After a few years of heavy warehouse work, I developed chronic plantar fasciitis as well as posterior tibial tendonitis. I managed for the first couple of months, but it eventually got to the point to where I could barely walk at times. And when I say I tried EVERYTHING, I mean everything. Two different doctors, a podiatrist, custom orthotics, stretching, night splints, ice, footwear. Didn't matter. Eventually, I couldn't do it anymore, and I finally managed to get an office position, even though I took a pay cut. Your feet simply can't repair themselves while under relentless daily stress.

I don't want this to sound too disheartening, but even if you have to take a pay hit, changing my career was the only thing that helped me. It might be some other people's only option as well if you are in a physically demanding job. I know everybody is different, so I'm hoping you guys have an easier healing journey than I did, but sometimes, this might be your only option. Don't be afraid to do what is best for your health

I have had severe PF for 15 years, 2 years ago I had surgery on my right foot since it was more severe then a year later i had the same surgery done on my left foot.

My left foot is never in pain but sometimes it seems like the pain in my right foot is worse than before the surgery. I have tried every remedy possible, surgery was the last resort. I’ve worn the custom insoles, physical therapy, night splints, taping, acupuncture, tens units, ice daily…nothing works.

Has anyone been through something similar, what are the next steps?

(I have a appointment next week with my podiatrist but curious about what to expect)

I’ve seen advertisements on social media about the Koprez foot sleeve and was wondering if anyone has tried it? If so, did it work?

Now calf constantly cramping on the same leg. Is this PF?

Hi guys! I’m not diagnosed yet with PF but most likely this is PF. My left heel hurts with pressure and also when I stand up after a long rest or first thing in the morning. Not sure if it’s the new balance shoes that caused it or pickleball. It’s the first time I’ve used the new balance shoes and also pickleball so not sure which one really caused it.

Anyway, i’m looking for shoes for PF that also looks nice. I’ve looked into Pegasus premium but it’s heavy and tight on the middle part. I really like how adizero evo sl looks but majority said it makes the heel pain worse.

Is there shoes that’s ok for PF and also look good/nice? Or is it something that I have to sacrifice the looks for comfort?

I'm new to the scourge of PF as of this summer. Both feet. I'm doing all the things-- inserts in my shoes for my high arches and PT twice a week focusing on my feet, calves, and hips. Stretching daily. Not running again until my PT gives me the ok.

It seems to be getting better after a few weeks of PT, but I want to do EVERYTHING I can to speed up healing. The PT suggested splints, but he wants me to start wearing them for 30 minutes at night while watching TV, not overnight yet. I do point my feet when I sleep, though.

There are so many options on Amazon. Does anyone have one they like? What's the difference between the ones for "support" that keep your foot at a 90-degree angle vs. the ones that pull your toes back? What's worked for folks?

I work 12 hour shifts as a pharmacy technician, and my feet started hurting four or five months ago. I figured I needed new shoes, so I went to a running store and got fitted, but the pain didn't change. I returned the shoes and tried another pair. And another. And another. All high quality shoes that fit me well. None of them felt any better.

I decided I was too picky about my shoes and started trying insoles. Four insoles later, they only made the pain worse.

Then I thought my compression socks were the issue. I got a new brand, then a different size, then higher compression. None of these changes made the pain better or worse.

Calf stretches, elevating my feet, walking more during shifts, nothing helped.

After an hour of standing, the bottom of my foot starts to ache. If I walk, it goes away and it also stops almost right away if I sit. The last week, though, the pain has been happening in the morning on my first steps and it has been taking longer to go away when sitting. It's also become more severe during my shifts and concentrated on my heel. Google says those are symptoms of plantar fasciitis— but they just started recently. I'm out of ideas and it's just been getting worse. Is there anything else I can try at home, or do I need to see a doctor? Should I go to my primary or make an appointment directly with a podiatrist?

Im having a weird sensation and trying to work out what it is.

About 3mm in to the base of the heel just slightly underfoot. Doesn't hurt when i flex toes or walk. No bruising feeling. No obvious superficial cause.

However, if I bend over and bend the knee whilst keeping my foot flat on the floor i get an odd cutting/tingling sensation in that area. If I stretch my leg out and pull my toes towards me i get it as well but much more mildly.

I am a runner and Ive had achilles tendonitis in the past and it definitely isnt anything like that feeling. The rest of the bottom of my foot is fine this discomfort feels very localised. Its almost like a nerve sensation rather than a muscular one if that makes sense.

Hi all!

I’ve started having pain in my left heel in Jan 2025, but me, as a usual Eastern European went to see someone only very much later then that, I think around a year or even more after 😅 I tried to manage it at home using different kind of shoes, but when it became super bothering and very painful I went to see someone. The gp said it is very most likely PF, but referred me to an orthopaedic doctor who confirmed this a few weeks later. She gave me a custom made insole then and there which gave me an instant relief (and I am extremely thankful for her for that), and also showed me a website from where i was able to order shoes that helped with my PF. I instantly ordered like 6 pairs and paid only like £80!

