My Experience With Plantar Fasciitis

On April 9 I had surgery on my left foot to relieve months of pain caused by plantar fasciitis. In 2020 I had the same surgery on my right foot.

My first experience with foot pain occurred during my last run of Marine Corps boot camp in the summer of 1986. It was the longest run yet, and graduation was just days away. I did NOT want to tell anyone about the excruciating pain I suddenly had in both arches. It could put my graduation on hold and there was no way I was going to do that. When I went to the doctor at my next duty station I was told I had fallen arches. They made me some arch supports and put me on light duty until they healed.

Fast forward several years and I began having pain again, probably the result of my morning runs. After a time of rest it would go away, but eventually the pain came and stayed. And it is very painful. I went to a podiatrist who made new arch supports, but it didn’t solve the problem. More years went by. In 2020 the right foot flared up and would not heal, so I ended up having surgery.

Then in September 2024 my left foot began hurting even though I hadn’t run regularly in years. Then we went to Spain in October and walked a lot, which made it worse. I avoided going to the doctor for the rest of the year so that I could start fresh with my deductibles.

We pay everything out of pocket, however, if I stay in network, I get significantly reduced rates. So I figured that if we are going to rack up big medical bills, I’d prefer to do it at the start of a new year so I could reach my max out of pocket and maybe get “free” medical care for the rest of the year. And, thankfully, that’s what has happened.

Costs

Just for reference sake, here is what my foot journey has cost since January.

Surgeon (Dr. Jeffrey Cohen)	623.43
MRI (Preferred Imaging)	423.40
Anesthesiologist	579.50
Oakwood Surgery Center	4048.87
Boot & Splint	115.58
Precision Podiatry Appointments	301.72
Total	6,092.50

When I visited Dr. Cohen at the beginning of the year, I hoped he would agree to just go straight to surgery. After an initial x-ray, a couple of rounds of cortisone, and an MRI, he agreed we should just snip it. So, he did just that and now I am on the road to recovery.

It’s amazing, once the doctor cuts the fascia, the heel pain stops immediately. Of course the incision site hurts, and is still tender almost seven weeks later. But every day is better.

Timeline

April 9: I went in for out-patient surgery. The whole visit took less than two hours. Twilight sedation is the best!

April 9-14: I wore a walking boot (shown on left) 24 hours a day until my follow-up appointment on April 14.

April 14 – May 7: I wore the boot all day and slept in a night splint (shown on right). It is very important to keep my foot at a 45 degree angle to allow the fascia to heal while stretched out.

May 7 – June 7: I’ll continue to wear my night splint until this weekend.

Highly Recommend Surgery

I couldn’t be happier with the results of both surgeries. I used to dread walking in the grocery store, going to the mailbox, bathroom, pretty much everywhere, which is very discouraging for someone who likes being active.

My doctor made an incision that’s almost one-and-a-half inches long. I know there are less invasive options, but I do not care. It works. You can hardly see the scar from the 2020 surgery and I expect the same for my left one.

I hope that if any one I know has this same issue, I can refer them to this blog post for details of my experience.

We head out next week for our trip and we will be walking a lot. I’ve got a new pair of Merrell trail sneakers and I’m ready to go! So thankful to have this behind me.

June 9 Update

Two months post surgery and the scar is barely visible.