Summer is my favorite time of the year…
Sunshine, beaches, no school and sports schedules to adhere to…just a good time to be outdoors and having fun!
But…with all of that comes, walking around barefoot and in flip flops.
Because of this, it’s very common for us to see an uptick in plantar fasciitis patients mid-summer.
Many people have heard the term ‘plantar fasciitis’ thrown around…but outside of meaning ‘foot pain’, very few people know what it actually means.
So what is plantar fasciitis?
The plantar fascia is a ligament that runs from the heel to base of the toes. Its primary purpose is to help support the arch of the foot and to absorb shock during walking, standing, and running. The plantar fascia also helps with creating some rigidity in the foot during forward propulsion activities such as running, jumping, or even brisk walking.
Plantar fasciitis is a condition that causes foot pain along the bottom of the heel and arch. It is caused by microtears along the plantar fascia as well as irritation and inflammation as a result of repetitive motions.
Some key signs of plantar fasciitis include:
- Most painful during the first few steps in the morning
- Very painful during the first few steps after rest and prolonged sitting
- Pain improves with movement but can become worse with excessive movement such as walking, standing, and running.
There are various forms of treatments that aid in recovery, one of which is shockwave therapy. Shockwave therapy utilizes acoustic sound waves to help create microtrauma to the area to help stimulate the body’s natural healing response by improving blood flow, collagen formation, and cellular repair. The treatment takes about 15 minutes. Loading the tissues in the plantar fascia is necessary to help it recover…but sometimes, pain is the limiting factor. Shockwave therapy helps to improve blood flow and decrease inflammation in the plantar fascia making it less painful to load this tissue so you can get better faster.
Ideally, shockwave therapy should be paired in conjunction with physical therapy to help strengthen the plantar fascia and calf muscles to build capacity so that this issue does not arise again. Physical therapy treatment can consist of manual soft tissue mobilization, strengthening exercises especially of the foot and surrounding joints, and stretching exercises to encourage blood flow and healing.
If you have been suffering with stubborn plantar fasciitis for a couple of weeks or months, and it is continually limiting your performance in functioning with your everyday life, try shockwave therapy to help you recover so you can get back to living your best life!
Click here to request an appointment with one of our awesome team members and learn how shockwave treatment can help you! You can also email us at info@bodymoksha.com.