hi and welcome Missy,

I am going to go out on a limb here and say fascia issues could be a contributing factor. Plantar fasciitis can hurt like a son of a.... And anything causing pain is a problem. Treat whatever can be easily treated.

I am not going to go into my whole sad complicated foot story, just the pertinent parts. I had PF, it felt like a nail driven in my medial heel. Then I begrudgingly got a kenalog injection that was NOT ultrasound guided. Shows you what I knew back then. Kenalog crystallizes and non US guided injections at the heel insertion can cause trouble. My fascia ruptured after the kenalog ate a hole in it. I had swelling that did not look like much to anyone but me but it was enough that I could not move my little toe. It is innervated by the first branch of the lateral Plantar nerve and runs right where the PF insertion is. A little swelling in the foot, even when not detectable to the eye can wreck havoc. The sole is highly innervated for protective reasons and has a LOT of sympathetic fibers. If they are aggravated by injury and inflammation that is not helping for sure.

Injections can be a Godsend sometimes but only with the right, careful practitioner and no crystallizing steroids! In a CRPs foot I would advocate for extra caution. most PF improves slowly with stretching. Take gentle care of your foot. A ball rolled under it may just put pressure on the nerves and aggravated tissues. Maybe Start a gentle stretching routine for PF 3x daily, do NOT overstretch. start very slow, just bending the toes back. Then after a week add pulling the foot back, then another week start stretching your calf while pushing against the wall. Do gentle range of motion routinely. Ice is not good for CRPS but getting swelling and inflammation down can help in general. Frozen peas or gel packs that don't get super cold with a cloth in between it and your heel should not cause a nerve problem. Epsom salt soaks can bring down swelling and calm nerves as well. Light compression, LIGHT, can also help.

I am sorry you had to come find us but this is a soft place to land. It sounds like you just may have a resolvable issue that could heal and maybe get you out of some of what is going on in your feet. I think all pain contributors that can be healed safely should be treated in CRPS patients. Get expert help on the PF, do not traumatize the area by overuse and abuse and keep us posted.

Sending Healing Love, Littlepaw