Plantar fasciitis

[Guest guest]

Kay, I found a web site that discribes what you said about your heel

pain...especially after rest:

<< Plantar fascitis usually arises after age 30, affects men and women

equally and is not specific to increased body weight or particular occupations.

The

most frequent complaint is extreme pain in one or both heels, especially

during the first few steps after a rest. The pain is usually insidious and can

become more chronic, with patients complaining of throbbing throughout the day

Pain can be elicited as the digits and foot are dorsiflexed while the

practitioner palpates the medial or central/plantar aspect of the affected foot.

More

commonly, pain is most extreme at the insertion of the medial band. Numbness

and/or burning pain are not seen in plantar fascitis. Radiographically,

subcalcaneal exostosis may be present in conjunction with plantar fascitis. It

is not

the heel spur which elicits pain in this condition.>>

A good site that explains what the different types of heel problems are and

gives you some good pointers on what to do about it.....is located at :

<A

HREF= " http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/9339/24670.html " >InteliHealt\

h: heel pain</A>

[Guest guest]

Hello Kay,

Your mention of heel pain is something that I've been expecting, but haven't

experienced yet.....I guess that I walk the dog around 2 to 3 miles a day

but I don't have the pain or the marks on my heels associated with this.

I do, sometimes, get a ' bulge pressure' at the top of my calf muscles and

sometimes a tendon pulling sensation. (I partially ruptured an achilles

tendon about 7 years ago, before the symptoms of Reiter's or RA appeared.)

I also seem to get some occasional aches in the are where the muscle

attaches to the shin-bone, but this often goes when I put my weight on the

shin.

You also mentioned thumb pains, which I don't get.....But I sometimes have

the two smallest fingers of my left hand curling up and feeling slightly

numb.....They don't seem to want to straighten.

Then the following day, they'll be quite normal.

These days I also get a lot of lumbar muscular pain, particularly when I'm

sitting at the computer (like now) and wonder what I can do to alleviate it.

You mentioned methotrexate, which I believe helps to make certain blood

cells?...............I don't know much about these except that my mother

(who has full-blown osteo-arthritis) takes 4 of them per week......I read

somewhere that they are slightly toxic?

Something that rather fascinates me about this condition is that nobody I

talk with (other than medical staff), ever seems to have heard about RA or

how it can be contracted. (That's the UK for you.)

I mention RA to some of my friends and they reply with, " Oh, so it's nothing

serious then? "

It's almost a secret disease, except where the sufferers are concerned and I

think that there should be much more media coverage and perhaps even large

posters warning people about this stuff.........Surely there are

preventative measures that people could take, if they were aware of it?

(Soapbox sermon over.)

Anyhow, thanks for the information.

Best regards!

Mal.

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 10/19/2003 5:40:17 PM Pacific Standard Time,

KayBraddock@... writes:

I did a lot of walking yesterday and it was especially bad this morning

Adrienne suffers from heel pain as well as tendonitis pain when she over

does. Currently she is in a boot (walking cast) for a month to see if things

improve. She says it feels 'better' with the boot... except where the boot

presses against her leg... so... with her sense of humor...she tells me, she

isn't

sure which was really worse... the pain in the tendon or the pressure points

with the boot. She said she wondered if the pressure points were designed to

distract her from the original discomfort. (gotta love that kid!)

Anyway... the boot is what is being tried this month for Adrienne. Have you

tried a boot? Do you think it might help?

K

[Guest guest]

Hi Kay,

My symptoms started with Plantar Fasciitis. I saw a specialist who

prescribed:

- steroid injections

- wrapping

- physical therapy

- and finally, orthodics

My first pair were cork which failed to completely correct the problem.

Now, I have a plastic pair and I would never give them up - they

completely, or nearly completely, eliminate any foot pain.

Pat

[Guest guest]

Hi Mal,

Welcome to the group.

I don't want you to be telling your doctor the wrong thing so..

The abbreviation for reactive arthritis is ReA, reiter's syndrome is RS.

RA is the abbreviation for rheumatoid arthritis.

Take care.

Rick Hahn

rick@...

http://www.risg.org

----- Original Message -----

From: " Malcolm " <malsam.skysurfer@...>

> I mention RA to some of my friends and they reply with, " Oh, so it's

nothing

> serious then? "

[Guest guest]

Kay,

When I had plantar fascitis, my doctor told me to keep shoes on at all

times, keep the shoes next to my bed and not take a single step without good

supportive shoes on. That really did make a difference. There are certain

stretches too, one is the calf stretch where you lean against a wall with

one foot back. Another is standing on the edge of stairs and letting your

heels drop down. Another good tip is putting water bottles in the freezer

then putting it under your foot and rolling it back and forth.

