I've mentioned a couple of times (here and here) some pain I've been experiencing in the right foot. Actually it's plantar fasciitis, and I developed this condition after my long, 1000 mile Camino walk late last year. It's particularly bad on getting out of bed first thing in the morning - then it usually calms down, with just odd twinges of discomfort. Hard-core walking does tend to bring it on more severely, but the next day it usually settles down once again.To be more exact, it's due to inflammation caused by excessive wear to the foot's plantar fascia - in my case manifesting itself as intermittent pain on the underside of the right heel. Having had this for more than 7 months now (it can take up to 18 months to cure) I've belatedly started taking care of myself a bit more: hot, soaking baths followed by ice packs; stretching exercises; resting the foot; and the avoidance, as far as possible, of walking in flat shoes, flat sandals or bare feet.
In extreme cases you can have cortisone injections and surgery - but I really want to avoid this as it can be risky to inject things into or operate on the foot - and, anyway, I'm sure my own condition is relatively minor, and will heal itself before too long. It can be caused by sudden weight gain - though on my Camino pilgrimage I did in fact lose weight. However, I was carrying a much heavier backpack than usual, and my feet did take quite a pounding, especially on the unforgiving senda of the Spanish meseta...
