Fasciitis is a Super fancy name for Heel Pain - Learn more about it.
This lens is about a particular type of foot pain in the heel called Plantar Fasciitis. It is a common problem of people of all ages and activity levels. It is more common in runners, the obese and people who do a lot of standing in one place. The therapy is simple, and recovery with minimal help is the rule. Occasionally the sufferer with this condition needs an injection of anti-inflammatory medicine or even more rarely surgery or a newer therapy that uses sound waves to shock the tissues.
Use this information to understand the condition. Get help with the diagnosis. Then use the advice of your health care provider, that you clarify with good questions, to formulate a plan for healing. Don't use this in place of a confirmed diagnosis, but use it to help you understand why you receive certain advice and to make decisions that affect your health.
Being over your ideal weight contributes to HEEL Pain
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Things to do to releive your foot pain.
Plantar Fasciitis does get better.
Here is a list of things to talk to your doctor about. They are items that can improve your pain. Do them after you discuss them with your doctor. They aren't in any particular order.
- Use ice on your heel for 15 minutes on and one hour off. Don't apply ice or a plastic bag containing ice directly to your skin. Wear a sock. A water bottle, half-full and frozen makes a good ice pack. Rolling your heel over it both ices and stretches your plantar fascia.
- Stretch your foot and massage it. The links on here can connect you to some exercise sites for plantar fascia pain. Rolling a tennis ball with you heel can be very helpful.
- Use a heel cup that fits in your shoe. Your podiatrist can make you an insert but "Dr. Scholl's" or Trax inserts work for some people
- Rest your foot until the pain is better. You have the problem because the fascia was injured.
- Anti-inflammatory medication can help but it can hurt also. If you are on certain medications or have certain medical conditions you should consult your doctor before you take them.
- Wearing a splint for sleep will help. It keeps the fascia stretched. The Strassburg sock or various other splints worn at night can be very beneficial.
Info on how to prevent and treat Heel Pain
Plantar fasciitis is a painful condition that can be helped conservatively.
If you have heel pain of if you don't, check out this simple way to help yourself.
Links to Pics and articles and appliances for and about Plantar fasciitis.
- Plantar Fascia illustration
- An illustration of the plantar fascia.
- Illustration of inflammed plantar fascia
- Plantar fasciitis is an inflammation. The redness near the heel is where plantar fasciitis occurs.
- University of Wisconsin article
- A single page of information about fasciitis. It covers the causes, prevention and therapy very concisly and has good illustrations.
- Plantar fasciitis from the ER point of view.
- An article written by an Emergancy Medicine certified MD about plantar fasciitis. The point of view is how to think about this problem when a patient is in the ER.
- National Library of Medicine
- An article on the problem of plantar fasciitis written by professionals intending to inform patients.
- Wheeless' testbook of Orthopedics
- This online textbook was originally written by Dr. R. Wheeless MD. Dr Wheeless trained at Duke, practices Orthopedics in rural NC. He wrote for other medical professionals. He is no longer affiliated with the book but it still bears his name.
- Strassburg sock
- This is the usual retail price for this equipment. It works well for many people. It is more comfortable to sleep in than others. It is one option among many. See articles to understand why this helps plantar fasciitis. In my area of NC I send patients to Carrboro to Fleet Feet to purchase these.
- Soft splint
- A variation of the sock above. I don't have experience with it.
Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome
A condition that mimics the symptomes of plantar fascia pain.
Plantar Fascia inflammation and pain occur in the heel. A few other conditions can mimic this condition and need to be ruled out. Tarsal tunnel syndrome is the most common of these. Below are links to pictures and explanations of this condition which is a nerve compression problem of the foot like carpal tunnel is in the hand.
- What is Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome?
- A link from the website of foot and ankle surgeons. If you know Dr. Fawcett in our office then you know one of these specislists. Good text on this link. The pictures on other sites are linked below.
- Picture of tarsal tunnel
- This illustration and article show in good detail where the tarsal tunnel is located and how the syndrome occurs.
- Foot Direct
- Scanty information but a great illustration of the tarsal tunnel.
- EMedicine article
- This article is written for doctor level professionals, but there is much anyone can learn here. You don't need to buy a subscription to eMedicine to read the text. You do need one to see the diagrams.
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The Family Doctor in Chapel Hill NC
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by BruceBair
Hi, I am a Physician Assistant with 28 years experience. I am licensed in the state of North Carolina. I still am involved in active pract...
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