Good luck.

Janet in SF

ReA since 1973; diagnosed 1997

[Guest guest]

Kay, my daughter has the plantar fasciitis (feels like the bottom of her feet

are bruised to her) She has gel inserts for her shoes and has been taught to

walk heel to toe instead of flat steps. Jumping is eliminated for a couple

of days (usually really flares up the first week or two of softball when she is

on cleats) Ice helps somewhat, but the ibuprofen really does the trick for

her. She has not had any other symptoms other than one bought of RS symptoms

after a flu bug. Thank the Lord!

Hope that helps. Kathy from WI

[Guest guest]

Oh, if you have plantar fasciitis you'll be VERY sure you have it. I had it

with 3 sons at home for Christmas and all of my family visiting. I did all

of the shopping, cooking decorating, etc., and no one ever even asked why I

was limping and walking so slowly. So much for compassion.

Regarding UK and arthritis, there is a doc at the University of London I

think it is who was actually brought to the US to teach a group of ASers in

TX a few years ago. I'll have to lok up his name, but I think Erbinger is

his name. He is of the opinion through his research that AS can be dealt

with through a strict no carb diet. If you are interested, email me off site

and I'll give you the address for the diet.

Herring

countryms@...

[Guest guest]

Hi Rick,

You wrote>

Welcome to the group.

I don't want you to be telling your doctor the wrong thing so..

The abbreviation for reactive arthritis is ReA, reiter's syndrome is RS.

Thanks for that.........I get the feeling that he probably wouldn't have noticed

the discrepancy......He's a young bloke and it's hard to know what he really

knows, or thinks.

At the doc's appointment yesterday I mentioned the antibiotics and/or Penicillin

jab, but he just shrugged and didn't answer.

Between appointments I type out a short diary of events and symptoms and pain

locations (with dates and times), for him to look at, but he didn't say very

much at all............Except for, " I'll see you in a fortnight and, " You may

have to wait sometime before you'll get to see the Rheumatologist! "

He also seemed unmoved when I informed him that I was now " in touch " with your

group.

So much for 'intelligent' feedback, eh!

Anyhow, I'll listen into your conversations and pick up anything that I can

relate to, but at time of writing I doubt that I have information that you guys

don't already know about.

Thanks and 'bye for now!

Mal (Icarus)

[Guest guest]

Hi again Rick,

(Plantar fasciitis.....Was this named this way because Herr Reiter became a

NAZI?)

After reading and re-capping on some of the recent e-mail traffic,

I note that a lot of women seem to suffer from these heel pains, but that none

of the guys seem to mentioin them.......Theirs being predominantly neck and back

problems so far.

These are just some of my underlying thoughts and they may not amount to

anything but..............Is this a symptom which affects women more often than

men?

Do the group think that some of the symptoms are more frequently experienced by

women, or more common to them than to men..........And vice versa?

Are there also (perhaps) " core symptoms " which are a common to men and women?

Mal. (Icarus)

[Guest guest]

Hi Malcolm, I do think ReA appears differently in women than it does men.

My rheumatologist told me once that ReA is often misdiagnosed as Lupus in

women. The symptoms of ReA in women tend to resemble Lupus. Also Lupus is

often considered to be a " women's disease " and ReA is thought to be a " man's

disease " . I don't think the heel pain is more common in women, but I may be

wrong.

Kay Braddock

Speedway German Wirehaired Pointers

Paint Horses

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[Guest guest]

Thanks to all of you that replied to my post on plantar fascilitis. Janet,

your tips were especially helpful. Generally it is a problem continuously

but after I have rested it is painful to walk for awhile. I guess this is

typical. I have also had a lot of inflamation in my hands. I did not

expect this much inflamation in going off prednisone. I had been on it for

over a decade. I just got tired of the round face and worrying about the

side effects. My gait is abnormal. I have a drop right foot and wear a

brace. My gait is probably aggravating the plantar fascilitis. I will try

the stretching. My calf muscles feel very tight when I stretch. Thanks

again for all of the replies.

Kay Braddock

Speedway German Wirehaired Pointers

Paint Horses

_________________________________________________________________

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[Guest guest]

plantar fasciitis

Hi Kay,

Sometime ago you wrote about the heel pain (plantar fasciitis) and I think that

I asked you about how it felt and how it looked. (?)

