05/05/2026
SARA GOT THE MESSAGE
I ran into Sara, 46, in her local crafts store, North Carolina Crafts Gallery, while peddling my self-published books.
Sara told me that she had had an idyllic childhood, growing up with her younger sister, awesome parents whom she adores, and little money. They lived on the outskirts of Pittsburgh in an old farmhouse, with two horses and a bunch of cats. Sara said she has no children, her younger sister is still her best friend and she loves spending time with her nephews and nieces.
After changing career direction several times during and after college, Sara became director of public relations at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. This was when her heel pain nightmare began.
On her feet all day, on concrete floors, Sara developed excruciating pain in both heels. Sara told me with a long sigh that this lasted on and off for the next 23 years. She left Disney World and their concrete floors a few years later, and the heel pain faded.
As the result of an engagement and marriage, Sara found herself living in Carrboro, North Carolina. One thing led to another, resulting in Sara running and then owning her delightful local crafts store. Sara has been doing this work ever since, for 15 years now. She is clearly fascinated by local craft shows and flea markets, where she tracks down inventory.
Unfortunately, this work came at a price. Her heel pain returned as soon as she started to work in the store, which has concrete floors. Her heel pain became debilitating, and so began Sara's treatment saga.
Wearing different shoes made no difference.
A doctor told her she had plantar fasciitis. This is what doctors call heel pain for which they can find no cause:
Sara had no bruising, broken bones, damaged tendons or ligaments. Nothing but the presence of heel pain.
Sara’s doctor administered five extremely painful cortisone injections into Sara’s heel, each six weeks apart. She told me there was some relief, but it only lasted for a few weeks, when the pain would return, unabated.
Sara’s experience is consistent with a study of heel injections conducted in Australia (McMillan et al., 2012), but I’m not here to talk about the science.
Next, Sara paid for a series of equally unsuccessful treatments, including acupuncture, a night splint (boot), and a course of prednisone. This powerful anti-inflammatory drug caused her to gain weight, but did not cure her heel pain. This was followed by six months of physical therapy with a range of treatments, including taping.
Nothing worked.
In desperation, Sara submitted to the Extracorporeal Shock Wave Procedure with the OssaTron, under complete anesthesia, at Duke Hospital in Durham, NC. This technique, designed to induce inflammation in the heel, is based on a method known as counter-irritancy. But it made no difference to Sara’s heel pain.
Furthermore, after giving her a Coca Cola to revive her from the anesthesia, the doctors told Sara to stay off her feet for the next five days. Once again, all the focus was on the site of the perceived pain. This was in 2005, when Sara was 32.
The saga continued.
Sara paid for custom orthotics (molded shoe inserts), which did reduce the heel pain somewhat, but only while she wore them.
Nothing provided a cure.
Then one fine North Carolina day in the fall of 2018, Sara was working at her desk in the store when she overheard someone talking about their work on "so-called plantar fasciitis." This piqued her interest. That person was yours truly. At the time, Sara was kindly selling one of my books, Prepare for Aging, and I was in her store to check my inventory.
Sara left her desk to ask me about my heel pain work. I reached into my ever-present backpack and handed her a copy of my paperback, Plantar Fasciitis Has the Wrong Name. She bought a copy, tried the treatments recommended in the book, which involve a little (or a lot of) detective work, and her heel pain gradually disappeared. It has now stayed away for over five years.
When I asked Sara the other day which advice helped her the most, she replied, "The hip stretches, especially pigeon pose."
PROBABLE CAUSE, OR ETIOLOGY: Tight lateral hip rotator.
The takeaway?
Nothing a doctor or podiatrist (foot doctor) would do to one’s feet will fix this issue.
NOTE: When faced with heel pain, everyone focuses on the feet or calves, rarely if ever looking above the knee for the cause. This is the big mistake that has been going on for years.
From: "The True Story of Plantar Fasciitis: And Why Heel Injections Should Be Banned" by Kevin Thomas Morgan
https://www.amazon.com/True-Story-Plantar-Fasciitis-Injections-ebook/dp/B07V5S28QW
