My feet get sore when I exercise

Hi hopingtofindacure

I have been dealing with various foot and ankle problems for going on two years. For me, I'm fairly sure it was caused by Lyme. Lyme likes to sit on tendon coverings, and caused inflammation and pain.

I can give you some help for standard plantar fascitis. If it is Lyme causing it, these won't help much, but if it isn't Lyme, then these are very helpful.

1st) Get orthotics- but get ones made by a reputable guy. I got a referral from a doctor to my person, so I knew he was good. Going to see a sports med doctor can also be helpful- if your insurance covers it. They can evaluate your foot, and how you walk, to see if there are problems there, and they can give the orthotic-maker (sorry, forgotten the correct term) specific info on how to make the orthotic. I know they are expensive, but trust me, they are worth it!

2nd) Start swimming. You cannot get rid of plantar fascitis if you are still walking, and stressing the tendons in your foot. It sucks, but it you don't take a break now, you could have this for years (I have a friend who tried to keep walking). If it hurts- don't do it. Biking may be ok as well, but swimming is one of the best erxercises there is. Things like pilates are ok, but the exersizes that involve standing up can still be hard on you. I cannot stress enough how important REST is.

3) Buy good shoes, and wear them all the time. When you get orthotics, wear them all the time too (once you've broken them in). THis means at home. Standing around in slippers/crocs/bare feet is really hard on your feet. Get some good runners, with good arch supports, and wear them as much as you posible can

4) Stretch. Everything is connected- hamstrings, glutes, calves, feet. So stretch your legs as much as you can. To stretch your foot (gently), extend your leg straight in front of you, and twist your foot around in circles (so it goes from fully flex, to pointed). If it hurts, bend your leg a little, or don't flex your foot as hard. You want it to stretch, not hurt.

5) Anti-iflammatories. Once you have plantar fascitis, you get into an inflmatio cycle. Your tendon is stressed, so it gets inflamed, and the inflammation makes it hurt more, which makes it get more inflamed...
BUT-there are two problems. 1) If it is Lyme, NSAID's will not help. 2) If you are female, than something like 20% of the standard NSAID's will not work on you- and your doctor will not know which will work, and which won't. So, if you don't notice a difference, switch NSAID's. And if you've gone through a bunch, then they probably won't help. I've been through everything from Naproxen, to Arthrotec and even Celebrex. Advil worked the best out of them all, but in the end, none of them really helped. You also have to weigh the side effects agains the possible benefits. I refused to take the Celebrex because of the side effects.

6) Physical Theraphy. They will help you with the healing, but they will also help you start back on regular activities without making the plantar fascitis come back.

I know how frustrating this can be. The trick is to NOT try to work past it or ignore it. Deal with it aggresively now, and you can get rid of it a lot faster.

Good luck!

I test negative for all co-infections.

Thanks for the responses.

Laying down and resting makes it worse so it is plantar fasciitis -- and morton's neuroma tossed in. If Lyme caused it so be it, there's no cure so I have to deal with this thing.

Swimming -- believe it or not -- at least the form I'm doing -- finning drives it nuts. So that is definitely out since my arthritic shoulder would flair as well.

Well, exercise was helping with all my Lyme crap. It was my last hope. I hope this subsides and I can find a doctor -- not a tasmanian devel type who whirls in with cortisone and plans for operating -- a real honest to God doctor who can help. I sure need it today.

Not Again,

If you went from no exercise to 30 min./day that is probably too big a jump to make. I'd strongly recommend cutting back to 5-10 minutes 3x/week to start with. Then you can slowly increase as you tolerate it.

Alternatively, it might be good to consult with a physical therapist or sports medicine specialist who has experience dealing with people with disabilities and/or who are deconditioned due to chronic illness...they can customize an exercise routine for you based on your abilities and current level of conditioning.

Good luck,

Razzle, I did probly start with a little to much. I was just so excitied that I was able to do anything after so long. It felt good to do it. I think I will cut back a little . Thanks.

BTW, sleeping on my back also helped my neck. Can you believe that???

I'm always SO amazed when something works.

Are you guys like that too?

Minerals,



According to Dr. Google, there appears to be some overlapping in symptoms (Lyme vs. thyroid issues)...

Check this site out www.thyroid-info.com/articles/muscle-joint-pain.htm

So it is possible that your treatment for thyroid helped the tarsal tunnel pain.


I'm still taking it easy but did switch the bike -- well I always do the bike. Just 20 minutes.

And I tried the treadmill and it hurt. So that's was not a go.

Very interesting article! And YES.....there seems to be foot pain caused by thyroid problems. In my case though, my foot pain did not start until after treatment.

Thanks for posting that Hoping!

Thanks for that Hoping. What a wonderful story about you and your dad. It gives us hope, like in your name, hehe.

I've been feeling a little better these past couple of days and I've been saying I need to move around more because my muscles are weak. I think I may try a little walking tomorrow if I still feel good.