Trying to figure out the issue with my foot. Doctor Google is letting me down,

[stephanier.1765]

I think the problem I'm having with Google is that I'm not using the right key words to find the answer I need. My heels are bothering me at night. Not pain, more of a discomfort that I would like to relieve. My heels feel like they are folding. I know that's not possible since bone doesn't fold but that's what it feels like. It's really uncomfortable and affecting my ability to fall asleep. Any ideas? Thanks!

Oh, and what DH tells me of his plantar fasciitis, what I'm experiencing is nothing like that.  And what helps him to relieve that pain, isn't doing a thing for my problem but I may try his splint one night just to see. I think I might be  built weird.

[mommyoffive]

Are you home all the time barefoot?

[stephanier.1765]

2 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Are you home all the time barefoot?

I am. I live barefoot.

[mommyoffive]

4 minutes ago, stephanier.1765 said:

I am. I live barefoot.

Me too.  But I just read an article on this yesterday that it isn't good for you and can lead to a bun of issues.   So I have on some tennis shoes today.  Can you try wearing supportive shoes inside?  It said not slippers.  Rolling a hard ball on your feet to.  Like a golf ball.   I live barefoot at home and only have had shoes on for dog walks since mid March.   I have had a ton of foot pain, but didn't realize it was from the lack of wearing shoes.  I always thought barefoot was better for you.

[stephanier.1765]

1 minute ago, mommyoffive said:

Me too.  But I just read an article on this yesterday that it isn't good for you and can lead to a bun of issues.   So I have on some tennis shoes today.  Can you try wearing supportive shoes inside?  It said not slippers.  Rolling a hard ball on your feet to.  Like a golf ball.   I live barefoot at home and only have had shoes on for dog walks since mid March.   I have had a ton of foot pain, but didn't realize it was from the lack of wearing shoes.  I always thought barefoot was better for you.

I always thought barefoot was better too. It's funny how much I want to resist wearing shoes in the house (LOL) but I'm willing to give it a try because this heel thing is making me crazy.

Thank you so much for the help!

[prairiewindmomma]

Look for Vionic flip flops.  Lifesaving.  If you can't do new shoes right now, get a bath towel and stretch out your feet before bed.

And, yes, plantar fasciitis

[regentrude]

1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

  I always thought barefoot was better for you.

yes, it is -  but on natural terrain like sand or grass. Not on hard floors that don't mold to your feet.

A friend of mine developed pf because she hasn't been wearing shoes since the pandemic started.

Edited October 19, 2020 by regentrude

[happi duck]

When I was diagnosed with pf the thought of never being barefoot was too much so I searched for other info.  My pain was relieved by getting rid of knots in calves and along shins.  I used hands and a roller called "the stick".  I found my info on " sock-doc".  I think I read that stress contributes to knots.

Ime, shingles and tmj are more prevalent due to stress.  Maybe pf is too.

[PeterPan]

When my plantar fasciitis was acting up, it hurt in the morning, not at night. Maybe you're having restless leg or something else you haven't quite put your finger on? Wearing shoes is fine. Have you tried soaking in an epsom salts bath before bed?

[J-rap]

3 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Look for Vionic flip flops.  Lifesaving.  If you can't do new shoes right now, get a bath towel and stretch out your feet before bed.

And, yes, plantar fasciitis

My dd has those...  She wears them instead of going barefoot, like after a bath before bed, etc.  She loves them.

[mommyoffive]

2 hours ago, regentrude said:

yes, it is -  but on natural terrain like sand or grass. Not on hard floors that don't mold to your feet.

A friend of mine developed pf because she hasn't been wearing shoes since the pandemic started.

Yeah, I haven't either .  I put shoes on today and it is so much better. 

[Laurie]

Any chance that the top sheet on your bed is tucked in too tightly?  

I've had pf and for me the pain was also worse in the morning when I first got out of bed.   

 

 

 

[Katy]

Weird.  My PF went away when I started going barefoot at home, and was home to go barefoot.

I do think heel pain can be PF.

[Ali in OR]

Just a thought on barefoot vs. not. I've had PF twice, once in each foot 5 years apart. When I have it, I think it is good to wear shoes inside (Birkenstocks being my fave). This summer I had something different, I think extensor tendonitis in the top of my right foot, I think from my running shoes, possibly from lacing them too tight. It hurt to wear shoes, but otherwise my foot felt fine. So I started exercising barefoot, and doing youtube workout videos and yoga instead of walking on a treadmill. I think the barefoot exercise and the type of exercise has really helped my foot health. I think tight calves/hamstrings contributed to PF, and at the beginning of summer, they were super tight. I kind of measure my progress by how much better I can do Downward Dog in yoga now than when I first started--my calves just aren't so tight. Some of my videos incorporate foot flexibility, like ballet releves (sp?), and I think those help too. I still wear my Birks around the house when I think of it, but I do think the barefoot exercise is a good thing. Search "barefoot cardio" on youtube if you're interested in barefoot workouts.

[stephanier.1765]

14 hours ago, PeterPan said:

When my plantar fasciitis was acting up, it hurt in the morning, not at night. Maybe you're having restless leg or something else you haven't quite put your finger on? Wearing shoes is fine. Have you tried soaking in an epsom salts bath before bed?

I haven't but I do have some on hand so I'll give that a try. My dh has had success with soaking his feet so hopefully that means I will as well. Thank you!

13 hours ago, Laurie said:

Any chance that the top sheet on your bed is tucked in too tightly?  

I've had pf and for me the pain was also worse in the morning when I first got out of bed.   

