Ask a Question about Your Condiition

TO LYNN,
I'm so afraid of needles it hurts me (I"m very sensitive). Can you tell me
when they numb your foot , where do they stick the needles in on the sides? And the Cortizone shot ???
OMG....I need to know, I'm a nervous wreck!!
Thank you,
P.S. I get my shot Wednesday....EWWWWWH

Nini-

Make sure they give you the numbing shot first and not as a combination with the cortizone. I had both at once and it was painful, but it didn't last long. The pain was over quickly. I have heard if you have the numbing shot first, it's much better. I am terrified of needles too.

Cheryl

Cheryl and Lynn - What exactly is the boot that you guys are talking about supposed to do for you? I have heard of an air cast after surgery, but don't know about this boot . . .

Thanks, Sue

Hi Everybody - Just a quick question . . . do any of you have any knee or hip pain from PF? My physical therapist told me at the beginning of the year that if this condition continues on long enough it really will begin to affect your knees, hips, and back.

Both of my knees are pretty uncomfortable - the knee with the really bad foot is way worse than the other, and my one hip is really bothering me . . .

Please let me know!

Sue

hi sue (and anyone else who may be reading),

i had "wierd" hip pain that started about the same time as my feet began giving me trouble.
i had pt for it, and the therapist told me it was "referred" pain - referred from where she
didn't say! it hung around for a very long time, though...

but, have you or anyone else read my previous posts?! i guess you must all think i'm a spammer,
because no one has acknowledged me. i am a real person, i suffered terribly with foot and ankle
pain for 6+ years, and i am only trying to pass on information about something that helped me
and restored my life to me, which conventional medicine had failed to do.

i read about this forum on the hsn board (i was reading the birkenstock/betula comparisons).
i was hoping i could help some people here, but if i don't get a response to this post (my fourth,
i think), this will have to be my last.

best to you all,
gina

Thanks Cheryl,
I'm very nervous..I hope they give me the seperate shot for numbing, I probably need more than one.
Do you know where they inject the needles, on the side or straight up the arch...OMG>>>scary, feel faint already.
Nini

Hi All-

Sue- I have a walking cast aka the boot. It's a basically a walking night splint. It keeps my foot at a 90 degree angle and it does help a little, but now I also have pain in the ball of my foot that goes out to my big toe!!! AARRRGGHHH!!!!. I have had pain in my knees and ankles from walking funny.

Nini- They gave me the shot from the side of the heel on the inside of my foot. I was laying down sorta on my side so they could get to the area easily and it was easier to relax if I wasn't looking at it. I'm a huge chicken of needles if I'm watching it, so the element of suprise made it easier to take.

Gina- I have been reading your posts. I have more than just PF at work in my foot. I have bone edema and nerve problems further up my leg that the Dr. has diagnosed, so I'm trying to do exactly as he has prescribed, but thank you for the suggestions.


Cheryl

Thanks again Cheryl, COunt Down, 2 more days.
I will write again after the shot....Oh can I walk right after???
Have a good day..
Nini

Gina- I have been reading your posts. I have more than just PF at work in my foot. I have bone edema and nerve problems further up my leg that the Dr. has diagnosed, so I'm trying to do exactly as he has prescribed, but thank you for the suggestions.

hi cheryl (and everyone else with painful feet),

thanks for your response, cheryl! i really was ready to give up posting here, as i am not looking for advice or support, but only to pass along something that i wish i had heard of years earlier - and my own agony-to-cure experience, if anyone cares to read about it, or ask me about it.

i had more "than just PF at work in my foot," too. my achilles tendons felt as though they would
snap every time i stood on tiptoe, both feet tilted out to the side, i ached halfway up my lower legs, my ankles were swollen and covered w/ broken blood vessels. some of my toes were bent over ("hammer-toe"), two of them had started crossing over each other (which sounds minor,
but was somehow incredibly painful), and i had "morton's neuroma"-type pain in the ball of one foot - and probably some more that i have blessedly forgotten!

if you feel confidence in your doctor, do continue with his prescribed stretches and exercises. be aware, tho, that a diagnosis may really be no more than an educated guess, and that your "nerve problems" and "bone edema" may be symptoms of, ie caused by, your foot malfunction, rather than separate issues.

