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Plantar
Fasciitis
When your first few steps out of bed in the morning
cause severe pain in the heel of your foot, you may
have plantar
fasciitis (fashee-EYE-tiss). It’s
an overuse injury affecting the sole or flexor surface
(plantar) of the foot. A diagnosis of plantar fasciitis
means you have inflamed the tough, fibrous band of tissue
(fascia) connecting your heel bone to the base of your
toes.
You’re
more likely to get the condition if you’re a woman,
if you’re overweight, or if you have a job that requires
a lot of walking or standing on hard surfaces. You’re
also at risk if you walk or run for exercise, especially
if you have tight calf muscles that limit how far you
can flex your ankles. People with very flat feet or
very high arches are also more prone to plantar fasciitis.
The
condition starts gradually with mild pain at the heel
bone. You’re more likely to feel it after (not during)
exercise. The pain classically occurs again after arising
from a midday lunch break. If you don’t treat plantar
fasciitis, it may become a chronic condition. You may
not be able to keep up your level of activity and you
may also develop symptoms of foot, knee, hip and back
problems because of the way plantar fasciitis changes
the way you walk.
Treatment
for Plantar Fasciitis
Rest is the first treatment for plantar fasciitis. Try
to keep weight off your foot until the inflammation
goes away. You can also apply ice to the sore area for
20 minutes three or four times a day to relieve your
symptoms. Often a doctor will prescribe nonsteroidal
anti-inflammatory medication such as ibuprofen. A program
of home exercises to stretch your Achilles tendon and
plantar fascia are the mainstay of treating the condition
and lessening the chance of recurrence, along with proper
arch supports.
About
90 percent of people with plantar fasciitis improve
significantly after two months of initial treatment.
You may be advised to use shoes with shock-absorbing
soles (like a walking or running shoe) or fitted with
a temporary arch support. Your foot may also be taped
into a specific position. If the taping or temporary
arch supports are helpful, then you are a candidate
for custom-molded arch supports, also called orthotics.
If
your plantar fasciitis is extremely swollen and tender,
your doctor may inject your heel with steroidal anti-inflammatory
medications (corticosteroid). If you still have symptoms,
you may need to wear a walking cast for 2-3 weeks or
positional splint when you sleep. In a few cases, you
might need surgery to release your ligament.
Heel
Spurs
Patients with heel spurs usually have the same complaints
as those with plantar fasciitis. This is due to the
fact that the heel spur is actually a result of the
continuous strain on the plantar fascia. Therefore,
the treatment of heel spurs is the same as the treatment
for plantar fasciitis.
In
about 10% of patients, the heel spur may be inpinging
on a nerve or may actually be fractured. Therefore,
after exhausting the above-mentioned treatments, surgery
may be necessary to remove the spur.
The
doctors at Capital
Foot & Ankle Centers specialize
in treating advanced plantar fasciitis and heel spurs.
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