Plantar fasciitis is a common cause of pain on the bottom of your heel. You may feel the pain is especially acute when you first get out of bed in the morning and is aggravated by activity. At Pinnacle Foot and Ankle Clinic in Westminster, Colorado, Katherine Parodi, DPM, and Jacob Stuart, DPM, you get the very best care for this potentially chronic condition that keeps you from doing activities you enjoy. Call the office today or use this website to request an appointment online at the first signs of heel pain.
Your heels are attached to your toes via the plantar fascia, a long, thick tendon. When this tendon becomes inflamed, you have plantar fasciitis.
Plantar fasciitis causes stabbing, and intense heel pain, making it painful to walk, run, or jump. Sometimes, you can develop a bony growth, or bone spur, in response to plantar fasciitis.
If you have severe heel pain, it’s likely due to plantar fasciitis. The pain is most intense first thing in the morning, when you step out of bed, or when standing after a long period of sitting down. The pain often subsides during the day with activity and may even ease with exercise, but comes back later more intensely.
Your plantar fascia supports you when you walk, stand, run, and jump. The tendon is quite durable, but too much stress or trauma can overwhelm the tissue. You often develop plantar fasciitis in response to repeated overuse.
The condition can develop gradually in response to repetitive stress from running.
Other risk factors for developing plantar fasciitis include:
These factors increase stress on your plantar fascia, making it more vulnerable to irritation.
Come to Pinnacle Foot and Ankle Clinic when you first notice plantar fasciitis pain. The team can help you resolve the problem with conservative treatments like rest, icing, and stretching exercises.
Some patients get pain relief after regularly wearing a specialized overnight splint to relieve overly tight muscles. You may also benefit from customized orthotics that stabilize your foot to prevent stressing the plantar fascia. These interventions take time but can resolve plantar fasciitis so you can get back to doing the activities you love.
If you’ve noticed the pain of plantar fasciitis for six months or longer, it can be harder to treat. These conservative treatments may not relieve your pain, and if they do, they will take much longer to be effective.
The Pinnacle Foot and Ankle Clinic team may recommend more intensive therapies like extracorporeal shock wave therapy to break down scar tissue and inflammation. You may also need to maintain long-term activity modifications to allow the tendon to heal.
Call Pinnacle Foot and Ankle Clinic at the first signs of plantar fasciitis pain, or use this website to make an appointment online for prompt care.