Chronic Heel Pain :: Orthotics, Physical Therapy, Acupuncture Nothing Worked
May 28, 2015
Feeling clueless and desperate, so needed to write it off and maybe get some feedback.
I'm 27yo now and for over 2 years I've been having heel pain. It started after running a couple of miles with a lot of uphill parts and sore achilles tendons after a couple of days. Ignorant of achilles injuries, I continued training hard until the pain was to much to bear.
What followed was months of
> manual/friction therapy
> extracorporeal shock wave therapy
> NSAIDS (until it ruined my stomach)
> physical therapy
The pain evolved from being in my achilles to more on the inside of my heel.
Since medical imagery never revealed anything, I had an EEG.
The foot specialist examining me saw a good enough reason to go ahead and open my foot up to perform a tarsal tunnel release surgery.
But after 2 weeks of a half-open cask and some additional weeks of recovery, the pain was still there.
Eventually going into taking natural anti-inflammatories (think turmeric) and just trying to go easy, the pain kind of evolved again to being more on the bottom of my foot now close to and on the heel.
Having had custom orthotics (which didn't help), acupuncture, some more physical therapy, I'm just completely lost..
This influences my life so much.. I'm in an active job, -was- an complete sports lover, loved to go walking, go out in the weekends.. It's all accompanied with a lot of pain, making me miserable and desperate.
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I have been having left heel pain for more than 2 years. I actually had foot issues from before (I developed a morton's neuroma a year earlier, had surgery with some residual pain, so started wearing orthotics to try to offload some pressure from the ball of the foot). After trying different pairs of orthotics, I started developing this heel pain, which has persisted for 2 years.
The pain is in the location where you would expect plantar fasciitis, but is not classic. It hurts more at the end of the day rather than the morning. I've had two MRIs over the course of the last two years, both show just an inflamed plantar fascia with nothing else really interesting.
I'm at my whits end. I've tried custom orthotics - spent literally thousands of dollars - and they don't help. I've tried heel cups, physical therapy, night splints. My feet are pretty flat, and so my podiatrist thinks that could contribute to the fasciitis.
Wondering if anyone has any non traditional tips, or if they have experienced something like this before. I'm thinking maybe my pain is because of orthotics. This started so long ago it's hard for me to remember the circumstances accurately. But maybe I should be strengthening my arches and not using orthotics?
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I am recovering from foot surgery and am experiencing pain on bottom of foot/heel that is similar to plantar fasciitis. I have other pains related to the surgery that are improving, but this one is persistent. My PT suggested dry needling in trigger points, which is similar to acupuncture. I also have PTTD developing in my other foot, and she suggested it may also help with that.
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Haven't posted in a long time- years....I have a family member that is an adult pain patient. In 2004 he began his journey when a surgeon damaged nerves during surgery and now he suffers severe pelvic floor pain that radiates into his legs and toes.
Medication regimen is MSir and methadone; pain levels are 5-10 without remittance. Pain specialist has tried every available block, implantable device and nothing has worked due to where the nerve injury is.
We've talked about a motor cortex stimulator but the chance of something going wrong (seizures, stroke, hemorrhage) keeps us at bay.
I recently read that stem cell therapy has been attempted with success on pain patients and was wondering if anyone has any experience or knowledge of this potential therapy. Some centers use autologous stem cells and others are using banked, pooled cells. UCSF (I've heard good things about their pain service)
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I am 33 and I used to be so energetic, liked to work out 4 to 5 days a week. But last year around February my life changed completely! After trying some over the counter probiotics for stomach issues like constipation my life went downhill. Ended up in the hospital 3 times for palpitations, could NOT sleep, diarrhea, shortness of breath, feeling my body freezing then super hot, feeling like I was going to pass out etc etc you named it! My doctor run ALL kinds of test and no answer. He only gave me antidepressants and high doses of sleeping pills. I cried every night because I knew I wasn't depressed but nobody knew how to help me out. Eventually 3 months passed not sure how I made it but started to feel better. Around October I started to feel so exhausted, light headed, low bp, sleepy and going to sleep at 8pm every night to feel a little better the next day, this was just no life and again here we go to my doctor and more test...and nothing! I am a true believer of Homeopathy/ Herbalist medicine so I decided to try Chinese medicine anyways I had nothing to lose anymore and to my experience the recovery has been AMAZING! It's been a month and I can say that I feel much much better. It is kind of hard to really find the help for CFS. (I never took the anti depressants). Please don't get discouraged seek help and always talk to your doctor before trying anything else. All I can say is that I found an amazing Chinese herbalist that is helping out feel better!
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Having had PF for going on 4 years I have been seeing an osteopath for the last 2 months This has helped the PF to a degree however a year ago I felt there was more going on as the joints in my feet were extremely painful and I had to have my medication put up. 600 mg pregabalin as well as tramadol on bad days. I was recently referred to orthopaedic biomechanics who have now diagnosed me with Tarsal Tunnel syndrome and currently awaiting further appointments with biomechanics and physio for acupuncture and laser therapy. Has anyone else been diagnosed with same and what was the outcome?? I am desperate to be pain free and be able to have a life again. I have not worked in nearly a year and getting so frustrated not being able to get about much or get back to work.
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Has anyone had physical therapy for rectal prolapse? and if so did it help at all?
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I've had great success with PT for various muscle groups on the past. But sciatica is neurological. Can PT fix my nerves? Or will it alter where the nerves "run" by shifting muscle strength?
Just hard for me to believe PT can address tingly pain (which I have in right buttocsk and down leg).
