Plantar Fasciotomy

Okay so it has been one year and two weeks since I had surgery on my right foot for plantar fasciitis. What a year it has been too! I’m going to write some Q & A for this update to make it easier to read as well as better convey how I’m doing since I had my surgery – both of them (one on the right foot and one on the left). It’s been just over a year since I had surgery on both feet.

Are you glad you had the surgery?

Yes, I am. It was NOT an easy decision to make. Even after suffering with bilateral (in both feet) plantar fasciitis for more than three years I refused to have the surgery. I hadn’t heard of it helping anyone long term and in researching online I couldn’t find anyone’s success with the surgery. That’s why I started this blog – to document my journey with the surgeries and recovery.

Are you completely healed now?

No, I’m not. I was told recovery would take a year, but in reality I am still recovering. I still have pain – daily in fact. I have instances of intense flareups. Thankfully they only last a short time – anywhere from an hour to a day. Those are the bad days.

What’s the biggest difference in your life now from before the surgeries?

The fact that I can actually walk two miles, come home, sit down, get up and still walk around the house without limping. I can’t do that every day yet, but it’s a GREAT start!

How has your life been affected by plantar fasciitis?

Pretty much every part of my life has been affected. I gained weight. I went from an active lifestyle to an inactive lifestyle. My social life was just about nonexistent except for going to church. I started having problems with my lower back as a result as well. I lived every day in pain and that’s just no fun at all.

Have those affects minimized or gone away?

I’m happy to say that I am losing weight and that feels pretty good! My life is becoming more active now that I can walk longer. Standing is still hard and shopping still isn’t fun because stores have those awfully hard cement floors (they just kill my feet and back!). My social life has improved because 90% of the time it doesn’t hurt to drive like it did before and I’m much more reliable – I actually show up when I say I’m going to whereas before I’d have a flareup and have to back out.

What are you looking forward to in the next 12 months?

Regaining the strength I’ve lost in my body. Being inactive makes every muscle weak so I’m looking to start a strength training program. I just have to remember that I’m not at the same level I was when I graduated from the police academy and start slow! I’m also looking forward to running again. What an accomplishment that will be! I very much took for granted that I could run before. Now I will cherish that time of breathing hard and sweating! lol

I am very thankful for my family and friends who supported me and encouraged me over that last six years. I am also incredibly thankful that the Lord kept joy in my heart even while I lived each day in pain. I’m SO glad He gave me the wisdom to have these surgeries! I’ve been on an emotional and physical roller coaster and I wouldn’t be where I am or who I am without Him. I especially want to thank my mom and dad for taking care of me through all of the procedures and being there with me for both surgeries. I love you both from the depth of my heart!

My journey isn’t over, but I know it’s about to get a whole lot more exciting! I will continue to update this blog periodically on my progress and victories. I met a woman today, the owner of Fleet Feet here in Vacaville. She had this same surgery 14 years ago and she is doing very well – she’s running! I expect to be able to say the same thing.

If I don’t post again before Christmas, have a very, very merry Christmas and a fantastic New Year!!

Christina

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It’s been one year since I could walk again after my partial release plantar fasciotomy. There have been many times that I regretted having the surgery and wondered if I did the right thing. The last year has been a roller coaster of emotions!

I am glad that I had the surgery. It was the right thing for me to do. I can do much more than I could a year and a half ago. Am I pain free? Not at all. Can I walk better? Yep.

I have days where it’s bad. I’ll have sharp pains and will begin walking with a limp. I try not to walk much when that happens.

There are good times too. I was able to stand almost an hour on hard cement floor on Wednesday evening and I did okay. Did my feet hurt later? Yep, but not like they have before.

What I’ve learned is that foot stretches and exercises continue to be an important part of recovery – even a year later. It seems they’ll be a part of my life forever.

I’ve been faithful in doing the stretches morning and night. It doesn’t take too long, but not only are the foot stretches important, but stretching the calf and achilles as well.

I’ve also started going to the chiropractor. I still have pain in my back from the years of walking incorrectly due to the foot pain. The chiropractor won’t be able to whip me into as good as shape as he could someone without my continued foot pain, but he can and has helped me feel better.

On Tuesday I went for a walk at 8am at a local park. Because I’ve been doing my stretches I was able to walk two miles! When I got home I did my stretches. Earlier this summer I walked at Muir Woods and went two miles. At the end of it I could not wait to get off of my feet. This time my foot pain was much less than that!

One thing I can work on now is strengthening my entire body. My muscles have lost a lot of strength from not being able to walk much, especially my legs. A few months ago I went to a music festival – for one day. I wanted to cut my legs off the pain was so bad. My hips and joints really hurt. Everything is weak. My goal is to go for at least a 25 minute walk twice a week. I did it this week and have my days picked for next week. Gotta regain my strength.

I’m glad I had the surgery. I’m learning to be patient with the recovery. It’s still ongoing. At least I hope it is! LOL

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A couple of years ago I went to Muir Woods with my friends, Heather and Tomoko. We walked the path through Muir Woods (maybe a mile and a half) and we had to keep stopping because of the pain in my feet from plantar fasciitis. A couple of years ago it took us about two, two and a half hours to walk that mile/mile and a half.

A couple of weeks ago I was ready to try that same walk again. To me this was to be a victory walk. My goal was to prove that I could do it in better time. I made sure I stretched VERY well the two days before, the day of and a couple of days after. I didn’t want any tightening up of my muscles.

So my friend Heather and I (Tomoko couldn’t make it) took off on a Monday afternoon for the victory trek at Muir Woods. That’s us over to the left.

I was feeling pretty confident that I was going to be able to do this. We paid our entrance fee and headed down the path. We had a fun time taking pictures and walking. Pretty soon we came to some benches that I clearly remember having to sit on the last time we did this walk. Nope! Not this time. We just kept walking.

We made it to the fourth bridge, went across and, wow, it felt like a real mini hike going back because we were on a real hiking trail that was NOT level! How exciting! I still hadn’t had to sit down and we kept walking and taking pictures. Heather’s a great friend and she was just as excited as I was at what I was able to do.

We kept going up and down, up and down and eventually just down to the Visitor’s Center. I was ready to sit in the car at this point. My feet were hurting, but that didn’t matter. It wasn’t so bad that I had to stop and when we got back to the car we high-fived and were very happy. We had just walked two miles without stopping to sit! I was victorious at Muir Woods!

I was so excited and happy at what I just accomplished. I’m so glad that Heather was there to share it with me! Muir Woods is just north of San Francisco, CA and it is a beautiful place. Perfect for my Victory Walk!

My Victory Walk was about six months after surgery on my right foot and nine after surgery on my left foot. At first I said it wasn’t a real hike, but you know what? It was a real hike! It was just short in duration.

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