Plantar Fasciitis

[tguz]

My wife has plantar fasciitis and does not think she will be able to do all the walking that Disney World demands. In prior trips, we averaged 25,000 steps per day. I'd like opinions on would it be worth it to still go but greatly scale back on park time, maybe doing 1/2 days. We would be driving from the Midwest and a DW 7 night vaca is not cheap. We both love Disney World and I know how I feel about the situation.....I would just like to hear what others think. It will be her decision, I'd just like to offer some suggestions. Thanks.

 

[piccolopat]

My husband had this last year. There is no way he could have done that walking. We would have had to get him a wheelchair or ECV. A wheelchair might be better if you can push because it would allow her to walk and hold on to it for when she was feeling able.

 

[TCRAIG]

I would 100% rent an ECV!!

 

[LoveDaisy]

I had this last year. There is no way I could have gone to Disney without a wheelchair or EVC. But with a mobility device I would have fine.

 

[jo-jo]

Is this a new issue? I had a mild case for maybe 6 months. Hurt like crazy when starting to walk but then pain went away. Sit down, and start cycle over again. In my case stretching the muscles , a shoe insert and ice helped a lot.

But I'd say EVC too. You walked a lot lot, sounds like more than the avg. guest.

 

[tguz]

Is this a new issue? I had a mild case for maybe 6 months. Hurt like crazy when starting to walk but then pain went away. Sit down, and start cycle over again. In my case stretching the muscles , a shoe insert and ice helped a lot.

But I'd say EVC too. You walked a lot lot, sounds like more than the avg. guest.

It is not a new issue as she has suffered from this off and on but this time it has been pretty bad. We got her custom orthotics which has helped a lot. Walking is not 100% comfortable but standing, such as in lines, hurts the most.

 

[Genie+]

EVC. I had bad PF for over a year. Really excruciating.

What finally worked it out for me was wearing boot at night for a month along with gently stretching every single time I was going to put weight on my feet standing. My tendons even built up scar tissue and I had a dozen lumps through each foot arch. It was horrible but knock on wood - it has all gone away. Like a bad dream. Good luck!

 

[disneyseniors]

My wife has plantar fasciitis and does not think she will be able to do all the walking that Disney World demands. In prior trips, we averaged 25,000 steps per day. I'd like opinions on would it be worth it to still go but greatly scale back on park time, maybe doing 1/2 days. We would be driving from the Midwest and a DW 7 night vaca is not cheap. We both love Disney World and I know how I feel about the situation.....I would just like to hear what others think. It will be her decision, I'd just like to offer some suggestions. Thanks.

Hi tgus: I can relate, as I got PF the week before one of our disney trips.! I could barely hobble around. But we went anyway. I had to use an ECV to get anywhere, and it was a big help. I could do all the things I wanted to do.
Navigating with an ECV is not fun, though. You have to be on constant guard for someone stepping in front of you or stopping in front of you. You can't just leisurely look at the store windows, attractions, because you have to keep your eyes alert at all times.
Even with that, it was well worth it because I could Not have walked at all while at disney. I hope this helps you

 

[erinch]

My good news was it does go away. Stretches, and I am now a show princess. The only shoes I wear are bzees, of Hoka sneakers.please ask for wife to look at bzees. Arch support and memory foam. They saved my life.and my walking.noe back to 25K steps!

 

[Simba's Mom]

I would 100% rent an ECV!!

This is from someone who once swore she would never get an ECV and hobbled around the parks with an aching back. Then one day in Epcot, my back got extremely temperamental and said "That's it girlie-we aren't walking any more!" I hobbled over to ECV rental, swallowed my pride, and then called home-"Guess what! I'm actually on an ECV!"and burst into tears. But by the end of the day, my back was happier, and I was starting to wonder why I'd waited so long.

 

[Genie+]

This is from someone who once swore she would never get an ECV and hobbled around the parks with an aching back. Then one day in Epcot, my back got extremely temperamental and said "That's it girlie-we aren't walking any more!" I hobbled over to ECV rental, swallowed my pride, and then called home-"Guess what! I'm actually on an ECV!"and burst into tears. But by the end of the day, my back was happier, and I was starting to wonder why I'd waited so long.

DH made the switch only after feeling bad at holding the kids up. For some reason the dots didn’t connect before that. Now he sees it so much better for himself and should’ve done it sooner.

