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Living With Chronic Plantar Fasciitis Pain

Posted on May 4, 2020May 4, 2020 by Giulia

Several years ago I had some ankle pain. It wasn’t a big deal, and I didn’t think much of it at all. And then, while at work, something happened. It started to hurt really badly. My job requires me to be on my feet quite a bit, so it got worse and worse as the day went on. I had to go home before my day ended, and I left in tears. I drove immediately to the walk in clinic and the doctor gave me a week off of work due to the pain.

This was only the beginning of an ordeal that went on for a year.

What is Plantar Fasciitis?

Plantar fasciitis is the most cause of heel pain. A large band of tissue that connects your heel bone to your toes becomes inflamed and can cause stabbing pain, usually first thing in the morning. It’s common in runners. But I don’t run, and my pain was not located in my heel. As I said, it started in my ankle. Very quickly though, my pain shifted from my ankle to the arch under my foot. I felt a constant, tight pulling with each step I took. Usually with PF, the pain gets better after the first few steps out of bed in the morning. With me, the pain never ended. It was there all day, every day. It was there as soon as I woke up, and it was there when I lay down to sleep.

Doctors looked at the mechanics of my feet. They recommended orthotics, which did not help. They advised me to stay off my feet, impossible in my profession but no one wanted to hear that. They prescribed anti flammatories and physiotherapy. The medications didn’t help. Physio only helped manage pain, but it didn’t correct the problem. I also did weekly massages where the fascia was stripped. But all of these treatments only managed the pain, and did not correct it. The professionals were stumped, sent me here and there to be looked at by another type of expert, all of who said I was fine and that it would go away given time and persistence with treatments. I was told to “stay the course.”

Living With Pain

For a year, I stayed the course taking all the advice of every professional in the paramedical and medical field that I saw. But I wasn’t getting better. I spent money on expensive shoes, orthotic inserts, therapies, and I each day I lived in pain. I tried icing my feet, I rolled golf balls under the arch of my foot, I tried stretches, I took herbal supplements, but every day I woke up and the pain was there. Some days I could actually feel the micro tears as they ripped in my fascia while I walked at work. It was horrid. There was plenty of days when I soon as I closed the door of my condo shut behind me I broke down in tears.

There is no sympathy for someone living in chronic pain. Everyone I worked with knew standing and walking hurt me, and yet no one offered to help even though there were certain duties that they could have done on occasion for me. I didn’t complain, and I didn’t ask. I felt I couldn’t. We all have our own work to do after all, and our own problems. I even had a co worker become upset with me after I chose to go home for a few hours before returning to an after work event I had to run with her, because in her mind I should have stayed to help her set up. But I couldn’t. It was either set up or attend the event. Attendance was mandatory. Set up was…something others could do without me. I had no choice I felt. But she did not see that. She even argued with me when I explained this, acting as though I’d shrugged off my responsibility to her, even though she knew full well I was in constant pain.

I wanted so badly to stay home. I was mentally exhausted, physically aching and emotionally drained from living in constant pain and working in a job where there was no escaping being on my feet. My doctor never offered me time off of work, and I was too afraid to ask for it.

How I Healed My Plantar Fasciitis

It came to a point where I knew that I could not go on working and living with the pain. I was ready to tell my doctor so and beg her for time off of work. But I had an appointment to begin shockwave therapy only a few days after I realized this, and as it turned out, I didn’t need that time off of work because shockwave therapy was the one thing that worked. I felt improvement immediately after my first treatment, and by the end of eighteen treatments (I later discovered I was over treated, probably in order to for the clinic to make more money and I paid thousands for this treatment) I was no longer in any pain.

I cannot tell you what an intense relief it was to walk and not to have feel pain in my feet. I just can’t describe it. It was so liberating to just be able to stand and walk and not be aware of every bone and tendon in my feet. I felt so lucky, and glad and grateful. I was told I’d have to wear orthotics, but that seemed like a little thing when it meant I could walk and work pain free.

