Plantar Fasciitis

Symptoms by body part:

Tarsal/Foot
Acute Pain
Burning
Chronic Pain
Muscle Tightness

 

Plantar Fasciitis occurs when the thick tissues at the bottom of the foot become inflamed.  There can be chronic or acute causes.  Acute causes are due to a responsive tightening of the muscles in the foot and lower leg, which creates a sort of cramping in the bottom of the foot when the fascia tightens. Chronic causes are due to multiple, tiny adhesions between the muscles of the bottom of the foot and the fascia.  This causes chronic inflammation as the biomechanics of the foot are altered, especially in the arch.  It can occur due to repetitive injury such as common causes listed below. 

Common Causes:

  • Running
  • Uncomfortable footwear
  • Arch problems
  • Pelvic misalignment
  • Achilles tendon tightening
  • Postural changes

Common symptoms:

  • Pain in the arch of the foot
  • Stiffness in the morning along the arch
  • Difficulty walking, standing or running for any length of time
  • Knee pain
  • Lower back pain

How to alleviate symptoms?

Manual therapy is applied to the muscles and fascia along the bottom of the foot to break up the adhesions that have occurred.  Cold laser therapy is applied to reduced inflammation after therapy.  It is important to diagnose and treat the reasons that have caused this issue.  Often, pelvic misalignment and postural issues are at the root cause and therefore are also treated appropriately.  Success rate is very high and only a few treatments are often needed. 

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