Personal journey with bilateral plantar fasciitis surgery
Walking Update
27Sep2008 Filed under: Recovery Author: Christina
Yesterday I tried walking without crutches. It wasn’t easy, but I wanted to try. I did okay. I wasn’t hobbling terribly like I was before so that’s good! I do have to walk slower and I try to concentrate on walking in as normal a fashion as possible. Today I’m going one place and will attempt this again. Otherwise I stay off my feet as much as possible.
My right foot is doing better. It’s the one I haven’t had surgery on, but my plantar fasciitis in that foot REALLY flared up with all of the stress it was under. I do the same exercises on my right foot that I do for my left foot and massage and ice it as well. It helps. What’s really important is allowing my feet to rest by staying off of them. I also read that getting out of bed in the morning without doing at least one exercise first reinjures the plantar fascia. So I’ve been sure to do some exercises for at least a few minutes before putting any weight on my feet. It seems to be helping. I’m glad!!
Physical therapy is going well. I feel as though I should be farther along in my recovery than I am, but I really can’t complain. This is a 3-month recovery process and I don’t know what makes me think I should be running around already. 
I guess I get impatient and a little frustrated. My doctor and physical therapist are happy with my progress. I am too – except when I’m in pain. LOL
I started thinking about what’s going on in my body and what it has been through with all of the medication and stress. I realized that I probably have a lot of toxic buildup in my body which could further slow down my recovery. So I’m going to start a nutritional cleansing program.
I have almost two months before my next surgery and that’s a good amount of time to get my body in good condition before then. Obviously I won’t be perfect, but I’ll be healthier, more energetic and several pounds lighter (which will help in many ways). I’m confident that if my body has the proper nutritional support it needs my recovery will go a lot smoother and I’ll have better lifetime results.
I’ve ordered my first 30-day nutritional cleansing program and it will be delivered Tuesday. I’ll be sure to post updates on how that goes and if it’s helping in my recovery. I expect that it will and will also help combat those times when I get a little down. I can’t wait!!
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About this blog
When I started thinking about having surgery for my plantar fasciitis I spent hours researching online. I could only find one personal experience with plantar fasciotomy and it hadn't been updated in a long time.
So I thought I'd chronicle my journey from beginning to end and post updates as time goes on as to how well the surgeries worked for me. I'll be having two - one surgery for each foot. I have bilateral plantar fasciitis.
I also created this blog so that my family, friends, associates and clients could easily check my progress and chat with me during recovery.
So if you're visiting this blog way after I've had surgery, I hope the information you find here helps. If you're one of my family members, friends, associates or clients, I hope you'll post lots of comments because your support will keep me going strong through post-op recovery.
Regardless of when you stop by, I'm glad you're here!
Disclaimer...
I am not a doctor or licensed professional. Information presented on this website is for educational purposes only and should not be used to replace the advice of your doctor, physical therapist or other medical or licensed professional. Information presented on this site is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure plantar fasciitis, foot pain or any other condition or illness. No statements have been evaluated by the FDA or other government or medical entity.
This is just me sharing my experiences with you. What works for me may not work for you or anyone else. If you have or suspect you have a medical condition such as plantar fasciitis or other foot pain, please see your physician immediately for proper care.
Important Site Hint:
To see my current progress and recent posts click here or on the "Home" link at the top of this page.
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Artie Lee
October 14th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Thanks for your blog. I having been following your posts and the others that have responded with great interest.
On August 8, 2008 I also had a fasciotomy on my left foot. My scar is 3 1/2 inches long as my surgeon intended to release the fascia and also release the tibial nerve through the same incision. He ended up releasing the fascia , but not the tibial nerve. There were varicose veins wrapped around the nerve and he removed them instead of cutting the nerve.
I had a splint for about 10 days and had virtually no pain after the stitches and the splint were removed. Then came the hard cast for four more weeks. The cast pressed against my incision and was somewhat painful even after they added foam pads to cushion the area . My instructions while the splint and cast were on was to keep my foot elevated higher than my heart and absolutely no weight bearing activity on this foot. When the cast came off they gave me a boot. I was told to wear it and try to move into regular shoes as I could. No physical therapy or stretching exercise was recommended.
My recovery was going so well at this point that I could envision complete recovery in only a few days not weeks or months! Unfortunately after resuming two or three hours of more “normal” activities for several days the problems returned. The inside of my foot began to swell and the pain returned. I can elevate and ice my foot for several days and there is noticeable improvement. But the pain and swelling return every time I walk or stand for more than five or ten minutes or after wearing any footwear other than my loose fitting slippers.
I’m becoming very concerned. After nine weeks I seem to be back to square one. My next doctors visit is two weeks away and forget any help from him if not face to face in his office.
I’m not sure if I have re-injured my foot or if this is part of the normal healing process. Maybe you or someone reading your blog have had a similar experience or have suggestions.
After two years of dealing with this problem it is getting very old. I sympathize with all of you that have gone through this.
Thanks!
Artie
Christina
October 17th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Hi Artie,
I’m glad you found my blog. I’m sorry that you are experiencing pain and swelling again. I wonder why your doctor hasn’t had you in physical therapy. It just seems logical since you were basically immobile with that foot for so long. I noticed that the muscles get weak very quickly. They also seem to strengthen quickly.
It seems that you and I are at almost the same place in our recovery time-wise. I too have the soreness and really can’t resume normal every day activity. It’s too much on my feet. Your incision is long so I’m not surprised you are having pain. I know that at one point my doctor said the pain I was experiencing was normal and part of the healing process. I hope that is the case with you.
One thing that I’ve read is that if we don’t stretch our foot/feet prior to putting weight on them after long periods of rest (especially getting up in the morning or the middle of the night) the plantar fascia gets reinjured. You may want to do a minute or two of stretching before getting up and perhaps start stretching regularly and see if that helps. It should definitely help with regaining flexibility in your foot.
Of course I’m not a doctor or licensed professional and none of what I’ve done to help in my recovery is ever meant to replace advice given by your doctor. Perhaps you can ask your doctor about physical therapy.
I’m going to add a new post to the blog with some exercise resources I’ve found. Hopefully they will be helpful to you. I hope you’ll keep in touch, Artie. We can go through this together.