But, a few months later, I knew I wasn’t really healed. It was Christmas, and I had two weeks off from work, and I wasn’t wearing my orthotic inserts in my home because I don’t wear shoes in my home. And even though I wasn’t walking a ton in my house, by the end of the two weeks I felt the beginning of the PF again in the arch of my foot. Once I began to regularly wear my orthotics, this disappeared, but it meant that something was still wrong. I had been told over and over again it was the mechanics of my foot, and that I was ultra sensitive so I would need orthotics for the rest of my life, but a part of me didn’t think this was entirely accurate.

By chance, some months later, I discovered osteopathy. I decided to see an osteopath about my back and hip pain, and while I was there we discussed my history with PF. She explained there was likely nothing wrong with my feet, that the problem was originating elsewhere in the body, and that treatment would help my entire body, not just a specific area. I left that day, took my orthotics out of my shoes and I have never used them again.

How Osteopathy Works

Osteopathy works on the premise that the body has a natural ability to heal itself. Its aim is to restore function in the body by treating the causes of pain and imbalances. The osteopath works with the body through manipulation of the entire muscular skeletal system to enhance the body’s natural ability to heal. It looks at the way the body functions as a whole, not just as separate systems or parts.

I cannot tell you whether or not this treatment is right for you, I am not a medical expert. I am only describing my own experiences. And my experience has been amazing. I used to have back pain, hip pain, odd horrible pain in my knee that would come for a week or a month and the vanish and return again years later, plantar fasciitis, and ever since I have begun treatment with my osteopath, I experience far less pain and I can even wear heels again. On occasion, as heels are not good for your body at all. I do not need to take medications for pain, or wear orthotics, and I now know when something is off in my body. I do go for regular treatments as I believe they are necessary to my overall health, but I have felt and seen the changes in my body when I never really did before. They say seeing is believing, well so is feeling. The difference in my overall physical health is huge.

Living with the chronic pain of PF is not something I’d wish on my worst enemy. And the worst thing was, it was an invisable illness so no one really understood my experience. I seemed fine since I was walking. But no one knew the effort that went into my day. Or how much it cost me. But I never believed that was no way I could become better. And by being open minded, willing to try anything (within reason) I did finally find a way to heal myself.

Thoughts? Questions? Let’s chat in the comments!

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Category: Food/Health, Personal Journey

16 thoughts on “Living With Chronic Plantar Fasciitis Pain”

  1. Jenny in Neverland says:
    May 4, 2020 at 7:49 pm

    I’ve never heard of this condition before but I’m sorry to hear you have it. Anything feet-related is such a pain to deal with. Especially in your care, as you work on your feet a lot. I broke my toe last year and fractured the side of my foot (two separate incidents!) and it’s surprising how much makes your feet hurt. I still get the odd pain every now and again. xxx

    Reply
    1. Giulia says:
      May 4, 2020 at 7:52 pm

      I’m so lucky that I managed to find osteopathy and that I now no longer live in pain. It was horrid. I’m always scared of it returning and having to go through that experience again. And yes, anything foot related is a total nightmare! I hope your pain settles down.

      Reply
  2. Rayo says:
    May 5, 2020 at 4:25 pm

    Oh wow, I’m so sorry you had to go through so much pain. I have actually never heard of this condition before. I’m glad you found a way to deal with it. Thank you for sharing your experience 💜

    Reply
    1. Giulia says:
      May 5, 2020 at 5:02 pm

      It’s common in runners and athletes but not in the way I experienced and usually it goes away within a month or two. If it wasn’t for osteopathy, I don’t think I’d be as well now as I am.

