Ask a Question about Your Condiition

I have been suffering with pf for several years, and have been able to ignore it for the most part until the last year. It has become nearly unbearable, especially right after climbing out of bed in the morning. I have tried the stretching and other suggestions with no relief. Recently I heard a local chiropractor on the radio discussing his treatment of pf, so I thought I'd give him a chance. He didn't agree with giving cortisone shots (which is what I was hoping for!)...instead, he digs hid thumbs into the tendon to break up scar tissue, cracks bones, then does a muscle stimulus treatment. My heels are quite bad, but he assured me he could help. I have to admit that after a couple of treatments I was able to get out of bed and actually walk like a normal person, but as soon as I went back to walking on the treadmill, the pain was worse than ever. Has anyone else tried chiropractic care and if so, have you had good results or is he just taking my money? I was going 3 times a week, now am down to once a week since it's a long drive for me. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Hi mailgal ,

I have had pf for almost 6 yrs. I've done it all ( except surgery )including several different chiropractors. I've come to realize that feet like new treatments. Have you ever found that something new , whether it's shoes , treatment or some gadget , the feet love it and react well for about two weeks ? Then the good feeling starts to go away slowly. I haven't found anything that helps me yet except getting my feet taped by my pt.
I'm trying yet another pair of othotics . They arrive next week. Every specialist thinks their orthotics are the best. This is pair # 8. None of them have felt right , in fact they cause more pain. My husband's benefit plan pays for 1 pair a year , but this pair we're paying out of our own pocket. I sure hope they help.

I hope the chiropractor can help you mailgal . Any relief , if only tempory is worth it.

Shelley wrote:I have had pf for almost 6 yrs. I've done it all ( except surgery )... Have you ever found that something new , whether it's shoes , treatment or some gadget , the feet love it and react well for about two weeks ?

hi shelley,

this wasn't really my experience. during my own long odyssey w/ pf, only two things helped:
1) an hour-long very intense professional foot massage and 2) a pair of otc rigid
orthotics. the former made a nice dent in my pain for about a week, and the latter made the
misery of walking somewhat more tolerable. the rest (pt, exercises, custom orthotics,
assorted foot roller thingys) didn't really do anything for me.

I'm trying yet another pair of othotics . This is pair # 8. None of them have felt right , in fact they cause more pain.

ok, that's just horrible! especially since you are paying out of pocket for this last pair!!

for you and mailgal (i'm assuming you have to pay at least a co-pay for the chiro), before you spend any more money, please look into what cured my feet: yogatoes. not only are they less than $50, but they also have a money-back guarantee, so you really only risk the cost of shipping. for more about them (and my experience w/ them) scroll down to #14 in the comments section here:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/1 ... they-lead/

best, gina

I tried chiropractic care, and it did help with some of the scar tissue (not long-term relief), but I think if the problem is a biomechanical one, that you really should try a podiatrist. All of the modalities to treat this (cortisone, physio, chiro) may alleviate some inflammation, but you need to get to the root cause of why the problem started. Podiatrists spend many years in university just studying feet and lower limb biomechanics, they are the only people that I would trust to give me orthotics.