Plantar Fasciitis-Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment

Plantar fasciitis is the most common cause of heel pain, an often debilitating disorder characterized by symptoms such as pain and inflammation in the heel region. Symptoms result from the stretching and tearing of plantar fascia, a tough band of tissue that connects your heel bone to the toes on your foot. Plantar fasciitis can develop as a single episode or it can become a recurring problem. Plantar fasciitis has many different clinical presentations and patients may present with just heel pain, or they may also present with localized tenderness along the whole length of the plantar fascia. In this blog we discussed about Plantar Fasciitis-Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment.

Symptoms

Symptoms include pain on the bottom of your foot, especially when you get up in the morning or after sitting for long periods of time. You may also feel more pain when you’re first getting out of bed than later in the day. Other symptoms include:

• An ache or burning sensation in your heel that can last for several minutes after walking.
• A feeling of pressure inside your heel, as if something is pushing against it from within.
• Heel pain at night while lying down.

Causes

The most common cause of plantar fasciitis is biomechanical dysfunction in the foot. This means that there is a problem with the way you walk or stand, which results in the overuse of one part of your body. For example, people who have flat feet are at higher risk for developing plantar fasciitis because they often overpronate (roll inward) when they run or walk. Pronation is normal, but excessive pronation can put stress on the arch and heel of your foot.

Risk factors

Other risk factors for plantar fasciitis include: -Age (it is most common in people age 40 and older) -Obesity (excess weight puts more stress on your feet) -Genetics (you may be more likely to develop plantar fasciitis if a close family member has suffered from it) -Activity level (people who are very active or play sports are at higher risk for developing this condition) include:.

• Age: Plantar fasciitis is most common in people between 40 and 60 years old. But it can occur at any age, including in children.
• Weight: Excess weight puts more strain on your feet and increases your risk of developing plantar fasciitis.
• Foot type: People with flat feet are at higher risk for developing plantar fasciitis because they often overpronate when they run or walk.
• Walking habits: People who have jobs that require them to stand for long periods of time may be more prone to plantar fasciitis than those who sit most of their day.

Complications

If left untreated, plantar fasciitis can lead to more serious complications. For example, heel pain that doesn’t go away could eventually cause you to develop stress fractures in your bones or Achilles’ tendons. And if you continue to walk around on damaged feet for too long, you may even end up with an amputation.

Plantar fasciitis treatment and management

There are several ways to treat plantar fasciitis, including:

• Wearing insoles and arch supports. These can help support your foot and reduce pain caused by pressure on the bottom of your foot. Talk with a doctor or podiatrist about which type of insole is best for you.
• Using over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen or naproxen to relieve pain and inflammation
• Exercising regularly—even if it’s just walking around the block or doing some stretches on a regular basis can help strengthen your muscles. Consult the best Physiotherapy in Aylesbury to help you with your exercise routine. 
• Wearing a night splint can also help, by keeping your foot in a neutral position while you sleep and reducing pain caused by tight calf muscles. Talk to our Physiotherapy Specialists in Aylesbury to find out which type of splint is best for your condition.

Laser Therapy for CRPS

We advise you to think about laser therapy and seek out a laser therapy expert who can treat your CRPS. The researchers in the study to which we are referring stated that “no adverse effects of the applied therapy were documented” and that “the application of laser therapy had a particularly good effect in lowering pain, intensity, and edoema.” Of course, it is wonderful if you can receive successful therapy without suffering from side effects or bad effects. The researchers go on to add that laser therapy has particular therapeutic effects like analgesia, which is the decrease of pain, anti-edematous, which is the prevention of swelling, and anti-inflammatory effects, as well as an enhancement in regenerative skills.

Laser therapy is a technique used to help those with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). CRPS is a condition in which the nerves become overly sensitive and react to stimuli that would normally not cause pain. The laser helps normalize these nerves by influencing their tone, so they no longer send out incorrect signals of discomfort. It is reported that this can reduce pain and restore the proper functioning of the nerves.

According to the research, it also results in altered endogenous opioid synthesis, modification of pain perception (how your body perceives pain), and altered pain signalling. These endogenous opioids are the natural painkillers in your body. “Laser therapy limits the admission of sodium ions into the cell, which is a stabilising factor in the cell membrane resting potential,” the researchers continue. Again, it all comes back to the concept of the threshold, for which sodium ions are important: You experience incorrect signalling if your sodium ions are not balanced properly (e.g., overly sensitive signals of pain perception).

Additionally, according to the study’s authors, laser “has anti-edematous, anti-inflammatory effects and, by increasing local microcirculation, laser reduces the edoema [swelling], increases tissue oxygenation, and facilitates the elimination of allogenic substances [substances that create pain signals].”

Shockwave diathermy

A gel medium is used to generate a sequence of low-energy acoustic wave pulsations, which are then administered directly to an injury through the patient’s skin as shockwave therapy. Focused sound waves’ ability to dissolve kidneys and gallstones led to the invention of the idea and the subsequent development of the technology. Numerous scientific research on the treatment of chronic illnesses has found results with the use of generated shockwaves. A persistent injury or discomfort brought on by disease can be treated on its own using shockwave therapy. You don’t need to take painkillers with it because the goal of the therapy is to start the body’s natural healing process. Many people claim that after the first treatment, their pain has decreased and their mobility has improved.

• Shockwave therapy has an outstanding cost/effectiveness ratio.
• The non-invasive explanation for chronic pain in your shoulder, back, heel, knee, or elbow
• No anesthesia is needed, and no drugs
• Main areas of application: orthopedics, rehabilitation, and sport medicine
• New analysis indicates that it can have a positive effect on critical pain