      Reply
  3. glowsteady says:
    May 5, 2020 at 9:21 pm

    I’m so glad you found a solution to your issues and kept pressing until you found a solution that worked for you! I had a very similar experience with my hips when I was younger. I was about 14 and got random pain one day that got progressively worse for a few weeks. Doctors told me there was nothing wrong. Sent me for x-rays, nothing. Asked me if I was making it up?! More x-rays, nothing. It got so bad I couldn’t climb stairs or walk a full length of a school corridor without sitting down. They thought it was muscular but I kept insisting it felt deeper in my bones. After about 18 months they finally gave me an MRI and a dexa and found hundreds of stress fractures too small to show on an x-ray. Turns out I had isolated low bone density in my hips. I managed to build it up a little bit but I have to do hip flexor exercises to keep the supporting muscles strong. They’re still the first place I feel weakness if I ever have a leg injury too. You have to push to get answers sometimes! x

    Sophie

    Reply
    1. Giulia says:
      May 6, 2020 at 2:34 pm

      Yes, you do! Making it up, I hate hearing they ask you that. I also think we need to keep advocating for ourselves, and seek out other experts because sometimes MDs don’t have the answers. They are not God after all.

      Reply
  4. Michelle (Boomer Eco Crusader) says:
    August 3, 2020 at 4:43 pm

    I, too, suffered from plantar fascitis. Luckily orthotics worked for me. Osteopathy and other holistic medicine are great options. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    1. Giulia says:
      August 3, 2020 at 4:45 pm

      I’m all about the holistic healing! I’m finding it is the only thing that works for me.

      Reply
  5. Martina Roy says:
    December 5, 2022 at 8:46 am

    After reading your article, I’ve recommended shockwave therapy for my sister. I hope it will relieve her pain. She is very much depressed about her condition. Thanks for sharing this informative article & this is essential to me.
    Martina Roy recently posted…Florida lawmakers want to limit how high you can get when smoking medical marijuanaMy Profile

    Reply
    1. Giulia says:
      December 10, 2022 at 3:22 pm

      I really hope it helps her!

      Reply
  6. Rebecca Hastings says:
    December 15, 2022 at 9:17 am

    I’m so glad that I could help my friend through her plantar fasciitis pain with the tips I learned from this blog post. For most people, shockwave therapy is a convenient and helpful way to reduced pain and improve quality of life. Thanks for sharing your experience!
    Rebecca Hastings recently posted…Medical Marijuana – A Good Alternative to Opioids?My Profile

    Reply
    1. Giulia says:
      March 8, 2023 at 2:36 pm

      I’m so glad it helped!

      Reply
  7. Cynthia @ Activefamilychiroaz says:
    March 31, 2023 at 6:39 pm

    Living with chronic plantar fasciitis pain can be a challenging and frustrating experience. Plantar fasciitis is a condition that causes pain and inflammation in the heel and bottom of the foot, making it difficult to walk or stand for extended periods.
    Cynthia @ Activefamilychiroaz recently posted…First Chiropractor Visit: Common QuestionsMy Profile

    Reply
    1. Giulia says:
      March 31, 2023 at 8:08 pm

      Mine was a bit different, but yes! It hurt so much! It was horrid!

      Reply
  8. " Galen Pearl" says:
    August 21, 2023 at 10:18 am

    I can completely relate to your experience with shockwave therapy. It’s truly remarkable how sometimes the right treatment can make such a dramatic difference in our lives. I went through a similar situation a couple of years ago when I was dealing with chronic back pain. Like you, I had reached a point where the pain was affecting my daily life, both at work and at home.
    ” Galen Pearl” recently posted…The Science Behind CBD: How Cannabidiol Interacts with the Endocannabinoid SystemMy Profile

    Reply
    1. Giulia says:
      August 27, 2023 at 6:29 pm

      Yes, it’s really hard to understand how that kind of thing is truly detrimental to one’s day to day life.

      Reply

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Meet the Blogger

Hi! I'm Giulia
I write a lifestyle blog that seeks to inspire others to begin to their own journey into self care, one tidbit at a time. I am passionate about sharing my own journey from the last decade, and what I've learned along the way. I love chips and dip and Tudor ficiton.

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