Can Plantar Fasciitis be caused by Gout?
Plantar fasciitis or “heel pain” as they call it, is a foot condition caused by inflammation of the plantar aponeurosis and usually a common cause of heel pain but may be caused by gout and rheumatoid arthritis. Plantar fasciitis is one of the most common causes of heel pain and unfortunately can prevent you from playing your favorite sports and even taking a walk. If the pain becomes chronic, it can severely reduce your quality of life. Typically, plantar fasciitis is caused by running too much or overuse of your feet from sports activities. Having flat feet or high arches may also make you more prone to suffering from this condition. Wearing uncomfortable footwear can also cause inflammation in the plantar fascia. Actually, wearing uncomfortable shoes is the most common cause of foot pain in general!
The plantar fascia has a number of roles, which include holding parts of your foot together, protecting the plantar surface of your foot from trauma and helping to support your foot’s longitudinal arch. Usually, with either gout or rheumatoid arthritis there will be what we call edema enlargement adjacent to the plantar fascia which is swelling caused by excess fluid trapped in your body’s tissues, making every step you take quite painful. Gout sufferers can even feel pain when no pressure is placed on the foot! Think of plantar fasciitis as another gout complication that can occur over time if your gout is not properly treated.
“Heel gout” as some call it could occur in any heel even in both simultaneously which sometimes can make diagnosing gout correctly very difficult. Your doctor will know if it’s gout by either seeing needle-shaped crystals under the microscope or by removing synovial fluid out from the affected joint in order to examine the presence of gout crystals. It’s also important to note that you can also get fever or the chills with plantar fasciitis.
So what can you do?
Make sure to always wear well fitted shoes and don’t be afraid to splurge a little on good quality shoes. My $200 Nikes have been with me for the longest time and I still love to wear them even after 10 years cause they are so darn comfortable to walk on for long periods of time. My wife hates them cause they are an old pair of shoes but the shoes are almost like new and still feel so new. Do your research before and find yourself a great pair of running shoes and wear them when you know you’ll be walking for a long period of time or doing a sporting activity that you enjoy. Another good idea is to change shoes often, don’t let your feet get used to any pair of shoe. I wear a different pair of shoes almost every day.
If you have foot problems, do consider getting a custom shoe insole to help with plantar fasciitis. Important to work the muscles of your feet, did you know that your foot has more than 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments? Work them out by rotating your foot in a circle or move your toes up and down feeling the muscles stretch. You don’t need any special equipment either. You can also massage your foot and make sure to check the video below:
13 replies to "Gout and Plantar Fasciitis"
Hi Spiro,
Just a note to thank you for your emails. They are certainly helpful, it has made me wonder whether there is any relation between gout and Bunion. When I was first diagnosed with gout, I was already bothered with a bunion (same foot and big toe joint. Since I started with the lemon juice/soda treatment after a round of Colchicine, I have had no more pain from that area. Any thoughts?
Best regards, Ralph M.
Hi Ralph!
Thank you for your email!
You have to get it checked then, it could be a bad bout of gout, go get blood work done to see where your uric acid is at.
Colchicine works but after the pain and inflammation is gone, you stop it.
Problem is you may need a long term uric acid control treatment drug like allopurinol to make sure you don’t end up getting more gout attacks in the future.
Good luck!
I have been taking tart cherry pills and my pain on my feet have never gotten better, my uric acid level has came down to 7.5 which is good but the pain is always there, when my uric acid level was higher I did not have such pain, so I stopped taking the cherry pills to see what happens. Your idea on this matter will be appreciated.
Necip it’s difficult to diagnose, it could be many different reasons, best to have it checked by your doctor and a podiatrist to see what they say.
I’m currently taking 200mg of allopurinol daily (100mg twice daily). This has completely prevented once frequent gout flare ups for over a year. However, as the gout concerns have faded, heel pain has increased (and several steroid injections have provided little relief). Question: could too much or too little allopurinol be the cause? Thanks!
Doubtful Keith! Allopurinol has nothing to do with it but since you have had gout attacks in the past, you may feel some pain-like soreness from time to time depending on weather changes too, or if you do too much activity that involves your feet. Check it out with a rheumatologist.
Hi, I just found your video and was wondering if when you do exercises for plantar fasciitis, can soft balls or knot show up on your arch?
Usually colchicine is used medicinally for gout-it is also used to clean swimming pools, and is poisonous. By far, the most effective, takes around a week, is black cherry juice concentrate. 2 tablespoons, three times a day until the uric acid build-up is gone.
There is no evidence that so called “plantar fasciitis” is the result of inflammation.
Tell that to my swollen foot that I’m on for 10 hours a day. It’s definitely due to inflammation in my case.
Plantar fasciitis can result in inflammation, but (a) markers of inflammation often not present, even while plantar fasciitis pain is severe, and (b) inflammation is very often not the cause.
Plantar fasciitis can be caused by a bad hip rotation, adaptive shortening of the calf muscle, problems with Achilles tendon, sudden impact injury, repetitive stress injury, gradual wear and tear/overuse, retarded nutrient water exchange, and several other potential causes.
That said, I eat one bag of blueberries, and I take two 00 sized turmeric capsules and two 00 sized black pepper capsules, 2.5mg naltrexone (LDN), Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar, and I avoid inflammatory foods.
I am 69 year old male and I have gout for 35 years, and I have it so bad in my right knee that I could not move my right leg. I had to have a doctor come to my home here in David, Panama and give me three shots. I like your newsletter and site, I have changed my diet and do the foot things to help my feet. Thank you very much for your help. I believe it would help anyone that has gout problems if they would go to your site. Thanks again.
Thanks Fred!