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After having IC for two years, I started treatment with Dr. B two weeks ago! About a month before i went out to LA i developed pain in my right heel. Then a few days later the pain started in my left heel. It is now difficult to walk. I do think that my body finds it difficult to deal with inflammation - IC AND plantar fasciitis. I hope that the anti - inflammatory treatment from dr. B will help with the inflammation in my feet also. I was just wondering if anyone else has had progress in other inflammatory issues in their body as they progressed in treatment? Did / does anyone else have plantar fasciitis as a 'side condition'? Any suggestions?
Thanks!
I don't have plantar
I don't have plantar fasciitis, but have trouble with other tendinitis issues. The flares kind of come and go. Some good suggestions for treating plantar fasciitis is freezing small cups of water and rubbing the ice cup over the heel and arch of your foot for 5-8 minutes or until numb, don't want frost bite!:) Also, make sure you are always wearing good supportive tennis shoes, don't ever walk barefoot or in flip flops! Light stretching of the arch, pulling your toes back, DON'T over stretch so it feels like it is going to rip, and/or roll the sore area on a tennis ball! And of course rest! I hope that helps with pain management in the meantime while Dr. B helps from healing inflammation/imbalances from the inside!:)
Thanks
Thank you for your reply! I now have to step from my bed into my shoes (that have orthotics in them), I can't walk let alone stand barefoot at the moment, so painful. Hope I will recover from this also. I have been doing the things you suggest, I have only stopped icing my feet as it made it worse for me. But the plantar stretches are supposed to be good. Hopefully it will pay off in the end.
I know, I am the same way
I know, I am the same way with ice! Very intolerant to cold! Sorry you are having so much pain, but good you are wearing your shoes whenever up! What a nuisance, but will hopefully help you recover faster. My husband had it so bad that he ended up getting a boot/brace he had to wear while sleeping to keep the foot in neutral position. He had to listen to his nagging therapist of a wife to stop working out and rest his feet. He was able take NSIADs to help with the pain and inflammation, which of course is a no for us! Hang in there and hope your feet start feeling better!:)
Saw a physiotherapist today,
Saw a physiotherapist today, she finds it strange that i have it in both feet and questions if i have an issue with degeneration of connective tissues, she mentioned lupus? She was very understanding of IC, and supportive of my treatment with Dr. B. Which was great. She still feels i should ice, but very short, and then into heat, to keep the circulation going. Because i have terrible circulation which doesn't help with healing! Did your husband get better in the end?
Yes, he did get better in the
Yes, he did get better in the end!:) I have poor circulation as well, I have Raynaud's, makes icing any inflamed area quite difficult. Hopefully you don't have lupus, but Dr. B will be able to help you heal no matter what! I do hope the pain subsides soon, plantar fasciitis is very painful!
How I healed from Plantar Fascitis
Hello!
How are your feet/heels doing? Thought I'd throw my two cents in here. It seems that whenever I start to have flaring issues, I get plantar fascitis as well! Did you test positive or negative for lupus? I am wondering why I have so many dang issues like this as well.
Either way , the thing that has honestly cured me from plantar fascitis ( which is super painful, I know!) is to go to a "Structural Integration Therapist", also known as a Rolfer.
I'm not sure where you are located, but I have a friend of mine who worked on me in D.C.and he has fixed many ppl of this ailment, as well as cured my carpal tunnel and other spinal issues. I actually am going to be seeing him this weekend as mine has been hurting again recently, but I usually only have to see him every couple of months!
Google SI's in your area and see what comes up! I am pretty sure this would help you :)
I had this for three months
I had this for three months and was in a boot btw, when my Structural Integration guy fixed this :D
It CAN be healed !
Thanks Cprince and Pixie
Thanks to both of you for taking the time to respond, it is great to hear that it IS possible to heal from PF.
Dr. B said that for now there is no need to test for lupus, as she said one of her patients first tested positive, then after six months negative! Dr. B feels that the PF problem is part of my systemic problem. PF is breakdown of connective tissue, not muscle inflammation, like many think. The official name is plantar fasciosis.
I haven't heard of a rolfer, i am in Ireland and not that many specialists out here! Could you explain to me how they work? I am seeing a physiotherapist at the moment, i have to massage my feet, stretch the plantar, have bought new shoes, wear orthotics, go to a spinologist...and the physio suggests acupuncture also and pilates classes, to strengthen other muscles in my body.
