Do you have pain in the arch of your foot?
This condition is an injury to the plantar fascia, which is the connective tissue that runs along the bottom of your foot from the heel all the way through the arch to your toes. The most common symptoms of plantar fasciitis include having pain when you get out of bed in the morning and when you stand up and begin to walk after having been seated for a while.
Want to stop the pain from your plantar fasciitis?
Treatment options for plantar fasciitis may involve physical therapy, which helps decrease your pain. We also often use orthotics. These are shoe inserts that help to decrease the force of the impact on your heel to give it an opportunity to relax. Orthotics often help take the stress and strain off the heel and allow it to recover completely. We may occasionally use injection therapy to help reduce any inflammation that is present and massage or ice therapy to reduce pain. All of these combined, along with education on the best ways to care for your feet, give us greater than a 90% success rate of treating your condition without surgery.
Although the wrong footwear may not directly cause plantar fasciitis, it may increase the possibility of developing the condition. Being overweight, walking a great deal at work, standing up for long periods of time on hard surfaces, or being flat footed increases the potential for developing plantar fasciitis. Poor choice in footwear may cause it to develop much sooner. For example, if your shoe does not have a cushioned outer sole, cushioning on the inside, nor a well-molded insole, you will experience a decrease in the support and stability to your foot and this may increase your chances of developing plantar fasciitis.
What causes plantar fasciitis?
As with many foot problems in the United States, being overweight is perhaps one of the most common causes of plantar fasciitis. Flat feet also play a role because there is greater stress and pull on the muscles of your arch, which can aggravate it. Another cause is having tight calf muscles, which put a greater stress and strain on your arch muscles and these in turn, can become injured and develop into plantar fasciitis. Two other common causes of plantar fasciitis involve having a job in which you are standing all day long or doing a lot of walking. Construction workers, mail carriers, cashiers, assembly line workers, and servers often spend all day on their feet on either concrete or cement. These environments are unforgiving when it comes to feet and can lead to problems such as plantar fasciitis.
Get help today!
Heel pain is not normal! If you have heel pain, you can stop your suffering. Treating your heel pain early is always the best way to prevent complications from developing. As the problem gets worse, you may need surgery to completely treat the problem. So get help today by contacting our office or scheduling an appointment online.