Plantar Fascia
- Posted on: Dec 11 2019
Plantar Fascitis… An approach to getting rid of the pain.
If you have ever experienced it you know what it is, its misery with every step. Plantar fasciitis is a painful condition in which a portion of the bottom of your foot becomes painful. If affects people of all ages, comes with out warning or a causative factor, and often lasts for months.
The condition is diagnosed by a history and examination, where the doctor will check for areas of tenderness on the bottom of your foot. No diagnostic tests are necessary but sometimes the doctor may suggest an x-ray or MRI to rule out a heel spur or stress fracture.
Most people with plantar fascitis recover in several months with conservative treatments and some people end up requiring surgery. Conservative treatment includes resting, icing and using hot whirpools, orthodics, manipulation, deep tissue massage, PT, and if all else fails steroid injections . Injecting steroids into the tender area ( often a painful procedure) often provides only temporary relief for some people .Multipule injections aren’t recommended as the steroids can weaken the muscles and ligaments. Anti inflammatory medications such as Advil, Motrin and Ibuprofen don’t provide relief for most people.
A physical therapist can show you a series of exercises to stretch the bottom of the foot and Achilles tendon. A therapist might also apply athletic taping to support the bottom of your foot.
There are alternative therapies that exist that you should consider if conventional treatments are not helping, including Extracorporeal shock wave therapy, Ultrasonic tissue repair, Ozone and platelet-rich plasma injections and acupuncture. Yes acupuncture, a 5000 year old healing art that is often overlooked when searching for an affective remedy to this painful, nagging condition!! Having practiced acupuncture since 1998, I have found acupuncture to be about 70% effective in providing relief when other therapies had failed !! It takes 4-6 treatments over the course of 3 weeks, and many insurance plans cover acupuncture. During a typical acupuncture treatment for Plantar Fascitis , after icing, 4-6 needles are placed into the exact areas of pain, and for some people this is painful, for most people however the discomfort during treatment is tolerated. In my experience, with acupuncture, 70% of the time the pain is eliminated within three weeks and unlike steroid injections the pain does not return!!
Posted in: Ankle/ Foot
