Plantar Fasciitis Pain: Holistic Treatment

THANK YOU SO MUCH--I almost can't believe my results!! I found the ACV suggestion two nights ago and am already feeling relief from the plantar fascitis I've had for 4 months. I use raw organic apple cider vinegar, adding 2 ounces to my pineapple/banana/strawberry yogurt smoothie every morning. I would say my symptoms are at least 50% reduced already and I have hope it'll keep going!

Thanks for your tip regarding using Organic Apple Cider Vinegar. I found your comment 2 weeks ago and passed this along to a fellow athlete that has had Plantar Fasciitis for months and months and it wasn't getting any better. He has been taking it now for 2 weeks and emailed me to say his foot has made a rapid improvement and has been able to go walking again. Your advice is much appreciated. Thank you.

After months of constant pain, I went to the podiatrist and came out with a plan: stretching, support inserts, anti-inflammatories. And then I found this site. The only thing I actually did was get the inserts (but don't wear those shoes that often) and apply GSE.

After a couple of days of GSE, the pain was GONE! I NEVER would have thought to use it in this situation, but it works!

My 19 year old son said he had pain in the arch of his foot. He said it felt like he had a splinter but didn't think he had one. And then he realized that sometimes he has the same pain in the other foot.

My first thought was plantar fasciitis since his dad and grandmother have dealt with this and many in my family have pretty flat feet. He is on his feet all day (forestry and farming work, so at least not concrete.)

I bought him a pair of insoles with an arch support for under $10. He put them in the shoes he wears all the time.

A few days later he realized that he had no more pain!

So happy for a cheap solution for him!

I see a grapefruit seed extract online, which only says use 10 drops and dilute it with water, how are you all doing it? I haven't purchased any bottles yet, I'm going out of my mind because I've been in pain ALL year and nothing has worked!!

I have plantar fasciitis due to bilateral bone spurs. It's excruciating pain when I walk. Do u recommend Apple cider vinegar? If so how should I take. Thank u

Dear Nicole,

Look for Unsulphured Blackstrap Molasses. There are many good brands.

1 Tablespoon a day is enough for many people for their ailments. You could even start with less and increase to up to 2 Tablespoons a day if it suits you.

I put about 1 Tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar in a tall glass of water with 1/4 teaspoon baking soda once or twice a day.

There is no one perfect amount since everyone is different. Usually best to start with less and increase to more.

~Mama to Many~

I thought it was a plantar fasciitis but I think know is more of a splut heel. Anyway, I want to know specific which Molasses to buy? & how much ACV, molasses & baking soda do I put in the glass of water? Pleeeease help. I've had this pain for 5 months or more.

I accidentally somehow stumbled across this site tonight, so glad I did. I have plantar fasciitis & left heel spur. I've been dealing with this almost a year now, I've been going to an orthopedic, I've had 5 injections, taken anti-inflammatories, iced, exercises, stretches, The pain is sooooo excruciating! I have not had special orthotics made, he just told me last week a brand of shoe to try. I'm going to try the ACV wrap, but thinking seriously about a second opinion from a big sports clinic in a close by city, nothing has helped!

I have been having a lengthy bout with plantar fasciitis and I'm now having some incredible relief after starting to seriously up my potassium intake. The daily recommended dosage is 4700 mg. Most of us get nowhere near that. You'd be eating all day to do it with food. I use a salt substitute, which is potassium chloride, and while I started the potassium for other reasons, lo and behold, my heel pain has vanished after two weeks! It's well known that potassium deficiency causes leg cramps, but I'm guessing it contributes to the heil pain too. Try increasing potassium to at least the minimum daily requirement, and see if it helps!

Thanks for the tip I will definitely try the ACV.

I have been suffering from Plantar Fasciitis in my left heel for a few months now. It started when I bought a pair of dress shoes and after a few days I noticed pain in my heel that never went away. I run almost everyday as well so the pain is worst right after.

A friend of mine works standing on her feet for most of the day as well and would complain of pain in her heels after work and even on her off days. Now I know what she feels!

