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I don't have as much heel pain but the extreme pins and needles, burning, stiff toes symptoms are the killers.

I am not a runner, jogger or anything like that. I have never had any problems, perfectly formed feet. I fell the end of October '08 and the tendon pulled a small piece of bone from my left ankle. I wore a boot cast for 6 weeks and it healed. In December, I started to notice slightly the symptoms I mentioned and after Christmas it had greatly intensified. I went back to my foot and ankle doctor and he immediately said Planters Fasciitis. He gave me steroid shots in each heel, wrapped them (to be on for 3 days). I felt some relief. He gave me a script for anti-inflammatory meds and a high dosage of Ibuprofen. Also a script for a night foot brace to trade off every other night and arranged for physical therapy. Three times a week for six weeks. I have just finished my first week. I have the iced golf ball exercise and a stretching one to do at home. There I receive sono treatments and the tens machine which really feel good and then the usual foot and toe stretches. I have an exray scheduled right before I go back to my specialist on the 17th.

I just happened on this site and like to hear what other people are going through. After reading a few, I am very depressed. Nothing seems like a good outcome. My symptoms are very intense tonight. I do get relief when I go to bed or am in a recliner, but I'm not the type of person to sit still. Please, any comments, any one have the same symptoms I do or are you doing anything different...................

If the tendon pulled a piece of bone off, it's called an avulsion fracture. Look it up on WebMD. Second, if that tiny piece of bone is floating around, or moving at all, it's irritating things, which starts the healing process. This means the body sends down repair materials and equipment, and tries to stabilize the area (by swelling) so healing can occur. All this means reduced mobility, and pain. Not all heel pain is PF. Stretching can help, but you need to do a specific kind that integrates neuro-muscular re-education. It's easy to do, you can do it at home, and it won't interfere with your PT, it's called MET.

MET stands for Muscle Energy Technique. We discovered it in the 40s and 50s when we were working with polio patients. Why many Physical Therapists have stopped using it, I don’t know. I've been using it professionally for over 20 years, and it’s pure gold.

Throughout your muscles are little receptors called Golgi Tendon Organs. The highest concentration of them in each muscle is where the muscle thins down into the tendon. They tell the muscles how far they are allowed to stretch, and how fast. If they think a muscle is going to far too fast, they will contract, with great force, in an effort to “save” the muscle. Unfortunately, this will usually tear it. What MET does is teaches these receptors to accept the longer muscle length. This can be done with just about every skeletal muscle in the body. The best part is, it’s easy to do. If you want me to e-mail you the instructions on how to do MET on your own calf, at home, just go to my website, http://www.kaywarren.org, fill out the "contact us" page, and in the remarks, just ask for "MET for the Calf"

Kaelyn