Relief for Plantar Fasciitis – Heel Pain
Plantar Fasciitis is arguably the most common soft tissue disorder affecting the feet. Most patients with this condition will try to give it a chance to fix itself but they soon find out they need some sort of intervention as the pain just keeps hanging around!
Podiatrists are the best equipped health professionals to treat plantar fasciitis. Our goal is to get you pain free and functioning back at your best.
In our Plantar Fasciitis blog you will find basic information on the condition as well as how we go about treating plantar fasciitis at Dynamic Podiatry.
The plantar fascia is a thick band of connective tissue that runs underneath the foot from the heel bone (calcaneus) to the ball of the foot (metatarsal heads). It can be seen in most feet when pulling the big toe toe upwards and observing under the arch of the foot.
Heel Pain Basics
Plantar fasciitis usually presents as heel pain that is worse in the morning, settling after a few hours, then painful again at the end of the day. It is usually most painful at the insertion point on the heel bone. However it can also be painful along the band itself.
There is no specific cause of plantar fasciitis, however, having the following risk factors may increase your chances of getting the condition:
Wearing non-supportive footwear, excessive weight-bearing at work or home, decreased joint range of motion, high BMI, having flat or high arched feet.
Digging Deeper into Heel Pain
It often takes some detective work to find out how the condition began, even one afternoon of moving furniture or standing around all day at a BBQ can overuse the plantar fascia. Or maybe it is something you do everyday such as walk from work to the train station. Either way, if we can find out what led to the condition, we can treat it more effectively.
Good News about Heel Pain
Some of the initial steps to treating plantar fasciitis the condition include:
- taping to offload the plantar fascia,
- ensuring you have supportive footwear
- icing,
- massage
- calf stretches
If these treatments are ineffective or the pain is too severe, custom foot orthotics made using a 3D laser scanner are designed specifically for your feet.
We complete a biomechanical assessment and design the orthosis to control the movement of the foot and offload the plantar fascia. And the good news is we can easily modify them to fit into many different kinds of shoes.
