If you wake up in the morning, take your first step out of bed, and feel a sharp pain in your heel- sometimes enough to make you limp to the bathroom- you may wonder what is causing it.
There are many possible causes of heel pain, but one of the most common is plantar fasciitis.
The plantar fascia is a strong band of tissue that runs along the bottom of your foot- connecting your heel bone to the base of your toes. It’s function is to help support your arch and absorb stress when you walk and stand.
When the fascia is repeatedly stressed or overworked, it can become irritated and painful. This often happens with increased activity, unsupportive footwear, prolonged standing or certain foot types, including flatter feet.
How do we treat it?
There is no singular treatment that works for everyone. We often use a combination of treatments to reduce pain, support the foot, and address the factors contributing to the condition.
Rest and Ice: reducing activities that aggravate the heel pain gives the plantar fascia time to recover. Icing also helps with pain and irritation. A great way to ice is to roll a frozen water bottle under your foot for about 10 minutes at a time. Another way is to use a tennis ball or lacrosse ball to gently massage the bottom of the foot by rolling it along your arch.
Supportive shoes and orthotics: Supportive sneakers and orthotics can help support the arch and reduce stress on the plantar fascia. It may also help to avoid prolonged barefoot walking on hard surfaces.
Stretching and night splints: regular stretching of the plantar fascia and Achilles tendon can help improve foot flexibility and reduce tension on the heel. For some patients this can be done with use of a night splint. It can gently stretch the Achilles tendon on the back of the heel and the plantar fascia while you rest or sleep. Physical therapy is another great modality that can be recommended to help improve flexibility and assess the biomechanics of your foot.
Anti-inflammatory treatment: Depending on your symptoms, oral anti-inflammatory medications or a corticosteroid injection may be used to help reduce pain. This can help provide relief immediately, but is more effective when combined with the other modalities listed above. Often if this is used a solo treatment, patients will often experience recurrence of symptoms.
So how long does plantar fasciitis take to improve?
Plantar fasciitis is treatable, but can take time to improve. You can get a flare up of symptoms after certain activities that re-irritate the fascia, such as wearing flip flops on the beach, walking barefoot, or spending the day in flats or dress shoes.
The key is to treat the underlying cause of the stress of the fascia, not just treat the symptoms.
If your heel pain is persistent or not improving with conservative treatment, there may be another cause of symptoms. A podiatric evaluation can help determine the source of heel pain and develop a treatment plan for you.
