| 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 the Michigan
Foot and Ankle Center specialize
in treating advanced plantar fasciitis and heel
spurs. |