Alek

I've been wearing high heels for a week and this is the first time I've been able to walk with out limping for six months. My plantars fasciitis was so bad I recently had to take a week off work and go to bed. I'd been wearing Crocs with Dr. Scholl's insoles and getting no relief. In desperation, I pulled out an old pair of high heels I never wear anymore and wore them in the house at night, and the next morning the heel pain was almost gone.

Today I'm walking normally and I've begun wearing a pair of clogs that have a two inch heel on them. I guess it really does work for me to stretch the muscles on the bottom of my feet by wearing heels. Hurray!

To everyone suffering with foot pain, joint pain, tendon pain etc--along with ACV, which can give really good results look at your coffee intake and try cutting back to none or just one cup a day. The same for black tea. Many will scoff--coffee can't hurt--oh, yes it can, especially in excess.

My friend cured his heel spurs by soaking his heels in magnesium oil for 5-10 minutes every night before bed.

Rocker shoes are awesome and offer much needed comfort to those of us with Plantar Fasciitis. I have had shots to kill the nerves, surgery to repair, 400 dollar insoles, steroid shots, Tens unit and so on. My doctor is recommending a new treatment to use ultrasound waves to damage my heal further and cause it to be extremely inflamed so my body will heal it. This is the first I have been on this site. gonna try ACV.

Dear Deanna,

Do you use the Solomon's Seal internally or externally for these conditions?

I have some Solomon's Seal, but have not used it yet.

Thanks!

~Mama to Many~

Solomons Seal root for plantar fasciitis:

I just wanted to add that the plant Solomons Seal (Polygonatum odoratum/biflorum/multiflorum) is an excellent herb for all kinds of strains, tears, looseness of the ligaments, tendons and muscles. As a herbalist, I have noticed some rapid results for this condition and many other similar complaints.

Ok I am having extreme pain in my heel and work standing up on cement for 6-9 hours per day. Anyway, from what I read you drink 2 caps fulls of ACV (organic) in an 8oz glass of cold water? what about the baking soda and molasses, is this just for the taste? How much of each? Please advise, I am desperate and don't want to give up my job or have surgery. Thanks so much, Amy

I have been having success also with the Vionic shoes.

John says he use to teach doctors how to make orthotics and regrets it now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JAdAOfJYeM

I have had terrible foot pain off and on for 15 years. I am very fit and active 40 yr old woman. My pain fit every description of plantar fasciitis. I am typically on my feet 15 hours a day. This last year I had to work on a bare concrete floor everyday for 6 months. That was the last straw for my feet. It got to where I could barely walk across the room. I am very healthy and believe in preventative care and tend to avoid the doctor, and seek natural remedies. Nothing I tried worked. Stretching worked a little. My regular active life just came to a halt.

I had to make my decision on what to do according to how much walking it would require. After 6 more months of suffering, my husband gave me a pair of orthotic type inserts bought on ebay. Nothing expensive...just Wa-- Fi--. anyway. They were not comfortable, but I noticed immediately that my heel pain lessened. I was able to make it on my feet for an hour...then several. Today I made it all day shopping in town! Tired feet, but NOT striking unbearable pain like before. I wish that I would have just gone to a foot doctor years ago and got a decent pair of orthotics...it would have been worth the $$$. I don't know if it is true, but I have heard that if you let foot pain go on long that it can actually lead to bone spurs, because the body is trying to protect an area that is inflamed. In my case it must be that a ligament or something just needed support. I am sure a foot doctor knows the correct answer...but for now I am content with the results.

You have been my life saver! I tried your remedy and getting relief after two days... Had this condition over a year.... Thank you from the bottom of my heart x

I read John's post a couple days ago and yesterday purchased Grapefruit Seed Extract (hint: it's an oil). Rubbed about 25 drops on my feet and felt a slight tingling, woke up overnight and felt NO pain. Thought it was a fluke and went back to sleep. Woke up in the am and the only pain I felt was very slight on the medial and lateral edges of my foot. This is unbelievable, I'm also putting the GSE in green tea with apple cider vinegar (acv), vitamin E and colloidal silver. Good luck to you!

