Plantar Fasciitis (or PF) strikes when the plantar fascia begins to degenerate. Your plantar fascia is a piece of fibrous tissue extending from your heels to your toes. The affected tissue degenerates faster than your body can heal it, causing inflammation and pain that can sometimes be severe. If you’re experiencing severe pain, call Global Health Physiotherapy for treatment from a plantar fasciitis specialist in Toronto.
Plantar fasciitis can quickly worsen if treatment from a physiotherapist is not prioritized. How long your treatment will last depends on how long you've been experiencing symptoms and the severity of them. Call today for a free over-the-phone consultation to determine whether physiotherapy is the right choice for you.
Plantar Fasciitis Treatment
Unfortunately, there is not a universal treatment plan or cure for plantar fasciitis. We often determine the best treatment plan for you on an individual basis., One person's pain and symptoms may look different than yours, requiring a unique healing path.
Fortunately, this means that we have quite a few treatment options in our arsenal. When starting your treatment plan, we will likely do a bit of experimentation to discover which options are most effective for your pain and symptoms.
Physical Therapy
Physiotherapy can quickly alleviate your condition altogether. We help strengthen the muscles in your lower leg to better support your foot. We also relax major tendons like the Achilles, removing strain from the plantar fascia.
We strengthen the plantar fascia itself, making it more durable and less likely to tear. We oftentimes prescribe both strengthening and stretching exercises to keep you strong and flexible, which drastically reduces your overall symptoms and pain.
Adjusting Your Shoes
Sometimes, all you need to treat PF is a supportive pair of shoes. This is especially true for running shoes, as they lose the ability absorb shock as soon as you pass a year of wearing them. You can also add insoles to your shoes. Insoles correct high or low arches, giving you some much-needed relief and support.
If the pain is extreme you should also explore the possibility that you need custom-made orthotics in Toronto. You can get your walk, gait, and shape of your feet assessed right here at Global Health Physiotherapy Clinic. The process involves state of the art software (Gait Scan) to measure all aspects of your feet. This allows the physiotherapist to generate a 3-d mould of your feet, which is then sent in to make the
Stay off your feet
Plantar fasciitis is worsened by frequent and repetitive motion. Too much movement will only exacerbate any micro-tears in your plantar fascia and slow your body's healing abilities. Resting one or both feet allows your body to begin healing without interruptions, and without fighting any new tears caused by strain or excessive movement. If frequent bed rest doesn't fit your lifestyle, we recommend abstaining from painful activities instead.
Get used to wearing night Splints
Wearing night splints keeps your foot in a loose, relaxed position while you sleep. A night splint acts as a walking boot to carefully keep your foot in a relaxed position, which prevents walking pains when you first get out of bed.
Low voltage shock treatment (Iontophoresis)
Low voltage shocks to your feet further damage the plantar fascia-it sounds counterintuitive, we know. Shock treatment encourages faster healing within your plantar fascia. The damage from the electric current forces more blood to enter the fibrous tissue, speeding up your healing time.
Corticosteroid Injections
If your pain becomes severe and constant, you may find relief through a steroid shot. Though this is a way to relieve pain, steroid shots do not heal the cause of the pain like our other treatments can.
Anti-inflammatory Medications
Medications like Ibuprofen help relieve your pain and inflammation, which can also reduce your walking sensitivity and give you a greater range of motion. While this option isn't meant to be a long-term treatment, NSAIDs are great for relieving moderate pain and swelling--just for a short period of time.
Surgery
If all else fails, your plantar fascia is removed from your heel. This relieves painful, symptom-causing tension and pressure within it. Surgical intervention is often kept as a last resort, but if your PT symptoms are severe, you may require it.
Symptoms
Shooting pain in the heel is one of the most common symptoms of PT. This painful symptom is generally at its worst during your first steps in the morning. Your pain and discomfort may worsen throughout the day, affecting mobility. Symptoms do vary, but often activities like running will induce noticeably worse pain. Repetitive movements like walking or crouching often become more painful as the day goes on.
Causes
Frequent weight-bearing activities, walking or standing for long periods of time, running, and having high or low foot arches can all cause plantar fasciitis. Runners and athletes are most likely to experience this condition, but active workers can also experience it after long shifts with little rest time. Poor arch support can strain your plantar fasciitis. Unsupportive shoes or having high/low arches creates this strain, potentially leading to the micro-tears that cause plantar fasciitis symptoms.
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