If you have stabbing heel pain, it could be plantar fasciitis. Union Health Orthopedics can treat your pain with plantar fasciitis physical therapy.
What You Should Know About Plantar Fasciitis Physical Therapy
As one of the most common causes of heel pain, plantar fasciitis can make even stepping out of bed painful. When this tissue on the bottom of your foot becomes inflamed, it can get in the way of running, walking or enjoying other activities on your feet. Of the options to treat plantar fasciitis, physical therapy may be especially beneficial.
What Is Plantar Fasciitis?
The plantar fascia is a ligament that connects your heel bone to the ball of your feet. While it usually absorbs the daily stress that standing, walking or exercising places on your feet, overuse or injury can cause it to become inflamed. This common foot condition is called plantar fasciitis. Around 2 million people in the U.S. seek treatment for it every year.
Symptoms of plantar fasciitis include:
- Foot pain after exercising
- Pain in your foot when you first wake up or stand up after sitting for a while
- Pain while walking barefoot
- Stabbing pain in your heel that comes and goes
- Tenderness or pain in the arch of your foot
How Physical Therapy Helps Plantar Fasciitis
Plantar fasciitis is a treatable condition. Many people find it goes away with adequate rest. Over-the-counter pain relievers may help reduce pain and inflammation. Wearing orthotics in shoes that support the arch can also help improve symptoms.
However, research has found that plantar fasciitis physical therapy can help patients recover more quickly. Physical therapy strengthening and stretching exercises have been found to reduce pain overall, reduce morning pain specifically and improve gait. Patients also had fewer follow-up physician appointments and lower healthcare costs.
Exercise for Plantar Fasciitis
Simple exercises for plantar fasciitis can help reduce pain. Do two sets of 10 repetitions of each exercise.
- Arch massage. While sitting or standing, roll the arch of your bare foot slowly over a frozen water bottle or tennis ball back and forth.
- Calf stretch/Heel raise. Stand on the edge of a step with your heels hanging off. You will feel a calf stretch. Raise up on the balls of your feet, then go back down.
- Towel scrunch. While sitting or standing, place a towel under your bare foot, then try to scrunch it up with your toes.
When you are finished, try a plantar fasciitis stretch – sit with your legs in front of you knees straight, hold the towel by the ends and loop under the toes, pulling back for a gentle plantar fasciitis stretch. Hold for 15 to 30 seconds. Ask your provider about wearing a night splint that offers the same stretch while you sleep.
You can also do other stretching exercises – targeting your calf muscles and Achilles tendon to improve pain. Switching to low-impact exercises, such as swimming instead of running, may also help.
When to See an Orthopedic Specialist
You will usually need to see an orthopedic provider to get a referral to a physical therapist. A podiatrist or another orthopedic specialist can help diagnose your plantar fasciitis and make sure there isn't another source for your foot pain. If your heel pain is getting in the way of your runs or your daily life, you don't need to push through it. Speak with a specialist instead.