Relieve Heel Pain With Plantar Faciitis Treatment

By Author: Jai Prakash Srivastava
Total Articles: 304
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The plantar fascia is a tissue band supporting the foot arch by connecting the heel bone with the ball of foot and toes. The tension on the fascia causes pain and in chronic conditions there are bony growths due to which the plantar fascia meets the heel spur. In heel spur, a hook bone is formed on the heel bone and that is why a majority of patients with plantar fasciitis have a heel spur.

People working on hard surfaces overstress their fascia, such as department store clerks and teachers. Some sports activities also overburden the fascia like excessive running, aerobics and basketball. The contributing factors for heel spur include sudden increase in weight; loss of elasticity with age, poor shoes, inflexible calf muscles, weak foot muscles and flat feet.

The plantar faciitis treatment includes control over inflammation in ligament along with short-term rest. If a person is indulged in a job of prolonged standing, walking or controlling then taking a few days off will cool down the inflammation and even in some cases rectifies the heel pain. The patient should perform some simple exercises in the morning and ...
... evening to relax the tissue and help in quick heeling of heel spur.

The patient should apply ice packs after an acute outburst of symptoms. This will diminish some of the heel spur symptoms and control the heel pain. There are also some anti-inflammatory medications that help in controlling pain and decreasing inflammation. The usage of shoe inserts allows the patients to continue the routine activities without feeling any pain. Patients can keep the heel stretched by wearing night splints while sleeping. The night splints inhibit the contraction in arch of the foot at night.

The extracorporeal shock wave therapy is also popular for the treatment of plantar fascia as it uses energy pulses for inducing micro trauma in the plantar fascia tissue. This starts the tissue repair process in the body. In severe cases, the patient is injected with cortisone that decreases the inflammation in plantar fasciitis. The injections are avoided as they might cause fat pad atrophy and plantar fascial rupture in heel area.

The insole supports the foot completely, corrects posture and mechanics. As the flexible polypropylene arch support is placed in a cushion case, the heel pain is rectified. The insole holds the rear foot closely to the neutral position that helps in proper bone and muscle alignment and reduces stress on the plantar fascia ligament. The comfort insole is full-length podiatrist-designed orthotics with wider and loose fitting.

This helps in realigning the body and helps in bearing the pressure of different sports that include running, golf and tennis. The casual insole has a 3/4-length orthotic arch support suitable for heel pain, knee, back pain, aching feet and legs. The wide-fitting lace-up shoes have extra-deep heel cup for ankle stability, metatarsal support for preventing ball of foot pain and anti-bacterial fabric to keep the feet dry and cool. The orthotics relieve heel and arch pain hence prevent the foot from strain and injury.

Find more information relating to plantar fasciitis, and plantar faciitis treatment here.