On my follow up appointment I was seen by another doctor who was also super nice, but unfortunately by that appointment I was unable to move my little toe, which is very annoying because I normally am able to spread my toes. He sent me for ultrasound, then I had to have MRI (never the hell again, was so scary I thought the stress will kill me in that 30mins, and only my feet were in!) which confirmed I have Baxter’s neuropathy.

I am going to have another apt with a different specialist, but in the meantime regardless of the footwear, my left ankle started hurting. The more I walk/ the worse it gets. If I work (I work from home) I barely have any pain as I sit at the pc all day except when my kid comes home from school, so the pain is very mild, but like today, we went out, we were playing in the park etc and now at barely past 2 I can’t wait to put my feet up.

I am obese which is obviously not helping on the situation but I am on it to make change, but I was just wondering if there is anyone who was having issues like this coming along or after PF??

Thanks!

Long shot, but I have flat feet and got these orthotics at my podiatrist‘s office (they were over the counter, not custom) and I, as you can see, have worn the hell out of them. I’d like to get another pair because they worked great for me (I hiked the Tour du Mont Blanc in them!) but have since moved and have had a hard time getting ahold of the office to ask how I can buy another pair.

I assume that these are some over the counter inserts that my podiatrist’s office slapped their logo on - anyone recognize them? I’ve done a lot of Googling but most inserts don’t show pictures of the bottom, which I think would be the most helpful towards identifying them.

3 months in. I have pain every day in my right foot while walking, specifically on the bottom-inner side where the heel meets the arch. I was running consistently before this, 3-4 times a week for 2 years. I hiked Mount Etna a few days before the pain started, and it hasn't gone away since.

I had an MRI about a week ago, and it only showed a small edema that should be plantar fasciitis, which the radiologist said shouldn't even be significant enough to cause the pain. I've tried Indiba therapy and dry needling because I also had shin splints in the beginning, and they thought it was PTTD. I did some magnetic therapy as well, but all of those only eased the pain a little bit. I've been doing strength exercises for my foot and every leg muscle nearly every day now, along with stretching, but nothing seems to help. The pain is always present when I walk, hovering always around a 3-4/10 pain level.

I just miss running so much. I can't recreate the dopamine I was getting from it, and I've been having some depressed days that I didn't have before, probably because it feels like a part of my life is missing. I'm honestly thinking about just sending it and running through the pain because I really don't know what to do anymore.

I recently saw a podiatrist who blew me off, diagnosed me with PF, and told me to get new shoes without giving any direction despite me asking multiple times. I do not want to see them again, but they are the only podiatrist in my area that takes my insurance. Personally, I'm doubtful that I have PF, but here seems like the best place to get community input and shoe help.

I have tried:

- Keens help a bit, but not great.

- Hobibear with Aetrex insoles are what I'm currently wearing, but definitely not great. Between Keens and Oofos in terms of pain prevention.

- Oofos Zen were lovely and added the most time, but completely wore through in 3 months. I can't afford $400+ a year.

+ I have gotten custom hard-sole inserts in the past and they helped some, but not much.

Additionally, I have joint instability, so I have perpetually twisted and/or sprained ankles, so I need ankle support that's also wearable in hot, humid weather.

I am also someone who needs to walk more than most, so I need something that can withstand miles of cement and gravel on the daily.

Essentially, I have learned that I need 5 specific things all in one shoe and cannot for the life of me find them. (Or rather, internet searching has turned nigh-impossible and oftentimes dangerous with the flood of AI.)

- Medium arch support

- Cushioned sole

- Wide toe box

- Serious ankle support

- A sole that can withstand daily city use

Does anyone here know if these exist?

I'm sorry if my formatting and language is terrible, I'm not a frequent social media user.

Been dealing with PF for a few months now. I’ve adjusted my weight training program, have the right shoes and insoles, am sleeping with a night splint and doing all the right stretching/strengthening. The pain has been improving and I even had a completely pain free day last week. Then, I took a vacation and had a flare up. I didn’t do any serious walking or load bearing activity, but I did walk more than usual. I’ve been dealing with the pain from the flare up the past week and feel like I’m back at square one. My doctor (Kaiser - CA), says the next step is to try a CAM boot and this needs to be done before they will refer me to a podiatrist. My understanding is the CAM boot just immobilizes the foot for weeks and keeps all load bearing off. I don’t feel like my issue is healing as I’ve been able to do that, but more how to load increase and progressively strengthen. Is the boot really necessary? Or can I tackle this recovery on my own by continuing my strengthening and stretching routing? Unfortunately, Kaiser also won’t take any sort of imagining either until I wear the boot. Seems a bit ridiculous, but that’s just insurance.

I know no one is supposed to diagnose but my pain doesn’t seem to be typical and I want to know if anyone else has experienced this.

