The Amazing Feat of My Feet

It's coming up on a year since I had my first surgery on my left foot. This surgery was to relieve some of the horrible pain I've been having in both my feet for 5 years. I have Plantar Fasciitis, which if you don't know, is an inflammation of the fascia, or tendon that extends from the toes to the heel. Plantar Fasciitis is very common. It is cause for foot pain in many adults. It usually results in that first-step-of-the-day pain that people get upon getting up in the morning. Sometimes it can result in pain throughout the day. It can last for a few months to (in my case) several years or forever. Mine started getting bad when I had Isaac. I gained some weight after having kids (go figure!) and did a lot of exercising to lose the weight, but in the end just ended up hurting my feet worse. Many joggers get this condition and people who use their calf muscles frequently, also pregnant women. I used to walk hours on the tread mill, set at a steep incline (I wouldn't do that again). That, combined with my weight gain contributed greatly to my problem.

I went through all kinds of treatments for my problem. First, I got orthotics and bought expensive plantar fascia-friendly shoes, did all kinds of physical therapy including stretching my soleus muscle frequently, and wore night splints to bed. When that didn't work, I did cortisone shots, which helped a lot at first. They got rid of my pain for about 8 months, but then I would be right back where I started. I probably had 8 shots in each foot over a 3 year period before they quit working. I was really bummed when they didn't work anymore. Then I was prescribed a night splint that used electrical pulses. I wore that with no relief and then went on to ultrasound treatments. Next my podiatrist suggested trying Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy, which is the same idea they use to treat kidney stones when they are shattered internally. I was up for anything by this point and went through this somewhat painful procedure under local anesthetic (I remember it was very loud and made my bones vibrate against each other). The idea is to break up the fascia a bit and increase the amount of blood and healing cells to the area. I was one of a few patients my doctor did this with (actually, he just numbed me up and let the people with the expensive machine do their thing). I waited the prescribed 3 months to see if this helped to no avail.

By September of last year I was ready to throw in the towel but my doctor talked me into one last stitch effort. This one was called Autologous blood injection and I was the second of his patients to try it. He withdrew 3 milliliters of my own blood and put it in a centrifuge to separate the growth plates. Then, under general anesthetic, I was injected with the growth plate in the fascia. Well, you guessed it, this didn't work either. I waited the 6 weeks he suggested I should wait and was in just as much pain. I was so disappointed and so upset. Every time I wanted to do anything that required me to be on my feet I suffered the consequences for days following. This included just cleaning the house and taking care of my family--all necessary activities. Plus, I was unable to work out, which I missed terribly. Also, every time I went through a treatment, from corticosteroid injections to the blood injection, I was laid up for weeks at a time to allow the procedure to "heal" my foot--which meant no exercise.

At this point I had done a lot of research on the Internet (years of it) and decided I needed to talk to somebody about having surgery. I was at the end of the line. I switched doctors because the podiatrist I had didn't do surgeries for my type of problem. I (with the help of one of Martin's friends who is a podiatrist in Spokane) found a doctor in Seattle who does a lot of these surgeries. I was very impressed with him and he was amazed at all the procedures I had undergone without relief. He ordered a bone scan and found I was more than a good candidate for Plantar Fascia release surgery. He also suggested that I undergo Gastrocnemius muscle release as well, to relieve some of the tension and tightness in my calf, which would also help the problem. I was game and underwent surgery in November of 2007 on my left foot and leg and surgery on my right foot and leg in February of 2008. In the surgeries the surgeon cut the fascia completely. Then it would hopefully heal with more length in the fascia and the gastroc. With each surgery I was laid up for 4 weeks in which I could put no weight on my foot, followed by 2 weeks of partial weight bearing activity. It was very hard to be off my feet for that long and I was so glad I had Martin and friends to help me through it.

Sorry about the lousy pictures. Martin + my bad camera = bad photos!

As I said before, it's been a year since my first surgery and I'm finally able to work out on my feet. I have a hard time with walking too much so I use the elliptical machine which is less jarring and more low-impact, but I've worked up to doing an hour at a time and could do more if I wanted! I am in pain afterward if I sit down for too long and then get up to walk around, but the pain is tolerable. Most pain comes from just standing around. I try to avoid that too much. The good thing is that each morning the pain is improved from the activity I did the previous day. It is a huge step up! I'm not 100% better, but I would say 40% better and that is enough for me--for now. My doctor says I will continue to improve as many as 18 months post-op, so I have hopes that I will continue to improve.

Was it worth it? I'd have to say yes. I am able to go barefoot (although I shouldn't) if needed and my pain is improved, however little. My quality of life is better, that's for sure. I know losing weight will be a big help too, so that is my current goal.

So if you have pain-free feet, thank the Lord above for your many blessings! I'm glad I am better. BTW: Most sufferers of Plantar Fasciitis don't have the problems I did. Usually, with non-invasive treatment, it will get better. I guess I'm just lucky!