Would love to hear more about the treatment you received
C
Hey there,
Hey there,
"Rolfing is a therapy system created by The Rolf Institute of Structural Integration (also referred to as "RISI")[1], founded by Ida Pauline Rolf in 1971.[2] The Institute states that Rolfing is a "holistic system of soft tissue manipulation and movement education that organize(s) the whole body in gravity".[3] Manipulation of the muscle fasciae is believed to yield therapeutic benefits, including that clients stand straighter, gain height and move better, through the correction of soft tissue fixations or dystonia."
So structural integration "rolfing" is not dealing mainly muscles or regular massage, but manipulating your "fascia" or connective tissue. It's whatever you are doing with your physiotherapist but on crack and having someone else do it for you, and more quickly.
Interesting to hear that the PF may be related, and also awesome to hear because I have been so weak in this area as well. The rolfing really helped me get back on track with walking again ( which is great, as I am a waitress and NEED to walk to make money), however the issue seems to come up with me every 6 months or so after treatment.
Treatment is essentially kind of like a really intense massage. Honestly, it hurts when they are doing it as it is moving your tissue around to where it should be , but I know that it is helping so I am okay with it. In the end I always am amazed at the results. I have been able to walk on my foot again after being in a boot for two months, and also able to use my hand and arm again after carpal tunnel got the best of me and I thought I would have to wear an arm brace or get surgery( ew)..this is all from my structural integration guy . Try googling ones in your area perhaps...?
Carpal tunnal/PF, etc. is probably weird for someone my age( 28 and feel 100 hah) so I'm sure it is a systemic issue for me as well and I'm sure that Dr.B will be working on that with you then, but as something to get you fixed quickly while your body heals, you may want to ask Dr. B if she would find it okay if you did that for your foot to get you by and get you walking again!
I think my physio therapist
I think my physio therapist did something similar monday, she moved a muscle in my leg and held it there, was extremely sore...I have looked up rolfers here, and found that there are some, about 3 hours away...I'll discuss it with dr. B at my next appointment. I'm starting one on one pilates classes next week. I know i need to strengthen my muscles.
The physiotherapist said that she had never seen someone as young as me (29yrs old) with PF, and also not in both feed. She says it must be related to my IC too. Dr. B said the same, it is a systemic problem. I know how you feel, 28 and 100!!!
I googled 'IC PF' and found more women have the two together. On the one hand encouraging, on the other hand it makes me a bit sad that i now have this added problem, and it isn't going away quickly.
Do you think the boot you wore is important?
I bought the strassbourg sock, two of them. Will start using them when they arrive.
C
Hello! So I just had a much
Hello! So I just had a much needed appt. with my SI guy and he informed me that structural integration therapists deal mainly with connective tissue , that's their primary focus and SI is being prescribed to ppl with fibro issues all the time :)
The boot I used only until I saw my SI therapist who encouraged me not to use it as it interfered with healing ...I threw it away and have not needed it since .
Not familiar with the Strassbourg sock actually )
I'm sorry we are both dealing with all of this at such a young age but hopefully by the time we are twice this age we'll be feeling better than now !!!
I should add a word of
I should add a word of caution , that if you do go to an SI practitioner, your body will definitely feel a detox reaction that may be quite uncomfortable at first . It always feels better for me later , but depending on your state of health it can be disconcerting so definitely talk to Mattia about it first :)
throwing my foot in the ring as well.....
I too started having heal pain after an 8 mile hike, about 6 months ago (3 months before my IC showed up). I am 45. My PT said my left hip was out of whack which was effecting my walking gait and I actually bruised my heal bone. It improved after about 2 months. Then it came back this month. Dr. B has ok'd me to do a little chiropractic work (not in the pelvis, per se) but to help my low back and foot. That helped me last time. I also wear "Heel Seats" which are not really orthotics but are firm heal cups that take some pressure off the plantar facial ligament and also kind of squish the heel together, making the fat pad in the heel a little more dense. They did help me. But now with IC my heel pain has returned (along with pain in my entire foot) and I am only 1.5 months into treatment. :( I try to walk every day for my sanity, but my right foot is hurting a fair amount.
I may see an SI at some point too. They are very expensive and I didn't really want to pay for all 12 visits, even though I know they are important. I kind of wish they would just work on my lower body. I would hate it if I couldnt walk! ugh this is really hard. :(
If we don't excel at health, the only other option is disease.
