A family physician may prescribe oral anti-inflammatory medication and/or paracetamol to help manage pain and swelling. The Foot Ankle International, 2007 published a study showing that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can provide effective short term improvement for plantar fasciitis pain. Some doctors may opt for ultrasonography guided corticosteroid injection or platelet-rich plasma injection at the area of maximum point tenderness, necessary for tissue healing.
Podiatrist, the foot and ankle specialist will evaluate your gait pattern to improve your running form. At the same time, you may be prescribed with plantar fascia brace, heel cups, arch supports (a.k.a foot orthotics) and/or night splints to manage heel pain. A Cochrane review found that custom foot orthotics used in conjunction with night splint is effective for runners to get heel pain relief and improve foot function. They will help you restore a normal foot biomechanics to help get you back on track.
How about going to your chiropractor? One of the common misconceptions about chiropractic treatment is that it’s all about the spine and treating low back pain. The good news is that chiropractic adjustments, combined with proper footwear and exercises can make the pain go away. The foot is a very complex structure and if any of the small joints get stuck, they can become very painful. By adjusting the misaligned joints, it helps to restore the movements of those joints; you can take the pressure off the ligaments and the fascia in order to alleviate the pain. Chiropractors can also manage leg length discrepancy from sacroiliac joint restrictions and knee alignment to reduce excessive stress that may contribute damage to the painful foot or altered postural/gait pattern due compensation from pain.
Physiotherapist provides guidance to patient-directed treatments. This includes eccentric calf muscle stretching and deep manual myofascial therapy, where they can perform at home. The slow lengthening stretch of the muscle prevents plantar fascia contracture and increasing the blood flow to promote healing. In addition to that, they incorporate treatments like shock wave therapy, cryotherapy plus bracing to runners, assisting you during your pain-full phase. Depending on your sport or lifestyle entails, they will customise and create a progressed training regime to optimise you for a complete return to sports.
If improvements are noted, the runner should continue until symptoms are resolved. You should have clinical response within 6 weeks, maximum up to 2 months after attempting the first-line treatment options. If little or no improvement is noted, you should consider consulting an orthopaedic surgeon for specialised care, either surgical or non-conservative, more invasive treatment therapies.
“At some occasions plantar fasciitis pain may affect one’s activity of daily living and quality of life.”
