Plantar fasciitis is one of the most diagnosed conditions in podiatric medicine.  This is a heel pain that is present after periods of rest.  The pain will be typically located at the back of your arch, on the inside of the foot (that is the same side of the foot that the big toe is on), near the start of your heel.  You will feel this primarily first thing in the morning when you jump out of bed.  Typical symptoms feel like a stone bruise.  It is inflamed and painful for a little while then calms down as you “work it out” and get moving and stretching the foot for the day.  You may also experience this painful sensation after shorter periods of rest like watching tv, watching a movie, sitting at the computer for a while, stepping out of your car after driving, etc…  

There is no one single cause that starts this inflammatory reaction.  You could have a gain in weight, loss of weight, change in activity, starting of an exercise program, use of treadmills, poor fitting shoes, trauma to the area and so on. 

The most important thing to realize is that this bone bruise feeling will not go away on its own with out treatment.  Since inflammation is the root cause of your pain, I will primarily treat the inflammation with several different modalities. 

Severe cases of plantar fasciitis may require custom molded orthotics.  Still other case may require surgery to address the inflamed area of your heel.  I always start with more conservative care then if really needed suggest surgery.

For more information please contact Dr. Nelson »

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