A survey done by the American Podiatric Medical Association revealed that 64 % of people suffering from heel pain have never sought treatment from a podiatric physician. The survey also revealed that nearly 40 percent of the American population suffers from heel pain! With the economy on a downturn and unemployment rates over 12% in some state, American’s cannot afford being off of their feet. What if your feet hurt? How long can you stand at work before your feet need a break! If you are avoiding the doctor for heel pain because you are scared of the cost or surgery, you are being foolish!
The most common cause of heel pain is plantar fasciitis. This is a soft tissue injury that is commonly healed with conservative treatment, meaning no surgery! Though there are many reasons for heel pain, plantar fasciitis is by far the most common and is one of the most debilitating. It is often characterized as pain with the first step of the day. When stepping out of bed in the morning or a long car ride, the sufferer experiences pain with the first few steps. Many patients describe the pain as an achy bruise on their heel times ten!
To understand the treatment of plantar fasciitis it is essential to understand why and how this chronic pain occurs. The plantar fascia is a thick band of tissue that attaches to you calcaneus, the heel bone, and bones in your forefoot. The fascia supports the arch of your foot. When standing or walking, feet tend to pronate. This means the foot is tilting inward and elongating. This biomechanical positioning causes stretching and tearing of the plantar fascia which leads to inflammation. It is the inflammation process that causes the pain in the heel of the foot where the fascia attaches. The human body is masterpiece; thus, not everyone experiences plantar fascia damage. Our body will often adjust to compensate for abnormal stresses, but sometimes it just cannot take the stress put it through. One may experience plantar fasciitis during pregnancy or after gaining weight. It is also associated with an increase in activity. So, if you are taking on more shifts at work or began a new work out plan, you may start to feel some foot discomfort.
Since the pain is due to inflammation, many treatment plans flight this problem first. Corticosteroid injections is an antinflammatory that will give many suffers great relief. There are side effects associated with steroid injections, thus the number of injections that one can receive is limited and not everyone is eligible for an injection. Another primary treatment is orthotics. Orthotics helps control the pronation that leads to the stretching and tearing of the fascia. The orthotics will also help the fascia support the arch. Another essential portion of the treatment plan is stretching, exercising, and rest. Since this is a dynamic process, many podiatric physicians will recommend physical therapy to optimize the healing process. This treatment will also play a critical role in prevention in the reoccurrence of facial injury.
No foot pain is normal and no one should have to suffer from foot pain. It can be debilitating to your everyday life and many American’s cannot afford to slow down or stop for foot pain. The good news is that heel pain is often treatable without surgery. With the pain so excruciating and the treatment options so obtainable, it unacceptable that 64% of heel pain suffers are living with pain because they fail to seek help.