Does MRI (which I've had plus x-rays) indicate if PT is a viable option vs. shots or....?
Should 5 PT sessions be enough to tell if PT will do the trick or not?
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I sustained a spiral fracture of the distal third of my humerus approximately 3 and a half weeks ago. Im currently in a hard functional brace and able to let my arm hang freely at my side. I began PT earlier this week and have a few questions regarding the process. While most of the exercises are focused on maintaining range of motion and are relatively pain free, some do put small amounts of stress on the fracture site and cause discomfort. Every once in awhile I can feel the pieces of bone moving during the exercises. My arm has also swollen up a bit more (specifically my lower arm) since beginning PT. I assume this is normal. I'm more concerned with the movement of the bone. Is this cause for concern? and will excess movement hinder the bone healing process?
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I have severe hallux rigidus in the right foot and moderate in the left foot. I have custom orthotics and wear New Balance shoes. The HR has alleviated a bit in the severe foot, however, now I have knee, hip and back pain after the custom orthotics?
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I am experiencing pain on the bottom of my right heel. I have been told by several people that could be several things....a stone bruise, bone spur, heel spur, plantar fasciitis or tendonitis. Any ideas?
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I am 42 yrs old and had a Partial Knee Replacement done on Jan 6th...outpatient...went to first PT the next morning. Wasn't too bad...2nd was a little rougher and I was in more pain. 3rd visit had a different therapist and she pushed me beyond what I thought I was ready for. She basically forced bended my knee and forced straighten it..said it's to keep scar tissues from interfering with recovery...this was extremely painful. I am curious to if this is normal protocol on your 3rd visit of PT..which was 7 days post op...I was in soo much pain I could not go to my next PT. Plus I have bruising on my ankle from her force bending with her body weight...I figured I would go back on Monday when my normal Therapist will be there....I have made progress with bending and straightening and don't think I should be rushed like that...I am still in alot of pain but am able to walk around house without crutches. I have been icing and elevating along with doing my homework PT.
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I have been treating my frozen shoulder with traditional physical therapy. About three weeks ago I started acupuncture. After the first session my calves started to ache. They do not put needles in the back of my legs. I was doing exercise in the doorway that would put stress on my calves for 2 months prior to acupuncture. At that time my calves did not hurt. I find it strange that the calves began aching with acupuncture.
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I have recently been diagnosed as having depression, and my psychiatrist feels my leg pain that I have is being caused by my depression. Does anyone else experience similar problems and has antidepressants helped at all with the physical symptoms ?
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I was running the 100m this morning, and at the end of the race, I got a really bad heel pain. It was hard to walk on it, and I had to skip an event. Does anyone know what it could be, and how I can cure it?
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My right heel, at the bottom of my foot, kills today. I am going to make an uneducated guess and say its because I have been 'babying' my left leg and putting all the pressure on my right foot when I walk. My heel pain was sudden and I've never had problems with my right foot.
Anyone have any ideas as how to avoid hurting yourself when you have a weak leg?
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Four weeks back I fell with my bike and seemed to hit my heel to the ground. I stil cant put much pressure on it, I can walk on my heel but I can feel the pain. It's better than 4 weeks back but not all good. Is there maybe something I can do to speed up recovery? When I press on my heel from the bottom there is not pain but on the sides an back of the calcaneus there is a lot of pain when I press, it's all around the edges of the calcaneus.
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Hi guys , the weird symptoms I am having is that I am becoming often distant from I what seemed be my body. It's weird. I'm incredibly weak as well , the feeling of generally feeling exhausted when standing up. I'm making myself panicky that this could be the end of a horrendous illness no one has ever picked up. I'm just not feeling at all right. I also get pain in the middle upper of my chest. Do any other of yous experience these symptoms
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I have had this going on for 3 years now and still no closer to an outcome. The pain is in the back of both heels and when touched is really painful. I have had xrays, ultrasounds and an MRI for Plantar and tendonitis but both have been ruled out as nothing showing up. The symptoms led them to believe it was one or the other ie Plantar or Tendonitis, I can hardly walk when I get out of bed and when I point my toes to the air it pulls around the back of my heel. As I work in retail and I'm on my feet all day my feet ache the longer the day goes on and by the time I get home I shuffle along as the pain hurts too much. Once I sit down and rest for as little as 10 minutes I feel everything tighten up and is hard to walk. I have now been told by my the consultant that he doesn't think the pain is in my feet and if it is he can't find it so has now made me an appointment to see the spinal team that's if they are willing to see me. Surely if I am in pain and can't get through a day without any then surely there must be a problem somewhere. At 40 years old I find myself not being able to do the things I love like long distance walking and being out in the fresh air instead. I spend most of my free time resting my feet so I can be ready for the following day as its a constant struggle with the pain.
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I do not have diabetes, I do not take any meds, and I am not obese.
For the last few years, I have burning pain in my heels when I am lying down for a few hours. When I get up and walk around, it goes away and I have no pain during the day. The problem is I can't sleep because the pain wakes me up.
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All through the winter i wore heeled boots, only a small heel then about a month ago i started wearing flat "dolly" shoes again, after about a week of wearing flat shoes i woke uP and couldn't walk properly due to pain in my calfs so i went back to wearing boots and just occasionally wearing dolly shoes. Sunday i went for a walk with my friend but i wore flat sandals ended up walking about 3 miles. Monday morning i got out of bed and nearly fell due to pain in my heel which i couldn't feel until i put my weight on it, i found it painful to walk on the rest of the day and today (tuesday) its became worse and the pain has travelled up my calf, similar feeling to what i felt a month before, which is becoming worse as the day goes on.
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