One of the common questions we get at the clinic is about Plantar Fasciitis, or Heel Spurs is another name for it. It is a very common condition. This year we saw Peyton Manning miss five weeks for plantar fascia. This can be pretty debilitating. There are varying degrees of it, but we can explain it and some of the procedures that we use to help it.
At the bottom of the foot, there are a bunch of bones. We should have a nice arch of the foot. We can kind of see through here how we have a nice arch. Underneath these bones is something called the plantar fascia, a band of tissues that kind of hold that arch in place. This is where the plantar fasciitis comes from.
When everything is working well, the arch remains. We have a nice arch on the inside the foot and the plantar fascia is underneath. Unfortunately what happens with modern society is that we are all wearing these poor shoes all time and over time that arch starts flattening out. That plantar fascia is only so long in between there and it gets stretched and pulled and pulled eventually getting inflamed. That is "itis" part, that is our secret medical word which means inflammation. And what happens, that Plantar fascia gets inflamed.
There are usually pretty simple fixes for it. Typically we get rid of that inflammation. Two common ways will be the cold laser ultrasound therapy that can usually get rid of inflammation. We give home exercise as a good treatment. At home you can use a golf ball and roll your foot on it for a few minutes at a time to loosen that plantar fascia. Also if it is very inflamed, we recommend patients get a water bottle, fill it up with water and store it in the freezer and get it nice and cold. So when you get home from a long day at work, you can roll your foot on it and that will calm the inflammation down. Those are some of the best tips that you will get in the office along with ultrasound therapy.
And one of the best things to do is to get some othapedic support. If that arch is really falling, you will need some support to hold it upright. Now, unfortunately, a lot of shoes that patients use or that people are wearing these days do not have the supports they are used to. So a lot of times we have to buy supports. We can evaluate plantar fascia with a 3D laser scanner which is able to scan your feet, take measurements of the arches, how high they are, how much weight is on them, how much weight you are putting on your right foot versus your left.
Some people such as myself have a one leg longer than the other. Now if you are walking crooked on your feet all day, that is going to cause a lot of issues as well. So here at the Village Family Clinic, we have a 3D laser assessment which we can demonstrate for you now.
For more details about the available treatment for Plantar Fasciitis or Heel Spurs, contact Village Family Clinic.