Thank you. This was so helpful - I took your advice and modified it a bit for me. My walking shoes have a broad toe so with each step I spread my toes out wide and stretch my foot as I take my next step. The pain has moderated considerably and I now think I'll be able to take regular walks again -- after not walking regularly for over a year and seeing my health suffer accordingly. I found this site by googling plantar fasciitis. I sure do appreciate all the helpful tips. I started with the easiest one I could find and it helped! I'm going to start taking tumeric also.

GSE stands for Grapefruit Seed Extract.

I think it might be different for different people, but iron was the thing that finally made the foot pain go away. It only took a few days. I'm taking 29mg of Ferrous Fumarate, but I'll probably switch to Gentle Iron after this. It's easier on the stomach and not as likely to cause constipation. Gentle Iron is not a brand; several companies make it. It's Iron Bis-glycinate AKA Ferrous Bis-glycinate (sometimes the bottle just says iron glycinate, but just look for Gentle Iron.) Also before I took the iron, I took some extra Iodine and it helped a little, but when I added the iron, pain went. The kind of Iodine I've been taking comes in two brands that I know of-iThroid and Iodoral and it seems to me a large amount of Iodine so I open the capsule and take about 1/4 of the cap a day. Taking the whole capsule every day caused acne.

I can totally sympathize with what you're going through. In my line of work I'am on my feet all day, everyday. For the past three years I've been in constant pain. I have tried everything that my foot doctor recommended. The expensive foot insoles, cortisone shots and foot exercises. I feel like this is ruining and running my life. Nothing works. I use to be very active. Not anymore. Please tell me that the Apple cider vinager and baking soda has helped.

I've read that Plantar Fasciitis, Dupuytren's Contracture or Carpal Tunnel ... are signs of iodine deficiency.

I've tried EVERYTHING in the last 7 years since I've had plantar fasciitis. Acupunture, herbs, supplements, soaks, inserts, shoes, stretching yoga and finally the best answer for me, one change in my diet.

Over the years ECCO shoes (just some of them) have made walking possible and comfortable. (I hated birkenstock and orthototics).

Yoga stretching helped a huge amount short term as did acupuncture. But the results just didn't 'stick'.

What worked was cutting out gluten. I'm not celiac and have zero digestive disturbance so I'm quite surprised but actually cut out gluten, (as an experiment to improve my diet), noticed day by day in just one week that my feet felt 100% normal!

Going gluten free also just isn't that hard with all the options out there. I thought it would be, in case that's a reservation for any of you out there.

Keep in mind there's sneaky gluten in things like SOY (but you can get gluten free soy)

I hope this helps someone else.

I have used food grade diatomaceous earth for a little over two months now, worked my way up to two tablespoons a day in a glass of water. What I have noticed so far is my plantar fasciitis no longer hurts on my right foot, my nails are growing so fast I have to "tend" to them twice a week, improved energy levels, 2X daily bowel elimination (as opposed to one). All of this has taken about two months so patience is key. At 51 years old, I do exercise daily, eat about a 75% clean diet, but have about 30 pounds to loose. I believe the food grade DE is really pretty awesome...and is not a danger if properly used. I am a nurse and do believe many simple natural products support our immune system greatly. DE is one that I will continue the rest of my life with one day off a week. Good luck everyone - follow your intuition.

Try taking vitamin d. I was in so much pain couldn't put my feet on the floor. Unrelated to my foot pain my doctor put me on vitamin d after a blood test showed it was low. My foot pain was gone the next day. If I stop taking it my pain returns. The planter fasciitis was diagnosed by an mri. Now it is gone. Since then my mom was told she had the same thing. I had her take vitamin d 2000 mg and she called me within 3 hours to tell me she was feeling better.

Please look into a homeopathic doctor for plantar fasciitis. People have been cured with homeopathy.

I was told by my Naturopath dr to start eating vegetarian years ago because I had A+ blood. He also ran tests on me and showed me that my alkaline phosphatase was so low that it didn't even register on the lab charts! Type As have low levels to begin with.

