Plantar Fasciitis
Some individuals have a hard time waking up in the morning, but it is even worse when they are greeted with intense heel pain. This condition—pain in your heel first thing in the morning—is likely the result of an ailment known as plantar fasciitis. There are treatment options for this common heel injury, but first you need to be able to identify it correctly.
Plantar Fasciitis: Naming Your Heel Pain
You might not be aware of this, but you have a thick band of fibrous tissue that runs along the bottom of your foot called your plantar fascia. This tissue is responsible for supporting your foot arch and absorbing the force that comes with walking, running, and jumping. When the tissue is overworked, it becomes stretched and sustains tears. This leads to inflammation and pain.
A sharp, stabbing pain is the primary symptom of this condition. This is especially evident when it happens in the morning upon waking or whenever you start to move following extended periods of sitting or standing in one place. It can also be experienced following exercise.
Risk Factors for Fascia Damage
This condition is rather common, but there are factors that can make it more likely. These factors include foot structure, age, and obesity. Individual who have either high or low arches are more likely to develop this condition, as are those who fall between 40-60 years of age. Those who are overweight put excess stress on the plantar fascia when they walk or stand and this places them at greater risk for this injury, too.
Changes in physical activity or running long distances can also lead to this condition. For this reason, it is important that you ease into activities—increase levels of intensity, duration, and frequency by no more than ten percent per week—and warm up and stretch properly beforehand.
Treatment Options for Painful Heels
Conservative treatment methods are often quite successful for plantar fasciitis and surgery is rarely required. Given the nature of the condition—an overworked band of soft tissue—strengthening and stretching activities can be an essential component of treatment. If you are able to perform the basic strengthening and stretching routines on your own, you may able to do this in the comfort of your own home. If you feel more comfortable having the guidance of a professional, physical therapy might be right for you.
In addition to stretches and strengthening, we may prescribe orthotics to help redistribute pressure and body weight more evenly. Our practice provides advanced custom orthotics based on modern biomechanical principles, digital scanning, and 3D printing. This allows them to fit and work better while also being thinner, lighter, more comfortable and easier to fit into your shoes than ever before.
If symptoms are severe, have become chronic, or you simply want to make the fastest possible recovery, we also offer advanced regenerative treatments such as MLS laser therapy and perinatal tissue injections. Incorporating these cutting-edge procedures into a treatment plan can often reduce recovery time by 30 percent or more, and may prevent the need for physical therapy appointments or surgery.
Conservative treatments such as these are highly effective, so surgery is required only rarely, in extreme circumstances. If your plantar fasciitis is not responding to less invasive therapies, we may discuss surgical options with you. We’ll always take as much time as needed to answer your questions and make sure you know exactly what to expect.
The Professional Care You Need
When you experience sharp, stabbing pain first thing in the morning, plantar fasciitis is the likely culprit. Make an appointment today with Austin Foot and Ankle Specialists and let us provide the expert care you need. Simply call our Austin, TX office at (512) 328-8900 or use our online form to request an appointment.
Our Experts Provide the Best Care In Austin for Heel Pain
Heel pain is a very common condition, that is all to often left untreated. We are here to tell you that heel pain doesn’t have to be a normal part of your life. If you are in need of expert care for heel pain, reach out to our office today by calling (512) 328-8900. If you want to get a better understanding about what you are experiencing; download our free book on heel pain, Heel Pain: Very Common, Yet Often Untreated.
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Austin, TX 78746
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