It is interesting that we now
It is interesting that we now have here a few women with IC and PF. I wonder is it that our body is not able to heal well / deal with inflammation / injury (because of low adrenal function; i read that cats who have IC often turn out to have smaller adrenal glands) or is it that the yeast overgrowth / whatever other organisms / autoimmune issue we have is CAUSING the problems in the first place. It is probably a combination of both.
It is hard to deal with more than one health issue but we are doing something positive by being in treatment and in time it will improve our overall health, not just our bladder. I have done alot of work with another doctor prior to starting with Dr. B, also a sugar free diet, lots of anti fungals / probiotics and in a year and a half i improved a lot. Just felt i needed Dr. B to get all the way there.
C
Mimi,
Mimi,
How is your plantar fascia now??? Mine has begun to flare during treatment and Dr.B is convinced it's inflammation moving out. Have you experienced relief from it ??
Hi Pixie
Hi Pixie
It still comes and goes. I wear shoes all of the time, and I wear "HTP Heel Seats" which are kind of like a "push up bra" for the fat pads in your heels LOL! They seem to help quite a bit. It has gotten worse in the last week, as my bladder has been feeling a lot better. Strangely, I am almost relieved to think that it might be my IC. Having unexplained heel pain off and on for the last 2 years (and especially after an 8 mile hike last Summer) it is good to know that if I can reduce my IC inflammation, eventually the heel pain will resolve and maybe I won't be stuck with it forever, KWIM?
Mine is only the right heel. The whole foot feels funky, the other joints in this foot feel weak and hurt at times too. My right eye and right knee and foot show signs of the lymph on my right side being a bit more stuck. Dr. B says it will pass.
How is yours??
If we don't excel at health, the only other option is disease.
Mimi,
Mimi,
That is so crazy that yours is the right side as well, mine is the same!!!
My right foot, knee, and hand have crazy problems and I've fixed it before through chiropractic and structural integration but I am unsure if structural integration is good or bad for me right now since it has come back and it could be merely the inflammation moving away from the bladder...
Dr.B says that it may be okay to do structural integration again , but it MAY move the inflammation in the wrong direction and we don't want that...we're not sure yet if it causes problems... I guess we are going to do a trial and error and see...but it really has helped the problem area in the past ( my foot) so I'm tempted, but I don't want to move things in the wrong direction!
How did the chiropractor work for you??
Pain almost seems to trade places in my body , from the bladder to my foot recently and I am wondering if it is attempting to push out ...somewhere...
My hisband has recovered
My hisband has recovered from severe PF. After much research, he discovered several things that have helped the problem.
Here are the top tips to help PF;
1.) Stretches.Plantar and calf stretches throughout the day. Some people
also respond to night splints that stretch the plantar at night.
2.) Rest. Try to Get off the feet and lose weight if possible. (This helped him).
3.) Inserts. Powerstep makes the most popular insert. Birkenstock helped me.
Most people feel the majority of inserts and even custom orthotics is not
effective. However, custom othotics from a good professional pedorthist
is a good last resort before seeing a podiatrist about surgery.
4.) Shoes. Low heel. Firm support. Ei: Merrill for casual; Brooks for athletic. It often
takes a bit of experimenting to find what works.
5.) Therapy. Some message a sports medicine people specialize in therapy.
6.) Surgery is a last resort but does help many people in severe cases.
Thanks Veryhappymom! We don't
Thanks Veryhappymom! We don't see you much!! How are you?? If you read this, could you give us an update? :)
My experience about having heel pain and/or "Plantar Fascitis" (I don't know if it is that, or plantar faciosis-a deterioration of the tissue, rather than inflammation? or other things!? For example, my PT thought that I originally injured it because I was over striding for many miles and bruised my heel)--all are just theories, and I still think my IC inflammation is underlying whatever diagnosis might be made.
Having said this, personally too much stretching REALLY aggrevates my heel pain. So I recommend that anyone with joint pain in treatment be careful. Bonnie noted the distinction between "excess" inflammation in Chinese Medicine, and "Deficiency" inflammation. The "excess" status responds well to movement, the "deficiency", to rest (In IC we often have both, so that is one of the reasons it is so hard to treat!!). I know personally that my IC is probably more of a "Deficiency" nature, so I tend to rest my joints if they are bothering me. Wearing shoes and some walking has helped my hips and knees. Being on my feet too long has hurt my heels (this is true for nearly a year now). The point is, it is VERY individual. I hope that helps some readers....
If we don't excel at health, the only other option is disease.