if you haven't already done so, pls click this link from my first post (from oct. 31) and scroll
past the article, down to the comments section. my "foot story" is there (i am "Hippo Crates", #14 and #33), with my yogatoes experience - and some others comment on them as well.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/13/painful-toes-and-where-they-lead/

from the product site itself, click here and read the testimonials ("called "rave reviews") :

http://www.yogapro.com/reviews

and links to news items (many of them reviews also, after you get past a couple pages of celebrity photos):

http://www.yogapro.com/mediaroom/

here's what one person had to say about them (she got them for a few family members):

-Relief of painful hip spasm from an old injury.
-reduction/elimination of hammertoes
-better circulation especially in my 83-year-old grandmother's feet and legs
-reduction of knee and hip swelling and pain that was resistant to orthotics AND intense physical therapy.

all that sounds impossible, right?! i thought so once, too, but bought them anyway, hoping only for a little relief from my near-constant pain. now i realize foot problems can cause issues far "north" up the body - and if the feet get fixed, other seemingly unrelated issues may go away too!

i also purchased them for an elderly male relative who has long-standing, complicated foot and
lower leg issues, probably beyond complete healing at this point. needless to say, he's had multiple pairs of expensive shoes, orthotics, therapy, etc. he laughed at me when he saw the yogatoes, and threw them on the table. curiosity got the better of him after i left, tho. he told me the next day that he felt "electric tingles up to my knees". now he uses them every night when he reads or watches tv!

back to your doctor: yogatoes are non-invasive. they are a passive exercise. (you wear them sitting on the couch, for 15 minutes to start - and that's it! wearing them in the tub is even better and may be easier for newbies.) they will complement any exercises and stretches you are already doing. show them, or the website, to your doctor; he will probably laugh and say you are wasting your money, but i doubt he will have any problem w/ them. most importantly: you may be able to avoid surgery. (your doctor will laugh even harder at that idea! nonetheless, many people have done exactly that.) i know it sounds incredible, but isn't it worth a try? go ahead and schedule the surgery (not too soon!) but order the YT in the meantime and try them. i felt - and saw! - results w/in a week, and i had "new" feet and ankles in 6 weeks. total rehabilitation took about a year, as everything gradually grew stronger.

i really believe they will help you - and virtually anybody w/ foot or ankle issues. (i had a smorgasbord of problems i listed earlier in this post, and you can read the testimonial links above for all the different issues that other people were helped with.) also, there's nothing to lose: yogapro will refund your money at any time if you're not satisfied, there's a lifetime replacement policy, and friendly phone(!) or online customer service. also, they're only $50, but go to the first link above and read for info i posted there on how to get $15 off to get them to your door for $50 total!

cheryl, i'll answer your (or anybody's) questions about my experience - but pls read the links first!

best, gina

I was first diagnosed with a level 1 injury to my posterior tibial tendon in April after falling on the stairs. I wore an aircast all summer in an effort to heal the tendon. After several visits I developed plantar faciitis. When I asked if this was related to the aircast, I was met with silence. Could it be true? Now I have PT twice a week and it seems to be helping only slightly. I'm weary of this whole thing.

Also, my main form of exercise is walking. I haven't been able to take walks and have gained at least 15 pounds (not good for PF). Is there a way to tape my foot so that I can walk?

Sue, Nini, Gina and everyone else!!

I love this web site! It is so nice to know that we have all these other ideas and info to pass around!! Nini, the injection for the anesthetic is two short pricks, very non evasive. Like Cherly said, have them give you a couple of minutes before the cortisone and truly you should have NO discomfort. I'll be anxious to hear how you did. I admit, I am not afraid of needles, but honestly, it is not a big deal. Please know we will all be thinking of you and gather strength from that. If worse comes to worse just remember, you CAN do anything for 15 seconds, count it out, take a deep breath and before you know it, it will be done.

Sue,
I have a walking cast that goes to my knee it has veclro straps and actually has a little pouch to pump air into it. It is very hard plastic on the bottom and does not let your foot bend. I have to say it does feel better while it is in it, however I can still feel the "pull" in the bottom of my foot even standing taking a shower. I go back to the ortho surgeon on Nov. 12th, I'll be anxious to see what he says then. Yikes I know he will say surgery!! He believes the best is full release which is non weight bearing for 6 wks, then this walking cast for another 3 weeks. I can't imagine being on crutches again (I was when I had bunion surgery several years ago), it was awful then!!! In fact my husband was helping down the stairs (we've since moved since then) but anyway he tripped and fell on my surgery foot and broke another bone in it!! Can't trust him again!!HA!! HA!! Just my luck!

