Plantar fasciitis: How many cortisone injections??

Hello, all!! I'm a newbie, but have been suffering with plantar fasciitis for over 2 years to the point where it affects and controls my entire life. It got the point where all I did on my days off was ice my feet, and I couldn't stand long enough to go grocery shopping or do housework.

When my conservative treatment at home with ice and stretches and night splints and custom made orthotics/good shoes were not working (I didn't have health insurance till I graduated and started working full time) I went to a podiatrist and started physical therapy. I've had two cortisone injections in both feet and have been taking an NSAID along with PT and night splints. My pain was greatly relieved, but is returning. I'm reluctant to get another set of injections because 1) side effects/risk and 2) hurts like HELL.

My questions is: How many have YOU had?? Keep in mind, I don't see it as a fix, but just to work long enough to continue PT so it can heal (no pun intended !) Thanks in advance for your input!
Standard protocol is a maximum of 3 injections. Any more and you risk weakening the tendons.

I had this really bad. Bought a pair of Z-Coil shoes and 95 % of my feet pain went away in a couple of weeks. I am on my fourth pair.

I was dying of this. When I was sleeping, sometimes I thought I'd rather pee the bed than try to stand and feel the bilateral heel pain. I really do feel for you.I had 2 sets of injections...OUCH!!! and I'm not a crybaby! Got cured by: drumroll here....DANSKO shoes! They have been my God send! Life is not perfect, but so much better, that I don't complain. I even thought of calling ELY Manning, QB of the NY Giants last year and telling him about them when I heard he had PF. I wear the closed back clog style and a few others and now have 10pairs(including the dress style (TARA). I got the Walking Company store to get a corporate agreement with our hospita lso everyone gets a discount, including sales! You can also try the Dansko outlet and Zappos. The original makers of Danskos are making Sanitas, so don't be afraid to try those.May you be healed!

I suffered horribly from this as well for many years!After trying a ton of different foot wear and going through the injections, stretches, ice, etc I discovered Sketcher's Step-ups. I have not had foot pain again. I work 12's all the time on my feet all day. I have bought several pairs of them now. I have a pair for everything. At first I had to wear my home pair for housework etc. Eventually the pain went away and I was able to wear other shoes off and on. Generally I just stick to the Step-ups because my pain has been relieved, I have lost 40 pounds and the shoes have helped me tone muscle in various places to boot. Don't give up hope! Keep trying shoes out.

I had 3 injections in each heel -- each 1 month after the other. They didn't hurt a bit because the doc sprayed some numbing stuff on the site first. (Ask for that. It is worth it.)1st injection brought about 50% relief.2nd injection didn't seem to have any effect at all.3rd injection did the trick and took all the pain away.That was about 12 years ago. As I am not a staff nurse, I am not on my feet all that much -- but I wasn't a staff nurse 12 years ago either when my feet were hurting.

Birkenstocks did the trick for me....

I had one chiropractic adjustment of my ankles and it was 90% better in 10 minutes. My talus was anterior on my calcaneous pushing the navicular forward and up. I still stretch but no special shoes, no Strassburg sock at night (which worked way better than the hard braces for me)...Good luck

I had surgery and wear orthotics. I have very narrow feet and have a huge problem trying to find shoes to fit. Most of the recommended shoes don't come in narrow, the only shoes I've found that help my feet are the Nike narrow running shoes that have anti-pronation built in.

my husband has had this problem for years. he uses over-the-counter dr. scholl's inserts on the recommendation of his orthopod, and now swears by the dr. scholl's sneakers, wears them whenever he has a flare.sounds like you have a lot of good suggestions here! what have you got to lose? try the different footwear and see how it goes. steroid injections are not everything. you can also try a different podiatrist-- i have seen good ones and bad ones, and the good ones are worth their weight in gold. check the local good hospital ortho department and see if they have one with staff privileges, or call a good foot-and-ankle orthopedic surgeon for a referral-- that's the one you want.

I am so sorry that this is causing you problems but we do not offer medical advice on these boards. Please see your doctor for advice