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Pansy,

What kind of massage? There are quite a few and the wrong kind will be absolutely useless. The best stretching to use with this is MET, because it re-programs the muscles to accept the longer length. Have you had any previous ankle injuries? If you have especially a bad sprain, it will have altered the mechanics of the ankle. Acupuncture is great stuff, but like all of medicine, you have to use the right tool for the right job. If your PF is due to significantly altered ankle mechanics, acupuncture won't help. It probably would help a morton's neuroma somewhat. Really good shoes are critical. If part of your problem is hypertonicity in the soleus and gastrocnemius, physical therapy that is exercise based won't help. You can't strengthen a muscle that is already too tight. Yoga toes have been helpful for some, and it's worth trying. To really get to the bottom of it, you need to figure out why it's happening, and the first thing to look at is previous injuries.

I'm so glad to have found this message board. My husband and I both have pf. I got shots in each foot every month for 3 years, our podiatrist said it was not cortisone. Finally he would not give me any more shots and said we had to go to the next step. And I have orthotics from him, do the stretching all the time, tried the foot brace, etc., nothing worked. My husband, in the meantime, develops pf in 1 foot.

We both ended up having surgery at the same time. First there was the coblation (lots of little holes in each heel with 3 electrical currents in each hole) that did not work for either of us. Then we both had the micro something where a camera goes in one side and the scalpel goes in the other side, the doc watches a monitor and cuts 1/3 of the plantar. My right foot surgery was 5 months ago and it is still painful, as is my left foot from 3 months ago. I had to go back to work after being off for 7 months and 4 surgeries. My husband is having a worse time than I am. His surgery was 4 months ago and he has more pain than I do, and I thought I had it bad. But I really think we have to give it at least 6 months to a year to truly know how the surgery did. We met someone who took 2 years to feel better, but he had more done than just the pf surgery.

I want to know what happens if the pain does not go away. We went to the doc yesterday and asked about the complete release, but he said they don't do that anymore, too many side effects. I think my husband is having the side effect that makes pain run up both sides of your foot. My feet just both hurt all over. In addition, we both have these sharp pains that come from out of nowhere, even if we're sitting or lying down. Has anyone experienced that? And has anyone had surgery and had to wait for a year before feeling relief? I guess I want to believe that relief is still possible!

hi cfix,

wow! monthly injections for 3 years?! both you and your husband have been through a lot! (btw, i think i would want to know what was in those shots, not just that it "was not cortisone"!)

since you have already been down the injection and surgical path, perhaps you are now ready to try something less invasive - and somewhat out of the medical mainstream. i am one of two regular posters that have overcome serious pf, kaelyn is the other. (lynn has also reported that she is recovering nicely from her recent surgery, but that is a work in progress.) kaelyn achieved her recovery thru a form of medical massage (she is also a practitioner). i resolved my feet and ankle problems with a foot-stretching device called yoga toes. if you look back thru this thread, kaelyn offers to email self-massage instructions to you for free. she has also posted some stretching exercises to try.

not free, but much less expensive than out-of-pocket costs for most medical interventions, is what helped me: yoga toes. if your feet are not tiny, you might be able to share the larger size w/ your husband, so for $50 you might both find relief. (also, if you purchase them from yogapro, they will refund your money if you are not satisfied.) they increase circulation in the feet and lower legs, so even if your only problem is that your surgical recovery is incomplete, they will help with that. for more info about them, you can read my posts earlier in this thread.

best, gina

If anyone has any success with anything please let me know. I've had so much pain for so long I don't know how much more I can take. Is anyone taking anything for pain that helps? I need something.