Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar Fasciitis

Happens to runners, basketball players, and is the one of the most common foot injuries for the general population.

The plantar fascia is a strong, fibrous tissue that connects the heel bone to the toes and creates the arch of the foot. Plantar fasciitis is the inflammation of this tissue. Please note that heel spurs may or may not accompany plantar fasciitis. The treatment will be different if a bone spur is present. This is the treatment for plantar fasciitis itself.


How Sports Medicine Acupuncture Treats Plantar Fasciitis:
1. Work directly with the athlete and/or their podiatrist.

2. Assessment: The most common complaint is pain and stiffness in the bottom of the heel. The heel pain may be dull or sharp. The bottom of the foot may also ache or burn.
The pain is usually worse: in the morning when you take your first steps out of bed; pain upon palpation of the medial process of the calcaneus; after standing or sitting for a while; when climbing stairs; while walking on the tiptoes; and/or after intense activity.
Other risk factors include foot arch problems, tight achilles tendon(s), and/or sudden weight gain.
3. Start focusing on diagnosis. Check for any accompanying heel spurs and differentiate between plantar fasciitis and flexor hallucis longus tendinopathy.

4. Use the SMAC (Sports Medicine Acupuncture Certification - Matt Callison) acupuncture protocol. The treatment will be acupuncture, soft tissue release, external Chinese herbal treatment and rehabilitative exercises.

Acupuncture is based on how each individual "presents" with their signs and symptoms. The idea is to not only work on the plantar fasciitis itself, but also on the channels or meridians that are affected and correcting those.

We also conduct full postural deviation tests, manual muscle testing, orthopedic testing and traditional Chinese tongue and pulse diagnosis.

5. Will recommend wearing shoes with good support and cushions. We recommend the "Runner's Den" for buying good running shoes.

6. Will recommend talking with your podiatrist for heel cups, felt pads in the heel area, or shoe inserts.
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Disclaimer: This blog and information herein is provided for informational purposes only. It is not designed to diagnose, treat, or cure any problem. You should contact your physician for further information, diagnosis,and/or testing discussed in this blog. Sports Medicine Acupuncture will then treat after these steps are taken.