Plantar fasciitis is a very common condition related to the foot.
In this condition the patient suffers from having painful feet and heels, along with swelling and inflammation.
Resting the feet is the primary treatment suggested for any other disorder, may it be plantar fasciitis or Heel Spurs.
It is very important that those suffering from plantar fasciitis should keep their weight off from the foot atleast till your feet are rid of inflammation.
As usually, people who are obese are prone to suffer from this condition.
Traditional or Conservative types of treatments are quite successful if adequate time with patience is given.
The duration of the treatment may vary from several months to about two years depending on the severity of the condition.
It is found that about 9% of people get well in a period of nine months with consistent treatment and rest.
Some of the initial treatment for plantar fasciitis includes: * Heel stretching exercise * Night splints * Arch support * Shoe inserts for eg.
Shock absorbent soles, rubber heel pad etc.
* Anti-inflammatory medicines * Application of ice for about 15-20 minutes twice or thrice a day on the sore areas also helps to alleviate the symptoms.
Naproxen, Aspirin, Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen can ease your pain, but these medicines should be taken only under the doctor's prescription.
People are also advised to wear shoes with shock-absorbing soles or they may have standard device such as a rubber heel pad fitted in it.
Your foot may get taped in a specific position.
If this does not work out, then casting the affected feet may be of great help in a small leg cast.
This cast should be upto the knees but not above it.
It should be kept for about 3 - 6 weeks.
This will successively reduce the inflammation and pain.
When the condition does not give a positive response to the conservative treatments, then some therapists may opt for the shockwave therapy.
In this therapy, the sound waves are circulated towards the direction of the heel pain in order to arouse healing.
However, this therapy needs multiple treatments.
It might not be always an effective treatment.
Another treatment of plantar fasciitis is a technique known as dry needling.
In this process, small amount of local bleeding takes place that is helpful to heal the Plantar Fasciitis.
Then, a steroid is injected to get rid of the pain and inflammation around the fascia.
Some doctors provide steroid injections that give a lasting relief.
The only problem with this injection is that it is very painful and not recommended for all.
In some patients, if there is failure of non-surgical treatments, then surgery is the only option left to relieve their painful heels.