Well, about a fortnight ago I was told by my G.P. that he thinks that I may have

contracted Reiter's from an earlier Salmonella infection (in August), which went

untreated with antibiotics.

I awoke earlier today to feel a strangely hot and cold sensation on the left

outer edge of my left foot. (But not the centre of the arch and heel as I think

was suggested.)

I say the hot and cold feeling because that part of the foot felt hot like a

burn, yet when I touched the area with my hand, it felt cold to touch. (Perhaps

like a cold burn or an ice burn....Or a chillblain burn?)

During the day it seems to have become more painful to walk on, although it

hasn't got bigger and is still along the left edge of the foot. (From the base

of the smallest toe to the heel.)

There is no real discolouration or dark bruising, even though the soles of my

feet did appear slightly yellowish in hue.

Oddly enough I think that it became less painful as I walked on it, but still

felt hot as I put weight on it. (This sort of thing is not usual for me.)

Another thing which I noticed today was a slight soreness at the end of my

tongue......Almost as though I'd burned the tip with a hot drink, but I can't

see any signs of broken skin or ulceration. (Nope, I haven't been licking my

feet either.)

I did examine the inside of my left shoe and found a slight ridge approximately

where you would expect it could be rubbing against my foot......But somehow it

doesn't look as though it would cause this much of a problem there, because my

feet are pretty tough and the skin is quite thick, due to years of hill-walking.

(And marching.)

I also checked to see that my sock wasn't rolled or bunched up there, in a way

that might cause it to rub. (I couldn't see anything, which I thought might

have caused a burn, or another problem.)

Since my G.P. seems to have got so much wrong, to date, I'm still hoping that he

may also have got his last prediction wrong....... I shall be seeing my doc'

next Monday, providing that he doesn't get one of his staff to cancel it!

Can you (or anyone else out there) tell me whether this could be the start of my

very own 'bout of plantar fasciitis, or suggest anything else that it could be?

(As this is very strange and unusual for me.)

Thanks for your assistance.

Best regards!

Mal.

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Thanks for your e-mail.

It's strange but the burning sensation isn't as sharp today, so I am now

wondering if I'm still a bit premature to be talking about the " fascist

foot " ......Perhaps time will correct me soon.

Even so, it was and still is a new experience and I'm not aware of anything

that I've done, that would cause the burning but cold to touch sensation.

As one would expect, I never had this problem when I was serving, but then I

think that the Army does a lot more physical exercise than we do,

particularly once " boot-camp " (we call it " square-bashing " ) is over.

My own exercise was mainly carried out in my own time, to pass away some

time.

I'm guessing that you were in the US Army?.......I was in the British RAF

and served 9 years as an Airfield (AGE) Engineer.

I think that, that was enough for me, although I did enjoy most of the time

I spent in 'blue'...We didn't get many overseas postings as I'd hoped for,

because they didn't exist back in 1987, when I came out.

Anyhow , I guess that you've probably realised that I'm like a " cat on

hot bricks " at the moment and watching out for things like " burning soles of

feet " and " sore tongues " as potential 'empirical evidence' of whatever I

have contracted...........And this doesn't help my nervousness, stress or

anxiety levels.

(I never have been particularly patient when it comes to injury and

illness.)

Anyway, I hope that China is treating you well and that life is painfree for

you.

Thanks once again for the e-mail.

Best regards!

Mal.

[Guest guest]

Hi Malcolm, I don't know if what you are experiencing is plantar facillitis.

It sounds more like a nerve type problem with the burning pain that you are

experiencing. I find that the pain is greater after resting. If I am on my

feet a lot during the day and then sit down to watch TV, I hate to get back up.

I have just finished a course of physical therapy that has been somewhat

helpful. Mostly that involved stretching. The doctor had recommended

therapeutic ultra sound but I could not have it because of an implanted

electrical device that I have. I have a thera-band here for stretching my feet.

You can do a google search and come up with a lot of information. Hope you feel

better soon.

Kay

[Guest guest]

Hello Kay,

Thanks for your detailed e-mail reply. As I have said, I still live in hope

that I won't get RS or that if I do, the symptoms will be mild and

self-limiting, for whatever reason.

I've seen some photos of plantar fasciitis (I'm assuming that's the correct

spelling?), on the website and it looked like a large reddish/purple-ish

bruise or even a birthmark around the heel.

This bruise wasn't present on my foot yesterday.

(Having said that, I wasn't certain that there wouldn't be a bruise there

today.........But there wasn't.)

