!

When I had this heel pain I was told that the pain isn't caused by the spur, but rather the pain causes the spur.

the doctor told me that when the area gets inflamed, the bone puts out more bone (spur) in order to protect itself. So what you really must treat is the inflamation.

I found that by raising the heel on my shoe, it took some of that pressure off the heel and put it onto the ball of my foot. That helped the pain go away. But you must stretch too. It is that shortening of the tendon that causes the problem in the first place.

Some of the exercises I did were"

Sitting with leg supported, loop a towel or belt around the foot and pull the foot toward your body.

Stand on a step with your heels hanging over the edge and drop the heel lower than the step, then raise, lower, etc.

Hi folks,

I just thought I'd add my own two cents about this problem. Plantar fasciitis means inflamation of the plantar fascia. Plantar means the bottom of the foot. Fascia is just a name of the connective tissue that runs from the ball of your foot to your heel.

Plantar fasciitis can be caused by several things. Being overweight, an injury, an increase in activities, no arch support in your shoes, a tight achilles tendon, walking barefoot or using shoes with little cushion on hard floors, or spending too much time on your feet.

Heel spurs are not the cause of your pain. Heels spurs form as a result of plantar fasciitis. Picture this: a normal healthy foot has a nice arch to it. The plantar fascia runs along this arch. If one or more of the above listed conditions were to occur then the normal curvature of the arch gets distorted. Your arch flattens out somewhat. And since the fascia can stretch only so far you get microtears in this fascia. Where do you think these microtears take place? If you stated where the fascia attaches to the heel, then you are correct. Well of course the body wants to heal these microtears. So what does it do? It grows a little bone from the heel to the fascia. And I do mean just a little. So if you continue to wear shoes with bad arch support or if you have a really tight achilles tendons and you don't stretch it out, you will continue to have the microtears every day. Then over time you will develope a heel spur (bone growth - trying to heal those microtears)

How to treat plantar fasciitis varies from person to person. There is no magic cure all. Changing to a shoe with good arch supports, stretching, ice, and rest are a great way to start.

Of course being LC is going to take care of the overweight condition.

If you have a job where you are sitting for long periods of time then you are at risk for Plantar Fasciitis. desk jobs tend to reduce leg strength and flexibility. Stretching after prolong sitting is greatly beneficial.

You can also be treated with NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammation pills) ie. Celebrex or Vioxx are two of the newest available by prescription. Splints or straps worn during the night aid in stretching. Cortisone injections are painful to most people in this area, but will knock down the inflamation and the pain level for a while so that you can do some of the other activites (stretching, etc...) to permanently relieve this condition.

The last alternaive is surgery.

I hope this explains this problem clearly for everyone. I had a bad case of this several years ago. I switched shoes, began a streching program, took NSAIDs for a few months, Iced my feet 3 time a day and gradually (slooooowly) the problem finally disappeared.

Good Luck

I used to suffer from PF, too because I was as big as a house full of tar. Thanks to Coyote for being so informative because I was about to ask why everybody was talking about heel spurs and PF in the same breath. I never had heel spurs. The PF was bad enough. At the same time I started LCing, I also went to an acupuncturist. He gave that inscrutible Far Eastern stare...he's actually from Oregon, just like me...and said, "AH, Yes! Plantar Faciaitis...you big tub of lard!" I knew this man was astute and knew his stuff because he called it just like it was! I was a big tub of lard. He poked me with his tiny needles and when he got to me left foot, between my big toe and the next one (whichever toe that is) I thought I was going to kick his head off and let out a scream that could be heard in Peking. After about two months of weekly treatment (listening to soft oriental music while my foot sent electric shocks up the front of my leg if I moved my finger, or blinked my eye) and LCing...no more PC! Now that I'm only a shadow of my former self (well, not exactly), and had the treatments over six months ago, I know it was mainly because I was so huge for my tiny feet.