I am just about ready to call the foot doctor... I have had heel pain for about 9 months. It's always been manageable.. kind of felt like i was walking on legos. The past day or two it feels like knives. extreme pain. I can barely walk around the house. I actually went and bought new shoes last night because I thought either my tennis shoes or inserts just got old.. helped a bit but not much. I always wear crocs or tennis shoes even walking around my house to help with the pain... well, really to let me be able to walk. I soaked my feet last night in a hot epsom salt bath.. felt good until i took about ten steps across the room. Has anyone else had the heel pain and found something that helped alleviate it?
I have pain at my achilles tendon area, where the heel joins the ankle. Not sure where exactly your foot pain is. I know that foot pain is really common with this disease though and alot of people on this board have had experience with it. I don't have any suggestions for you, sorry, as I havn't yet figured out how to make mine feel any better. I might start with trying to get a diagnosis on your foot pain and see if it is related to the PsA or if it is Plantar Fascitis (sp?)..I know a few people on this board have had some success in treating Plantar F..(never can spell that word right!!!! SOrry I am not much help other than to sympathize with your pain!!! Hope it gets better for you soon.
Natalieb, I'm so sorry to hear that you're suffering -- I feel your pain! Idon't have extreme ankle pain, but I do have foot pain. (The epicenter of my disease is in the middle of my foot.) I would say, definitely call the podiatrist. Mine has been most helpful in recommending footwear and teaching me how to modify my shoes to ease the discomfort. She also made me some amazing orthotics which have helped a lot.
In the meanwhile, I have found remarkable relief in Crocs. My podiatrist suggested them last year, and I resisted ... my feet are ugly enough! Last month, I broke down and have worn them almost every day since. I'd say, definitely worth a try.
Good luck with this, I hope you find some relief!
Thanks guys.. my pain is the heel- not only the bottom but it wraps around the sides as well.. basically anything involving the entire heel. My activity and walking is at a minimum.. i work from home (thank goodness) because of the meds and the long commute and mass transit on a daily basis not really being an option.. so i'm not doing a lot of walking during the day. i can't imagine what my life would be like if i were in an office. that being said, i do try to stretch my foot and legs out so they don't get stiff, get up and walk a little when i can, just around the house and if i'm having a really good day, take the dog out for a walk. seenie-- i too live in my crocs in the house (and a few times out of the house when i couldn't handle wearing anything else). they definitely help with the pressure/pain most of the time to keep it to a point where i can at least walk around the house.. these past few days have just been horrible though. i was one of the people who said i would never own crocs-- until i was so desperate to try anything to be able to walk semi comfortably around the house. i really don't want a cortisone shot.. i had one under my toe and it hurt so bad.. but at this point, i'm about ready to tell her i'd be just fine with it if i knew i'd have relief from this.
It sounds like achilles bursitis (sp?) which is another thing us poor PsA sufferers can get. I had a cortisone shot in mine - INCREDIBLY painful and not as effective as I'd hoped. I have found it comes and goes with the rest of my symptoms. When I am having a flare up that too joins in and when they fade, so does the ankle pain. I have found putting an ice pack on helps as a short term respite.
I'll try ice.. I've been using heat. those cortisone shots are horrible, but when I got it under my toe, it took away all the swelling and pain and it hasn't come back since-- I had it last may. I was thinking it would do the same for my heel, but then again.. it's a much bigger area. :-/
Apparently my bursitis was *huge* which may have resulted in it not being as effective. It's worth trying shot if you face the pain of it!
I'm I bit "tight" so I tried DIY orthotics from the Dr. Scholls stand at walmart which helped immnesly even with my Birks... SOOOO i went to the Podiatrist to get the real thing. Instead he had me stand on the edge of the steps with just the balls of me feet there and raise and lower my 10 or so times self several times a day. (it tell everybody I do lots of push ups) also he said no ice but heat was okay as it would increase the circulation and reduce inflamation (along with the exercise) seemed backwards to me...... but it worked.
interesting!! i will definitely try the stairs. at this point, even if it doesn't help my heel pain, i'll get mad calf muscles! ha.
All the better for dancing......
natalieb said:
interesting!! i will definitely try the stairs. at this point, even if it doesn't help my heel pain, i'll get mad calf muscles! ha.
Voltaren gel rubbed on my heels and Achilles tendon helps. Also. A warm/hot soak in the tub.
I have heel pain. I actually have it this week. Sometimes icing your heel can help sometimes too. I also use neurogen gel which helps. U can get it at Walmart or Walgreens etc. hope this helps and u feel better.