Gina,
I looked up the yoga toes, boy are they weird looking. I would give it a try but I had a bunion removed and have a pin in my toe. I do not want to take the chance of messing that up on top of everything else too!!!

Lynn

Hi Sowens503 - Have you asked you PT about taping your foot - there are so many different methods for taping - I had my entire foot taped 1X and then just the arch 1X - both done by my PT; however, he only wanted me to wear it for 2 hours max - I don't know why - the arch taping did nothing, but the entire foot taping really helped - because it was so tight that there was absolutely no way that the pain could get through!

Sue

Hi Lynn - I will be anxious to hear what happens w/the doctor on the 12th - I have not done a lot of research on the surgery because last time I went to my doctor, he said that he still has a lot of things up his sleeve - Hope that he has a really long arm because there is no way that I want surgery - I think that the odds of 70/30 - not enough for me . . . Also, have you heard that you will have to wear orthotics AFTER the surgery? Don't know how true that is, but sounds right if you have no arch support at all, right?

Sue

Lynn wrote:Yikes I know he will say surgery!! He believes the best is full release which is non weight bearing ...

Gina,
I looked up the yoga toes, boy are they weird looking. I would give it a try but I had a bunion removed and have a pin in my toe. I do not want to take the chance of messing that up on top of everything else too!!!

hi lynn,

yes, yogatoes are kinda "weird looking", but they are really just like oversized toe-separators used for pedicures.

i really don't think they would cause any problem for your toe-pin. all they do is hold your toes in a natural spread position. if you can spread your toes, and lace your fingers between them, you're all set - that's ALL they do. [go ahead; take off your socks and try it - there, now you're a human yogatoes. ] seriously, THAT"S ALL THEY DO; nothing scary at all. (they're much more comfortable than your finger bones, tho, because they're made from a rubbery silicone.) i would definitely worry much more about surgery messing up your feet! anyway, i'd suggest getting them, try them in the tub the first couple times so your muscles and tendons are relaxed and pliable, and i think you'll know pretty quickly if it's a good thing. (warning: most people - me included - find them a little uncomfortable initially. that's ok!! your feet need to get used to being stretched; soon it will feel fine, and even better after they come off. i started w/ 15 mins, quickly went to 1/2 hour, and before long i was stalking around the house, amphibian-like, in them!)

too bad you've already had bunion surgery. my dbf's mother has bad ones - they're decades old! we sent her a pair of YT, and they've helped her. unfortunately, she doesn't get the concept of consistency, so she only uses them when her bunions start hurting, and then stops using them when they feel better... dbf has the family tendency to bunions, so he reluctantly tried them (he thought maybe they were girly ), but now he's a believer, too. we keep them in the bathroom, and we both shower with them on. (definitely only for experienced users, tho, ok?!)

anyway, lynn, i hope i've convinced you to reconsider.

best, gina

sowens503 wrote:I was first diagnosed with a level 1 injury to my posterior tibial tendon ... I wore an aircast all summer in an effort to heal the tendon. After several visits I developed plantar faciitis. When I asked if this was related to the aircast ...

hi sowens503, [pls, can you give us an easier "handle"?]

thx to google images, i discovered that among all the other things that were screwed up w/ my feet, my posterior tibial tendons were alongside my ankle bones, rather than behind (ie, posterior to) them.

yogatoes corrected that, too, altho it was gradual. initially, i could "twang" the tendons along my ankle bones, like a guitar string. [sounds funny, but i'm guessing you might be one of the few non-podiatrists who knows what i'm talking about!] eventually, they slipped back behind the bones where they're supposed to be - i'm not even sure i could "find" them now.

anyway, what i'm trying to say is that it's all connected; if your ATT is not right - despite "healing" -
that may have brought on the pf. of course, they say that sudden increases in exercise can bring it on, too, and presumably that described your situation after the cast was removed.

i'm sure you can guess what i'm going to suggest. that's right: yogatoes!!! non-invasive, easy to use, money-back guarantee, no appts. needed, ...

Also, my main form of exercise is walking. I haven't been able to take walks and have gained at least 15 pounds ...

the exercise thing was a _huge_ problem for me. for 6+ years, i couldn't walk for more than 10 minutes w/o pain! i started to improve w/ YT almost immediately, and now i can walk for hours again.

best, gina

p.s. if you don't know what i'm talking about, see my previous posts; i've gone on and on about yogatoes already!