Arthur, thanks for your tips.  I have found over time it is a matter of making some compromises with my training/fitness and play.  Life has a lot of repetitive movements generally which I have to think about as well these days, eg and try not to punish myself two days in a row excessively.  The punishment does not have to be difficult stuff either, just repetition can be enough to aggravate these old injuries.  As silly as it sounds, even mowing the yard (pushing and pulling the mower) you need to wear your good footwear!

Funnily enough the foot has settled down again, but as soon as I do more than I should it will soon tell me to s-l-o-w  down.  Hey, the x-ray showed a heel spur too which I was not aware of so now wish I had never seen it!!  So far so good.

Like all the stuff that gets in the way, don't give up, just keep forging ahead, and keep adapting, and it seems to always work out.

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 The viscous circle is definitly a problem, like how i feel about squash training sometimes, get one part of the shot sorted and then realising another bit is wrong!  I guess Mortons toe makes it harder to get perfectly fitting shoe and that combined with arch supports much be a big problem, I presume you use cushioning inserts like sorbothane where possible on court?  I guess I forget how hot it is in other parts of the world but there are some sprays out there which (allegedly) help prevent athlete's foot etc. It is interesting that you find the arch supports cause so much change in your foot, have you tried a break from sport and just training and slowly building up the new muscles with the arch supports?  also a lot of people with plantar fascitis apparently get gait changes due to walking differently due to the pain so it could be chicken and egg for some people is it is supports or the pain causing alterations, or just the change from one to the other.

Apparently if you use a cold soda can it ices the foot while you stretch so you get two in one!

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Arthur, the bigger picture - Definitely wearing supportive shoes is the best way to prevent the recurring problems. The special arch support was good initially but then takes up a lot of room in the shoe especially when your foot is broad. Lately when I go to the shops I put on my runners as often the casual summer shoes do not have sufficient build up/support.  Wear the runners all the time in the heat and you then get tinea/fungus, so there it goes around in the circle. The problem is when the Podiatrist fixes up one bit with an arch support build up it can then place strain on another part and so it is a viscious circle.  My original foot problem was a Mortons neuroma (probably caused from wearing tight squash shoes), and that build up probably placed a bit more weight on the other toes. Yes, my second toe is just slightly longer than my big toe (Moretons toe). The good thing is the x-ray of the bones looks really not too bad.

The tennis ball idea acts the same as rolling a bottle or can under the foot.  Thinking about it the shoes I have been wearing while playing table tennis are probably losing a bit of their support, so I have changed to a newer pair, and so far it is OK.  The ICE is something I need to think about more often.  Tennis (the hard surface)  and squash (the quick takeoff) are harder on the feet too and my big toe seems to do a hell of a lot of work particularly on the left foot. 

Just as a matter of interest, I have to get a size bigger shoe to take an arch support, then that pushes my toes forward while stop/starting, then the toe nails cop it more. Fortunately some sports shoe shops do have technology to look at the gait and a New Balance model was recommended by the Podiatrist.

A warning for squash players, take particular care of your footwear and don't be stingy and wear your shoes until they are busted at the seams.

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You mean you don't wear arch support all the time?  That is part the reason it came back, with the plantar fascitis you have to constantly be stretching and exercising it, I have stolen this from www.emedicine.com (no plagarism here) which I have access to but others may not

• For patients who report that the most severe symptoms occur with the first steps after awakening, stretches should be performed before the patient even gets out of bed. This can be accomplished by keeping a long towel at the bedside. When the patient wakes up, he/she can stretch the plantar fascia by using the towel to cause passive dorsiflexion of the ankle, with each hand pulling one end of the towel, using the midportion of the towel to pull on the plantar aspect of the forefoot region.
• Other techniques for stretching the Achilles tendon include passive stretch while standing and nighttime ankle foot orthoses to keep the feet in neutral at night (thus stretching the Achilles tendon).
• The plantar fascia also can be stretched by having the patient, while seated, roll a soda can between the sole and the floor. Using a cold can of soda may give further symptomatic relief through local cooling.
• Passive stretching of the plantar fascia also can be achieved by using one hand at the plantar aspect of the forefoot region, then dorsiflexing the foot.
• A study found non – weight-bearing stretching exercises specific to the plantar fascia to be superior to the standard program of weight-bearing, Achilles tendon – stretching exercises in patients with chronic plantar fasciitis.¹⁰

It sounds like your tennis ball is just like the soda can, remember to ice it well and if it doesn't get better consider seeing a physio, there are now some treatments like ultrasonography that apparently can help and professional advice would help you pick the most appropriate. 

Out of interest are the arch support shoes ones recommended by a podiatrist or foot care specialist, correect assessment of gait is something all my friends who are runners talk about a lot.

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