You awake after a great nights sleep. You yawn, you stretch and you swing your legs to the side of the bed and sit up. You are ready to take on the day and you take your first steps and you are paralyzed with a sharp, stabbing pain in your heel. Sound familiar? This my friends is plantar fasciitus! Those are big words so let’s say them together…PLAN-ter fash-ee-EYE-tus! And now, you will hobble through your day, perhaps take some painkillers to help get you through, and wonder what you can do to make it all go away! I think we can all agree that this is not a good way to live!
So what is plantar fasciitus? There is a very tough band of tissue that runs the bottom of your feet from your heel bone to your toes. Plantar fasciitus occurs when this tissue becomes irritated and/or torn. A stabbing pain in the heel is the most obvious symptom…one that is painfully obvious when you take those first steps in the morning. Pain my be felt in the heel, the arch or the ball of the foot and may begin as a dull ache that worsens over time. Plantar fasciitus can occur in both males and females, athletes and non-athletes and it can result in knee pain, hip pain or back pain because in order to compensate for the pain, people often change the way they walk.
What can you do about plantar fasciitus? Typically, the earlier you seek treatment, the quicker you will be back on your feet…so to speak. Our physiotherapists will do a full assessment to determine the most likely cause(s) of your foot pain. We will look at your posture, how you walk, and the make up of the muscles, tendons and ligaments in your lower extremities. We want to help you heal…and keep it that way…so determining the root cause is crucial.
Treatment may include manual therapy to help to elongate the fascia, pain control techniques, the use of modalities, an assessment of your footwear, the development of an exercise program which will include both stretching and strengthening. Your exercise program will be developed so that you can perform it both in the clinic and at home. That way you can continue to heal in between your clinic visits! And most importantly, we will educate you on how to avoid a re-occurrence!
So come and heal with us! You will be glad you did!!
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