Plantar Fasciitis Treatment In Burlington
What Is Plantar Fasciitis?
Plantar fasciitis is an inflammation of the fibrous tissue along the bottom of your foot that connects your heel bone to your toes. Plantar fasciitis can cause severe foot pain if left untreated. It will affect mainly the heel.
What Is The Main Cause of Plantar Fasciitis?
Plantar fasciitis or foot pain is mostly caused by repetitive movement of the ligament connected to the foot. Such movement can be from excessive running or walking, inadequate footwear, and/or creating an injury from jumping.
Plantar fasciitis treatment doesn't require a lot of exercises. Below, we explained the process. As long as you are committed, you will recover.
How To Avoid Getting Plantar Fasciitis?
To reduce the pain of plantar fasciitis, try the six recommended tips:
- Maintain a healthy weight.
- Choose supportive shoes.
- Don't wear worn-out athletic shoes.
- Roll a ball under the sole of your feet.
- Apply ice.
- Stretch your arches.
Factors That Increase Chances of Getting Plantar Fasciitis
While plantar fasciitis or foot pain can develop without an obvious cause, some factors can increase your risk of developing foot pain. They include:
- Age. Plantar fasciitis is most common in people between the ages of 40 and 60.
- Certain types of activities that place a lot of stress on your heel such as long-distance running or aerobic dance.
- Foot mechanics. Flat feet, a high arch to name the most common ones.
- Obesity. Excess weight put more stress on your feet.
- Professions that keep you on your feet. Teachers, waiters, construction workers for example. It can increase the risks to have plantar fasciitis or foot pain.
If you do get foot pain, get quickly the plantar fasciitis treatment our clinic provide. It will definitely help in reducing the pain.
How Long Can Plantar Fasciitis Last?
Plantar fasciitis usually resolves within 4 to 18 months without medical treatment. However, for some people, plantar fasciitis can become a chronic condition. Medical attention is recommended.
Symptoms may disappear and then appear again, or the foot pain may remain consistent for a year or longer. It really depends on the strain you are putting on your feet and if you are minimizing the risk factors.
What Happens If Plantar Fasciitis Goes Untreated?
If plantar fasciitis is left untreated, it can lead to other issues in the body. While heel and foot pain can make walking difficult, it can also cause an imbalance in the way you walk resulting in lower back pain and/or other areas of the body.
Plantar Fasciitis Treatment
Plantar fasciitis treatment are effective but requires taking home exercises to stretch the plantar fascia and Achilles tendon. Stretching these areas will make the symptoms less severe and less likely to recur.
Our chiropractor or physiotherapists at our Burlington clinic can assess you during the first visit and start treating the injury during the same appointment.
It will involve some exercises such as strengthening and manual therapy. These exercises should focus on the plantar fascia and Achilles tendon, which connect the toes to the heel bone.
Dr. Maggie can guide you in these exercises, as well as help you strengthen your lower leg muscles to help stabilize the ankle.
In addition to stretching, shock wave therapy or similar may be used to reduce the force placed on the tissue when walking. The use of a tennis ball is also effective in treating foot pain such as plantar fasciitis.
The most common form of treatment involves a combination of conservative methods and physical therapy.
Can Orthotics Help Reducing Foot Pain?
Yes, it does very much so. In fact, it’s highly recommended to use custom-orthotics if you have chronic foot pain or flat feet or deformities that causes you to have some mobility issues.
You can read more HERE for more information on custom orthotics.
Foot Pain Recovery
While most patients will recover from plantar fasciitis on their own within a year, it is important to seek medical advice if symptoms persist for more than a few weeks. An ultrasound of the foot can reveal a thickened plantar fascia, which could be an indication of inflammatory changes. If the patient continues to have symptoms, it is best to seek medical treatment. However, there is no one specific treatment for plantar fasciitis.