He’s a big advocate and has had dozens of conversations with other guests about it when they ask questions. Happens like every other day in the parks, I guess because he’s a very social type person. I think he’s helped alot of people in similar situations. He explains the why torture yourself, and answers all the questions about getting one and logistics, etc. If there was a referral system at Gold’s he’d probably have free ECV for life by now

 

[CapeCodTenor]

PF sufferer here. I had a serious bout with it several years ago, and a few smaller ones from time to time, and I went to Disney World twice in 7 month and didn't have a problem. I'm not a doctor, but this is what I do, based off of what I have been told by physical therapists. Start by stretching the calves. The best way to do this is to stand on step on the balls of your feet and let your heels hang down. Toe curls are a great way to strengthen the bottoms of your feet. Some people will try and pick a towel up by their toes, but I just curl the toes and hold it for a few seconds and release. Keep doing this and it'll strengthen the bottom of your feet. I did this, and still do this, and had no problems walking around Disney World. And as others have said, a good pair of shoes/sandals that have good arch supports.

 

[elvispursley]

Therapist here! Besides stretching, wearing a boot or splint at night, stretching and strengthening exercises, you can also do some myofascial release using a spoon to break things up. Both my dad (who hikes 25 mi/day on a the weekends at 72) and DH have bouts of severe PF. By “scraping” the arch of the foot and breaking things up, it significantly reduces their pain.

 

[CapeCodTenor]

Therapist here! Besides stretching, wearing a boot or splint at night, stretching and strengthening exercises, you can also do some myofascial release using a spoon to break things up. Both my dad (who hikes 25 mi/day on a the weekends at 72) and DH have bouts of severe PF. By “scraping” the arch of the foot and breaking things up, it significantly reduces their pain.

I've heard this, but I have a question: If you don't have anyone to help you with this, would rolling your foot over a bar, rolling pin, or something like that, work?

 

[disneyseniors]

Therapist here! Besides stretching, wearing a boot or splint at night, stretching and strengthening exercises, you can also do some myofascial release using a spoon to break things up. Both my dad (who hikes 25 mi/day on a the weekends at 72) and DH have bouts of severe PF. By “scraping” the arch of the foot and breaking things up, it significantly reduces their pain.

Is that like rubbing the bottom of the foot from the bottom to the top? That is what was prescribed for me to do and it helped a lot. I was told that stretching the foot that way was beneficial, and never do it top to bottom.

 

[Jsharp13]

I received steroid injections when I had PF. Hurt like crazy for 20 seconds and weeks of relief. Might be worth trying that before you go to see if it helps her for a few weeks.
Add in all the home remedies above to treat long term. It does go away.

 

[elvispursley]

I've heard this, but I have a question: If you don't have anyone to help you with this, would rolling your foot over a bar, rolling pin, or something like that, work?

You definitely can use the scarping method by yourself--both dad and DH do this. My dad will even use the corner of his bed's footboard when in a pinch. Using a ball, roller, etc can help (If you can freeze a water bottle and roll your foot, that's probably the best of the rolling techniques). But the semi-sharpness of a spoon really breaks up the adhesions. If you don't like the idea of using a spoon for your foot (lol, my DH now has a "special" spoon that is his alone and it never returns to the silverware drawer), you can get a gua sha tool or a "scraper" like this...

There are also treatments such as shockwave, KT taping (although I don't know how effective it is), and as mentioned above, steroids. However, diabetics be advised, it could definitely jack with your blood sugars for a while.

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

Me too!! I had PF so bad the week before a Disney trip I was literally hobbling around the house. My doc prescribed me a prescription strength nsaid and I ordered a pair of shoes from gdefy. It was almost an instant cure I was crying. I was able to walk so much, those shoes were a godsend. Still wear them to this day.

Mighty walk by gdefy are great
Also love oofos

Have not had a flare up since I started the shoes.

Good luck!!

 

[Sweettears]

Crazy as it seems my wife had it for an extended period a few years ago. She did the cortisone and therapy. Nothing helped. Someone suggested acupuncture and it worked almost immediately. And to add my wife is not a proponent of alternative treatments. Hasn’t returned yet.

Based on what I observed there is no way that she could have done a Disney trip without some kind of mobility assistance

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

Also- check out the strassburg sock. Available on Amazon and running stores. Wear it at night, works really well. It looks weird but can really help