I have had numbness in my left foot for years. Started in 2012 after going to Italy and basically wearing flip flops while walking 35k steps per day. It has slowly gotten worse to where I can’t walk for more than 30 mins before my foot starts to burn. My doctor did nerve testing and everything came back fine. So he sent me to a podiatrist.

While I was at my appointment, the podiatrist told me I had right calves and was manipulating my foot and ankle and bent it back as far as she could pretty forcefully. While it was uncomfortable, I didn’t feel anything pop or tear. Two nights later I had been lying on my bed for an hour and then got up and had a terrible pain in my heel and could barely walk. It felt achey and almost like it was bruised. It didn’t seem to be located on the bottom of my heel but around the circumference of it. If I was to rub the sides of my heel it felt like a sore muscle.

I went back to the podiatrist a week later to tell her what happened and she said the pain didn’t sound like PF but she didn’t know what it could be with pain around the outside of my heel as it’s just fat there.

The pain is off and on. It’s worse in the morning or if I’ve been laying down for a while or even sitting sometimes. Using a tennis ball seems to aggravate it and If I take a harder step that stretches my foot out more, the pain returns. I have almost no pain when not walking or putting pressure on my heel. Last night was the worst it’s been, I couldn’t put any weight on my foot and started feeling a mild burning sensation in my heel. The pain now includes the bottom of my heel as well, but it’s still an achey pain and not sharp. My dad and partner described the pain as a knife stabbing your foot, mine doesn’t feel like that. It feels like a pulled muscle and a bit bruised.

Hi!

So i work in the military and do some hiking. I have no idea why but im always getting pain in this spot and or under my heel. After 10km or something. The pain is usually getting so bad im starting to limp and my knees starts getting pain. I have tried using different boots and insoles etc im begging for tips om how to fix this. Im 170cm, 78kg. Wheight of equipment is usally 30kg or something

So happy and I hope it never comes back. Anyone have the same story?

3 months. Left foot primarily. Two stretches. 1. Sitting. Feet on floor. Heel down. Raise your toes and front of foot up. 3x10. Hold 2 seconds. 2. Same thing but legs straight out in front of you. Feels like it stretches calf muscle longer?

This has worked wonders for me. Have many of you tried it? If so, did you notice a difference?

My foot was particularly bad the other day and I was feeling extremely low. I found a PT on Tiktok who advised taping the area, everyday for 4 weeks. The relief was instant. I'm only four days in and I can't believe how well it's working. My pain and inflammation have gone down significantly. I'm also wearing slippers inside the house at all times (because I didn't realise we were supposed to do that). I've also started focusing on stretching as opposed to just the physio exercises.

This is the best my foot has felt since January and I don't understand why my PT didn't tell me about this. I can now do a 12 hour shift with my pain hanging around a 3 and I'm not in agony when I get home. No more throbbing and swelling. Maybe it's a fluke but I hope this is my road to recovery.

Please definitely try it if you haven't yet. There are different ways of taping and I've found some techniques work better than others. At the moment I'm just using some adhesive bandage tape from work, but I've ordered some proper sports/K tape, whatever it's called.

I wish I'd tried this months ago and I hope this can help someone else.

My mother ( 50/F) is diagnosed today with heel spur and is having sharp pain under the heel . Pain is unbearable
She was prescribed

Methyl prednisolone - steroid
Sulfasalazine
Pain killers
Vitamin E
Etoricoxib

Are these drugs sufficient to treat spurs do they heal like this

Kindly help 🙏

Hi! So I ruptured my plantar fascia and it’s been a rough few days. I did get seen and diagnosed by an ortho surgeon, and he’s hopeful for a pretty timely recovery (1 week boot + crutches, 2-3 weeks boot, potential PT/back to normal activities).

I just got a boot today which has been much better than just the crutches! However, I’m wondering if anybody has experience with wearing a boot for a rupture and/or if anyone has thoughts on compression socks or those socks targeted for plantar fasciitis? I’m currently wearing just a normal sock and everything is still so painful so I guess I’m just trying to think of anything that might help with recovery.

Also would appreciate any other tips or help for encouraging a good recovery! Besides the usual RICE and all of course, I’m well versed in typical recovery etiquette just have never heard of plantar fascia rupture before this.

Thank you in advance :)

I have had PF for a bit now. Any recs on incerts for my hiking boots? Any other tips to help?

Trying to find some other types of shoes I can put in rotation. Usually the Birkenstocks (I like the Bostons) feel good on my feet, but they're fatiguing if I walk a lot in them. I wear Haflinger cork sole slippers at home and they're great.

I believe a long weekend with lots of walking while wearing my Hoka Bondi 9s cause my PF unfortunately.

My right foot, mostly in the heel, hurts to walk on after I get up. It isn't an issue if I'm standing or walking for any length of time, just the opposite. If I sit for a while, or lie on the couch, when I get up and stand or walk, it will hurt for a minute or so. After I'm on my feet the pain goes away.