Plantar Fascitis Treatment

Conservative Plantar Fascitis Treatment

There are several different treatment options available that do not require surgery, however, the longer and more severe a case becomes the more likely it will require more aggressive treatment. The easiest and most effective way to treat the less severe cases is through the use of:

• Stretching exercises- calf stretching, night splints, and stretching of the foot prior to getting out of bed.

Calf Stretching

• Icing– take an empty water bottle fill it up and freeze it, roll it across the heel
• Anti-inflammatory medications– Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Aleve), or Tylenol, If you are have any history of ulcers in the stomach, bleeding problems, or take blood thinners consult your doctor. These medications are treating the symptoms (inflammation) not the actual cause.

Custom Orthotics

• Orthotics–insoles custom fit to your foot by a podiatrist through molding the foot or molded directly to your foot are one of the most treatments for plantar fasciitis. So called custom orthotics from the Good Feet store or Dr. Scholl’s are not custom fit to your feet. They are prefabricated insoles, these insoles can be helpful, but they are NOT custom fit, thus they do not realign the foot structure.
• Weight loss- If you are over weight it is important to get to and maintain a healthy weight for your body. Our feet are responsible for carrying our weight and the stress of carrying extra weight can overwhelm them.
• Injections- Steroid injections in to the points of focal heel pain are very effective. These medications are treating the symptoms (inflammation) not the actual cause.
• Shockwave therapy- This procedure uses deep ultrasound to break up the inflammation and is done in the Doctors office.

Shockwave Therapy

Surgical Plantar Fascitis Treatment

Surgical treatment preferences depend on the doctor performing the surgery. Some doctors believe any heel spur must be removed and the plantar fascia must be severed. Other doctors believe just the plantar fascia must be severed. The reason this is important is because the healing times, post operative pain and post operative care are much different. I personally have family members who have just had the plantar fascia resected and feel that it worked perfectly with no complications. Endoscopic plantar fasciotomy is an easy less invasive way of severing the plantar fascia. The recovery is 2 –3 weeks and pain is minimal compared to the other more invasive procedures.