I tried it but it got hard to make two different meals so I went back to making healthy but not good for your type foods. Now I am noticing that my body feels lighter and I am not hurting as much. It seems like a fluke but I am going with my gut feeling and will stick to eating more vegetarian for the time being. I also notice that I'm not clearing the phlegm from my throat!

Thanks for all of the ideas!

I bought two books on the blood type diet and also found the cards that you can carry in your purse. I'm learning pretty fast what foods to avoid but hate not eating some of my favorites such as bananas, oranges, mangos and coconut!

It's a good thing I love eating more vegetarian but I need to figure out how to get in my carbs, protein and good fats. I also try to avoid eating anything processed so the blood type food plan should be easy once I get the hang of it!

Thanks for offering to forward your info but don't worry if you can't copy and paste it.

People don't pay attention to the blood type diet, because nobody makes money on the diet, but it works. I have the blood type diet typed on paper, so it's easy to follow, trying to copy and paste, if I can figure it out I'll send it.

The blood Type works like a dream. May I suggest that you read the Book "live right for your type" its more up to date and takes into account many more things. although the first book is still brilliant. Secretor status is one of the most important things. This can change the foods that are beneficial. The blood test is not expensive. Feel free to contact me if you need further info.

While you are at it I would also get an "MN" blood group test done to see if you are MM, NN or MN... that can make a bif difference to especially if you are "MM or NN". Good luck and lucky you for finding the blood type diet.

I have been suffering with either heel spurs or plantar facititis for over a year. I have done numerous eating plans and recently tried eating paleo. I also started taking 2 tbsp of coconut oil per day and eating more oranges and 1 banana a day. The past few weeks I have been in so much pain that it is horrible to even walk.

I started to look into foods that cause inflammation and got out my Eat Right For Your Blood Type. I am type A+

I should be eating vegetarian and I do prefer veggies and fruits. I was surprised to see that a few of my avoid foods are coconut, oranges, bananas and they have been in my daily diet!

I thought the diet was kinda goofy but was going to give it a try. I have eliminated all of my avoid foods and have been eating mostly my beneficial foods for my blood type.

I am noticing that I am not feeling bloated and my joints and feet feel way better! I am going to keep trying this eating plan to see if it's just a fluke or if there is something to this eating plan.

I will update in a few weeks to let everyone know how things are going.

I would love to know more about this toe pad solutions. Just what are you using and what are you doing with these. Please share. I'm needing self help as I'm on my feet all day so to get help would be great. Thanks.

Have non stop pain in feet and legs that makes everyday activities difficult to impossible. Just wondering abut how much calcium you took ? My nails are extremely thin and fragile so I am wondering if [like in your situation] calcium is the issue ? Thanks for any help.

I am a sufferer of heel spurs. I am desperately seeking help and natural help, no doctoring. I had a cortisone shot in my heel about 20 years ago and believe me when I say DO NOT let a doctor do it to you. Oh my gosh it is the most horrific pain you can endure. I'd give birth to ten kids at once before I ever do that again. Believe me it won't be repeated. So if there's a natural solutionI'm all for it. What's everyone recommending.

I love this site! This is my first post. I'm a 55 year old female and have suffered a good deal of my life from plantar fasciitis. Of late, it has reached a point where if I sit for just a few minutes, any time during the day, I suffer just to get walking again! I came across some info on cod liver oil and decided to try it. Within about 3-4 days my pain was nearly gone! It has also greatly relieved my long standing head and neck pain/strain from wearing bifocals!

I take 2 teaspoons of lemon-flavored cod liver oil mixed up well with 2 teaspoons of milk once a day. Cod liver oil thins the blood, so if you are on blood thinners such as Plavix or Coumadin do not take it! Also, if you have an upcoming surgery, do not take for two weeks before hand! (and a bit after). Pregnant and breastfeeding moms should also avoid! Do your research!

Once you are on it, you can skip a dose or two, but if you stop it, the pain will return! When you stop it for a few days, you realize the benefits you were receiving from it! So, my plantar fasciitis is much better, but not cured.