Treatment options for Plantar Fasciitis
Reducing swelling in the plantar fascia ligament is a critical task during the treatment. Some of the treatments focus just on reducing the inflammation but not the cause of the inflammation. We will talk about all treatments for Plantar Fasciitis below:
Home treatments for initial stage of Plantar Fasciitis
Basic home treatment comprises of staying off your feet and rubbing ice for 10 to 15 minutes, two to three times in a day to lower the pain. You may also go for reducing physical activities that require your foot support like walking and running. You can go for specially designed shoes that has arch supports in them and doing foot-stretching routine, which may help you manage your pain.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), such as ibuprofen and naproxen, often helps in reducing the pain of plantar fasciitis.
Medical treatments
If your initial home remedies and OTC (over the counter) medication do not work out, an injection of a corticosteroid into the painful section of the plantar fasciitis can be helpful. However, it is advisable to speak to a specialist before taking up an injection into the ligament. An ultrasound device would generally be used by your doctor to help identify the best for the injection. Your doctor can also apply corticosteroids to the skin of your heel or the arch of your foot, and then give a painless electrical current to let the medication soaked into your muscle through the skin.
Physical therapy can be an important part of treatment for plantar fasciitis in order to manage the pain. It can help stretch your plantar fascia and Achilles tendons and get rid of the inflammation. A physical therapist can also demonstrate you the exercises to toughen muscles of your lower leg, which would help to stabilize your walk and reduce the pressure on your plantar fascia.
If inflammation continues and other methods aren’t useful too, your foot specialist may ask you to go for sound-wave treatment. In this treatment, sound waves are shot on your heel to let the healing within the ligament start. Some of the side-effects of this therapy can comprise of following:
– numbness
– Treatment scars
– Temporary pain and swelling
– Extracorporeal shock wave therapy hasn’t been proven to be consistently effective in relieving symptoms.
Braces and supports
Night straps are another treatment that can help keep your foot arch and your calf stretched while you sleep. Night straps are a type of foot supports that keeps your foot fixed in same position and stretches the ligament to repair overnight. This can also help reduce pain during morning when you wake up.
Specially designed shoes that has arch support may help reduce some of the discomfort by dispensing pressure across different joints, which helps prevent any additional harm to the ligament. A foot cast may help keep your foot fixed and reduce pressure on it while the plantar fascia rebuilds and you can remove the foot-cast during bathing.
Surgery
Surgery is the most painless therapy recommended by lot of specialists in case when physical therapy is ruled out. This is done only in cases in which pain is extreme. Your surgeon can detach the ligament from the bone of the heel partially in order to operate it.
Common FAQs
Q: What are the problems that come along with plantar fasciitis?
A: You would feel acute pain in your heel, if the ligament is not repaired in time. This might bring some change in your walking style and can cause further injury to your:
– legs
– knees
– hips
– back
– Steroid doses and some other therapies, which manages pain, can deteriorate the ligament of plantar fascia and cause further tear in it.
Q: How long does it take to manage a damages Plantar Fasciitis?
A: Most people resolve to surgery to relieve pain from plantar fasciitis, when their condition do not recover through home treatments, physiotherapy and medication and steroid injection. These remedial methods can take several months to few years in order for you to get complete relief from the pain.
Q: What are some ways a person with plantar fasciitis and who is an obese can work out to reduce the symptoms without further increasing the pain?
A: While there are not ways to avoid pain, there are certain massages and stretching exercises to help you manage the pain. Do them, right after you wake up and then four times across the day. Following are some great exercises that you can include in your workouts:
1) Stretching of Achilles tendon. Stand keeping your healthy one forward to your affected foot. Point the toes of the back foot toward the heel of the front foot and lean into a wall. Bend the front knee and keep the back knee straight with your heel firmly planted on the floor. Hold for a count of 10.
2) Plantar fascia stretch. Sit down and place the affected foot across your knee. Using the hand on your affected side, pull your toes back toward your shin until you feel a stretch in your arch. Run your thumb along your foot. You should feel tension. Hold for a count of 10.
3) Swimming or other water sports. These exercises place no direct impact on your heels, and water therapy can help reduce the inflammation caused by plantar fasciitis.
Dr. Parth Parekh
DNB(Orthopaedic) ; D (Orthopaedic) ; M.N.A.M.S (Orthopaedic)
Consultant Orthopaedic Foot And Ankle Surgeon
CIMS Hospital
Science City Road,
Sola,
Ahmedabad, Gujarat India 380060