The burning feels like a carpet burn or chillblain type soreness and it was

getting worse yesterday morning, as I walked around the house....Yet when I

walked the dog and started to put more pressure on it more often, it seemed

to feel less painful (Odd as it may sound this is true.), almost as though

working it was good.

(I have considered the material used in the socks and perhaps even an

allergic reaction to the dye, but I don't think so.)

And, it is still sore tonight, but not as bad.

I'm even starting to wonder if it's an extension of the tendonitis type

pains that I've been experiencing in my calf....Which also feel cold to

touch with my hand, but feel hot inside.

Anyhow, thank you for your reply and good wishes......I'll shall have to

wait and see what tomorrow brings.

Best regards, as always!

Mal.

[Guest guest]

My pf NEVER stopped burning and aching while aI had it--it was there at

night and in the morning. I just used the rheumy's diagnosis and didn't

questionit. I went away never to return, I hope.

She also told me that some docs put cortisone shots into the heel and create

a remission of sorts. She said in her experience that some ppl who got the

shots had more pain from subsequent scar tissue than if the pf is allowed to

go into remission on its own.

It was an absolute terror while it was there--for many weeks--but I'm hoping

that her method was the right one for me since there hasn't been another

recurrence,

Malcolm, it almost sounds like you have had a mild flare of several

symptoms. Maybe you did something or have ahd stresses removed that

triggered the falre and I hope for you that they are now gone and won't be

back to taunt you again.

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Thanks for your e-mail and good wishes......The foot pain, and even the

tongue pain, have both disappeared as mysteriously as they

appeared.........Life is strange sometimes!

I would certainly be pleased if I just experienced one lot of symptoms for

the disease and then it were gone.....Forever!

Can that happen?..............By what most of the group say, then " No " is

the probable answer to that.

If these are the symptoms of Reiter's, then I haven't had anything that was

really hard to bear, yet!.....But then I have only had it for five minutes,

unlike some of the " poor devils " in the group.

In fact the worst things that I seem to have are what the Salmonella or

perhaps genetic changes (?) appear to have done to my mind and maybe my

heart.

This my latest thing.....Recently I have seen things that probably don't

exist and felt sudden anxiety about things that have never previously made

me afraid.

(By this I mean things like 'flying in aircraft' and going up on ladders or

even scuba diving....In short the sort of things that I used to do for fun,

or as part of my daily job routine.)

So I'm beginning to think that there's also a psychological problem here now

and perhaps because of things happening inside me, or possibly because of

these tablets I'm taking. (But they are supposed to help against that sort

of thing.)

Now, yesterday it was necessary for me to drive through a tunnel under a

river..........I have done this many times and I've never thought about what

I was actually doing.

It has never bothered me in the least because I always rationalise that the

tunnel has been there for a long time and I think about how many times I've

used it before, etc.

Yesterday I suddenly felt a kind of fear (like claustrophobia) and I felt

the urge to turn around and drive back the way I'd come. (Which would have

proved very dangerous.) I just didn't want to drive into the tunnel.

By the time I was halfway through, my heart was beating like crazy and when

I came out of the other side of the tunnel, I was sweating and could hardly

get my breath back to pay the guy at the other end.

(I even wondered whether this could have been accelerated by the pressure

increase as the tunnel sloped away before me.)

I then drove about 5 miles to the nearest restplace and pulled over for half

an hour.....And took another dose of beta-blockers.

After a while, I calmed down and felt well enough to drive again.

As I explained earlier, these feelings have always been foreign to me and I

cannot understand why they have started to hit me now.

I am normally too rational to be fazed by this kind of thing, since I have

quite a lot of faith in my own judgement.

So I can only put it down to that Salmonella attack (in August) the

beta-blockers or after effects as they wear off, or Reiter's.

My mother has Osteo-Arthritis and over the years I have noticed that she has

become very much more nervous than she was, years ago. (In just about

everything that she does.)

Therefore I find myself wondering whether anyone else has had this kind of

thing?

Are all people with Reiter's, or other arthritic complaints, affected by

this kind of fear? (Or sudden inexplainable phobias?)

And, if so, is this something permanent or can we re-learn what we felt

before the disease got to us?

Any ideas please, anyone?

Best regards!

Mal.

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 1/11/04 3:18:43 PM Eastern Standard Time,

malsam.skysurfer@... writes:

Are all people with Reiter's, or other arthritic complaints, affected by

this kind of fear? (Or sudden inexplainable phobias

Mal, although most of us have had such fears from time to time, it isn't a

symptom of Reiter's or other rheumatic diseases (with the exception of lupus.)