 

 

 

I've wondered about the top sheet because my foot feels better when I turn it sideways away from the pull of the sheet. I wish I could keep it sideways but lying on my side hurts my back and keeping it that way while on my back feels awkward. Getting old stinks. LOL

I just washed my sheets yesterday so when I remade my bed last night, I gave the top sheet more length so it wouldn't pull as tightly. My feet still bothered me but I think they had reached a point that they were going to hurt regardless. Hopefully, I'll see some improvement in the next few days with the sheet being looser.

10 hours ago, Ali in OR said:

Just a thought on barefoot vs. not. I've had PF twice, once in each foot 5 years apart. When I have it, I think it is good to wear shoes inside (Birkenstocks being my fave). This summer I had something different, I think extensor tendonitis in the top of my right foot, I think from my running shoes, possibly from lacing them too tight. It hurt to wear shoes, but otherwise my foot felt fine. So I started exercising barefoot, and doing youtube workout videos and yoga instead of walking on a treadmill. I think the barefoot exercise and the type of exercise has really helped my foot health. I think tight calves/hamstrings contributed to PF, and at the beginning of summer, they were super tight. I kind of measure my progress by how much better I can do Downward Dog in yoga now than when I first started--my calves just aren't so tight. Some of my videos incorporate foot flexibility, like ballet releves (sp?), and I think those help too. I still wear my Birks around the house when I think of it, but I do think the barefoot exercise is a good thing. Search "barefoot cardio" on youtube if you're interested in barefoot workouts.

My calves are tight. Until I read your post, I had forgotten that they have been bothering me at night too. Right before bed, I would lean towards the wall to stretch them out and that helped a lot. They haven't been bothering me lately which is probably why I didn't associate the two but I think you might be on to something. I'm going to check out some exercises to stretch my calves and see if it helps my feet. It sure can't hurt to try.

Thanks everyone for you ideas and advice. I'm wearing shoes, my top sheet is on my bed more loosely, and I'm going to track down some exercises. I also stole, I mean borrowed, my dh's night splint to see if it will help at all. I already have fibromyalgia, bursitis, and carpal tunnel. All three are off the charts painful right now which probably means my stress level is affecting them. And maybe this means that what ever is wrong with my feet is also being affected by my stress level (which is super high right now). If I can get control of just one thing, I think that would help me mentally quite a bit. So thank you so much again.

[happi duck]

If your calves are tight instead of (in addition to?) stretching check for knots.  My knots were in my calf and along my shin.  

It really did make all the difference for me.  The podiatrist told me to never be barefoot and when I refused a shot he said "you'll be back".  

[sassenach]

My husband has PF and wears orthopedic flip flops in the house. Barefoot definitely aggravates the issue. He also slept with braces that kept his feet flexed overnight when it was at its worse.

[mommyoffive]

Hoping you get some relief soon.   Are you taking vitamins?  Would magnesium help with this I wonder?  Also potassium. 

Edited October 20, 2020 by mommyoffive

[stephanier.1765]

3 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

Hoping you get some relief soon.   Are you taking vitamins?  Would magnesium help with this I wonder?  Also potassium. 

I haven't. I take B12 because I'm a vegan but I've become lax about my other vitamins. I'm trying to remember when I stopped taking them to see if it correlates to my foot pain but I can't. I have these on hand as well as a multivitamin so I'm going to take them right now. It sure can't hurt. Thank you!

3 hours ago, happi duck said:

If your calves are tight instead of (in addition to?) stretching check for knots.  My knots were in my calf and along my shin.  

It really did make all the difference for me.  The podiatrist told me to never be barefoot and when I refused a shot he said "you'll be back".  

I'm so bad at finding knots. I used to have doctor who was great at finding the ones in my back and giving me shots for the worse ones but I never could find the ones should have been able to reach. 🤦‍♀️ Can you think of a regular household item I could use in place of a stick? I'm wracking my brain but I'm coming up with nothing. I really want to try working at my calves to see if that's the problem or even just to relieve the tightness there.

[mommyoffive]

45 minutes ago, stephanier.1765 said:

I haven't. I take B12 because I'm a vegan but I've become lax about my other vitamins. I'm trying to remember when I stopped taking them to see if it correlates to my foot pain but I can't. I have these on hand as well as a multivitamin so I'm going to take them right now. It sure can't hurt. Thank you!

I'm so bad at finding knots. I used to have doctor who was great at finding the ones in my back and giving me shots for the worse ones but I never could find the ones should have been able to reach. 🤦‍♀️ Can you think of a regular household item I could use in place of a stick? I'm wracking my brain but I'm coming up with nothing. I really want to try working at my calves to see if that's the problem or even just to relieve the tightness there.

My kids are all dancers and they roll out their muscles all the time.  We have massage balls, rolling muscles sticks with different things on them for a better massage,  and foam rollers.  Rolling out your body feels so good.   

It would not be the same density and feel of the different levels of foam rollers,  but a rolling pin for bread?  Or a tennis ball, golf ball, or other hard balls are used in the dance world  a lot.

[stephanier.1765]

38 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

My kids are all dancers and they roll out their muscles all the time.  We have massage balls, rolling muscles sticks with different things on them for a better massage,  and foam rollers.  Rolling out your body feels so good.   

It would not be the same density and feel of the different levels of foam rollers,  but a rolling pin for bread?  Or a tennis ball, golf ball, or other hard balls are used in the dance world  a lot.

Thank you! We don't have a rolling pin but there might be something in the garage I could adapt. After raising 3 boys, we have all sorts of equipment. LOL

[happi duck]

@stephanier.1765

I was going to say the same thing as @mommyoffive

Rolling pin or a ball were my only thoughts.  My worst knots were along the sides of my shin. (Can't remember which side) It didn't make sense but that helped my pf pain the most and was easy to get at myself.

The "sock-doc" website might have some ideas for alternative rollers.

[SounderChick]

A cold soda makes a good roller.