Hi Natalieb,
I will give you something that may help a lot. I had really bad heel spurs in both heels for over 15 years. I had surgery on my one foot. As I was scheduled to have my other foot operated on my husband asked me to try Knox unflavored gelatin. Knox has chondroitin in it which helps put elasticity back in connective tissue. I kinda rolled my eyes at my husband when he first suggested it, but it had helped him when he strained his back so I humored him. I put one packet of the unflavored gelatin in a hot cup of coffee three days in a row. I went from crawling to the bathroom in the morning in excrutiating pain to no pain at all. In fact, that's been well over 10 years ago and I still have no heel pain. I cancelled my surgery. I have had tennis elbow in the past and Knox gelatin made it better. Right now I am new to tendonitis in multiple joints and I am going to have to go back to taking Knox again. I will say, it sometimes is a little more palatable when you split the packet and use half twice a day. Hope you find this helpful.
Hi Reid,
I am interested in the Knox unflavored gelatin. I live in Australia and I looked it up online and it didn't have al that much info on the website. Can you enlighten me soem more about it? I'd like to try an Oz alternative, thanks, Shel
Reid said:
Hi Natalieb,
I will give you something that may help a lot. I had really bad heel spurs in both heels for over 15 years. I had surgery on my one foot. As I was scheduled to have my other foot operated on my husband asked me to try Knox unflavored gelatin. Knox has chondroitin in it which helps put elasticity back in connective tissue. I kinda rolled my eyes at my husband when he first suggested it, but it had helped him when he strained his back so I humored him. I put one packet of the unflavored gelatin in a hot cup of coffee three days in a row. I went from crawling to the bathroom in the morning in excrutiating pain to no pain at all. In fact, that's been well over 10 years ago and I still have no heel pain. I cancelled my surgery. I have had tennis elbow in the past and Knox gelatin made it better. Right now I am new to tendonitis in multiple joints and I am going to have to go back to taking Knox again. I will say, it sometimes is a little more palatable when you split the packet and use half twice a day. Hope you find this helpful.
I think in OZ gelatin comes in sheets?? anyway 4 sheets = 1 packet. Just dissolve in cold water a cup of tea. Even iff it doesn't help the pain it will have a good effect on your nails.
Right, there are a lot of things out that are similar. Knox has come out with something called Nutrajoint. It's flavored gelatin for joint pain. Don't buy it. It's a lot of filler and a lot less gelatin. The unflavored is what you need. You know, I read somewhere that people who chew on the ends of chicken bones rarely have arthritis. This is from the cartilage in bone ends. It's basically the same thing.
To answer the Oz dilemma, do you have tomato aspic down there? Basically, a gelatin mold made with tomato juice, chopped celery, etc? If so, whatever you use to congele the salad, that is what you would use by itself. It has made a difference for me many times.
I will surely try this, years ago, when I had house plants everywhere, I fed them this unflavored gelatin, mix with hot water, then add cold, stir and water them with this, and they flourished! Would eating jello be the same?
Reid said:
Hi Natalieb,
I will give you something that may help a lot. I had really bad heel spurs in both heels for over 15 years. I had surgery on my one foot. As I was scheduled to have my other foot operated on my husband asked me to try Knox unflavored gelatin. Knox has chondroitin in it which helps put elasticity back in connective tissue. I kinda rolled my eyes at my husband when he first suggested it, but it had helped him when he strained his back so I humored him. I put one packet of the unflavored gelatin in a hot cup of coffee three days in a row. I went from crawling to the bathroom in the morning in excrutiating pain to no pain at all. In fact, that's been well over 10 years ago and I still have no heel pain. I cancelled my surgery. I have had tennis elbow in the past and Knox gelatin made it better. Right now I am new to tendonitis in multiple joints and I am going to have to go back to taking Knox again. I will say, it sometimes is a little more palatable when you split the packet and use half twice a day. Hope you find this helpful.
Not as well. Jello has a lot of sugar, etc. The unflavored is better.
I have plantar Fascitis and bone spurs in my heels. My Physical Therapist showed me 3 or 4 foot exercises which helped a lot with the PF. I have found that the shoes made by Merrell took 80% of my foot pain away within 3 days They are EXPENSIVE shoes ($80-120) however to be able to walk is priceless. I will also tell you the only times that I do not have my shoes on are in the shower and when I am in bed. I have found that they also make a sandal so now I dont have to walk around all summer in sneakers YAY!!!! they cost 80.00 My PT told me that if you only walk the shoes will last 2 years if you run or jog on a regular basis to change the shoes yearly. hope that helps
Got it, thanks Reid!
Reid said:
Not as well. Jello has a lot of sugar, etc. The unflavored is better.