Beta blockers are sometimes used to treat panic and other anxiety disorders.

Maybe this is why your doctor prescribed this medication for you? In a prior

post, someone mentioned that we have a tendency to attribute all our conditions

on Reiter's, etc. It's very possible, and highly likely, that most of us have

other medical problems besides our spondy disease. I have high blood pressure,

someone else may have diabetes, another one may have thyroid problems or

nervous system disorder, however, none of these are connected to Reiter's.

Connie

(granny)

[Guest guest]

Hello Connie,

Thanks very much for your reply.

I thought that I'd read somewhere that Salmonella, Urethritis, Chlamydia and

all the other " contacts " for Reiter's find their way into the nervous system

if they are not treated with antibiotics.

And that they are untouchable once this happens.

Therefore I was beginning to assume that most people have these same

problems, albeit at different times.

So, now this doesn't explain what's happening with me at the

moment................They are not things that happened before I got that

Salmonella attack last August.

(I love flying, even in microlight aircraft, yet I now feel nervous at the

thought of it......I loved scuba diving, but I do now get a feeling of

claustrophobia and it un-nerves me.....Previously I was never worried about

driving over high bridges or through tunnels but now it seems that I

am........Even driving faster than 70 mph or climbing up ladders gets me

feeling nervous.........And I don't understand where this just came from!)

To be honest, even the thought of this happening to me this way, worries me

too.

Anyway Connie, how are you doing after the eye surgery?.......I hope that

it's healing properly and that the pain has lessened or gone away completely

by now.

I must say that I'm quite in awe of you, the way that you've coped with this

problem, because the whole idea of eye surgery scares me half to death. (And

it would have done anytime.)

Take care and best regards!

Mal.

[Guest guest]

I missed the original post.........prednisone can cause anxiety, among other

symptoms. I have had my a couple of panic attacks and increasing anxiety

since taking this drug. Try a google search, if you are taking prednisone.

Jan

[Guest guest]

Mal,

It seems like you are extremely anxious. I say this as someone who is very

anxious herself. Have you tried any tranquilizers?

God Bless,

Janet in SF

ReA since 1973; diagnosed 1997; HLA-B27+

[Guest guest]

Hello Janet,

Ta for the e-mail.

No, I'm not actually on what the doc' calls tranquilisers, just

beta-blockers.....And, I take the odd co-proxomol for aches and pains.

I saw my doc' earlier today and asked him which of the tablets suppressed

adrenaline?..........True to form he didn't answer me, but after I'd told

him about my recent " sightings " and phobias he dropped the daily dosage of

the Reboxetine by half and I have to see him again next week instead of in

two weeks, as is usual.

I'm quite anxious about some things, and they are things which never really

bothered me before.

(They are things that sometimes bother other people, but I haven't had this

kind of problem before...Hence the recent questions about whether RS has

this kind of effect on any other members of the group!)

Some of this is probably down to stress and perhaps the tablets, but I guess

that we'll see what happens this week.

He didn't mention Reiter's at all this week, but asked me a lot of questions

about the 'phobias' and anxiety. So I wonder what he's thinking about now.

However, I'm sorry to hear that you're feeling anxious too...........Do you

think that this is likely to be RS related or could it be one of your

Medications that's causing it?

Well, please feel free to talk about it if you want to Janet.

(The same rules apply to everyone.)

Best regards!

Mal.

[Guest guest]

Merck Manual

" Plantar Fasciitis " :

http://www.merck.com/mrkshared/mmanual_home2/sec05/ch072/ch072e.jsp

I'll tell you where to go!

Mayo Clinic in Rochester

http://www.mayoclinic.org/rochester

s Hopkins Medicine

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org

[Guest guest]

Mike -- what do you mean by " a card of prednisone " ? You mean like a card of

bubbles, each of which houses a pill? What was the strength of ea. pill?

Thanks.

Ann

plantar fasciitis

> I remember a few people using this term when I mentioned foot pain.

> At the time, I didn't know what it was, but I was searching on the

> net about arch pain and I believe this is what I have, which is as

> big a problem as the CP. But it seems it's more treatable/curable.

> Is this correct? Is there more hope with pf? Thanks.

I had pf a couple years ago and my GP cleared it up with a card of

prednisone and a week of rest, but I would not recommend more prednisone

than you absolutely need. I wish it were as easy to clear up CP.

Mike

MT