Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion Helpful Tips Heel Pain - insoles anyone?

hi Everyone, i've suffered with a plantar thingy in my right foot for years and its caused me pain to varying degrees, however, its gone bonkers the past few days and its now in both feet, I don't know what to do with myself! I've never found anything particularly helpful, but wondered if anyone has tried the heel insert things and if they do actually help. I can't walk on tip toes for much longer as its hurting my flippin back, arrgghh!

i have the exact same problem, its my left heel. does the side of your foot swell up too? mine does and its excruciating to walk on. lately my other heel is starting with the same pain . i cant walk on my tiptoes, because it hurts my back so badly. i feel for you, but i dont know of anything that helps yet.

My doctor had me doing this exercise for Plantar Fasciitis:

Place a small towel on the floor and using your toes and ball of foot, keeping heels in one place, use the front aspect of the foot to grip the towel and pull it under your foot and do this for several times-the towel will bunch up under your feet, but you're exercising that area of the foot.

Hi Sarah,

Jon used to get sore feet/heels/ankles really bad pre-NSD. We had to shop around and find some shoes that were really comfy for him and then he just never took them off! The shoes were Reebok walking shoes and they had like an air pocket and gel pad thing under the heel to take the pressure off it. We didn't find anything that actually took the pain away from his feet but at least these shoes didn't aggravate it.

Sometimes, if they weren't too painful he would try and gently stretch them out and found that helped temporarily.


Chelsea

Hi Sarah,
I know all too well the pain your talking about, and wanted to tell you mine subsided after about two years. I found that the Birkenstock sandals helped because they lift your arch up high so when your foot hits the ground the heel hits lighter.

Best Of Luck,
Janet

P>S No amount of NSAID or steroid helped it. It just seemed too have to do its damage and then settled down. I use too wear high heels first thing in the mornings becasue I couldn't put my heel to the ground. It was a foot specilaist who recommended the birkenstock's.

Hi Sarah,
Ohh I remember months of tip toes. Not good at all.
I used a ton of prednisone and T3s and antiinflammatories, but it only seemed to help a bit. Massage, elevating my feet, and icing my feet used to help a bit more. I used crutches most of the time because it was in both my feet.
Now I'm on enbrel, and that's helped a TON, so I can get away with using heel gel pads, good orthotics and good shoes. If you get orthotics, try to get the non-rigid ones made up. I also had extra foam padding in the heel to absorb impact. Having someone willing to work WITH you to make up orthotics that will work best for you is key.
I feel for you girl. Here's hoping you find something that works.

Thanks everyone, i think i will try the insoles if i can get a good pair from somewhere, i've been popping pills but nothing has worked, both feet are tingling now as well as throbbing, ouch ouch ouch. I did have a look for birkenstock winter shoes, may have to invest in a pair, my summer ones are great but might look slightly odd with tights and a winter coat at work!

I hope this passes soon, its evil, the walking on tiptoes or on the side of my feet is making everything else hurt

I've never heard of folk walking on tiptoes to ease foot pain, and have never thought of this to manage mine, but I suffer with foot pain all the time also, and have taken to walking on the outside edges of my feet. Fallen arches / flat feet don't help either. Other parts of me hurt more, so the foot pain seems more like white noise on some days, while it screams at me on other days. Walking on tip toes would be hard for me, considering I usually waddle anyway...

Here's hoping you feel better soon.

Hi Sarah,

Ok I might be mis-understanding, but if you are talking about a plantar thingy like a planters wart...my 11 year old had this little bump on the bottom of her heel and I took her to the Dr. and she said we can either CUT it out which both me and the Dr said NO or we could get this stuff (boy it stunk) and put it on it 1 maybe 2 times a day and cover it with duct tape...we did this and low and behold it is gone...it took probly 2 to 4 weeks but it is gone and there is no more pain.

If it is heal pain just from AS I would consider a cortisone shot in your heal. That is what I had to do. Yea the shot wasnt real great, but the day after the relief was a dream and I have not had to have another one since.

If yours is scenario 1 let me know and I can find the medicine we put on it and let you know what it is.

Lisa

It is not just heel pain. It is all over the feet pain. I have been prescribed orthotics. They work for a time and them whammo, it is back to the pain.

If it is just in the heels, try the gel cups and see if they help. If it is the arches that are causing the pain then you need to go to a podiatrist/chiropodist for assessment and help.

I do not have access to the birkenstocks, but I have access to the Homypeds, and Australian brand. There are a few types that are suitable for orthotics. They work very well.

Like one of the others said about buying shoes, I am constantly buying shoes to find something that will be comfortable for my feet. They have a tendency to swell, and when that happens I get in more strife than .... (have a guess at the saying)...

As a woman, I find it very difficult to find shoes that are wide enough to accommodate my feet. Ever since I was a teenager I have struggled with this problem. I could only walk so far before the pain would strike me down and I ended up with bruised feet. I get into trouble because of the number of pairs of shoes that I own. However, when I am dealing with pain in the feet, all I want is to be comfortable.

If it is heel pain then you need to stretch out the ligaments. There are a few appropriate stretches that are helpful. One of them has already been mentioned. (I find it difficult to manipulate the towel). You can also practice picking up marbles with your toes. Then for stretching you can place your feet on two telephone books, or the bottom stair on a staircase, and then flex downwards. (I am not describing the movement properly. What you need to do is have the heels off the books of the stairs and then press downwards, and then up again. Hold the stretch for about 3 to 5 seconds). It is also a good idea to do the runners' stretch.

A lot of the pain is due to tight ligaments because they are trying to protect the area that is under attack in the auto-immune process. As I said, though in my case I have the pain in the balls of my feet, as well as in the heels. So walking on my toes, which is hard to achieve anyway, is not an option.

Maggie (ouch, my feet hurt to the point of spasm)