Plantar Fasciitis – Why see a podiatrist?
Plantar fasciitis can be a severely debilitating condition, affecting your ability to do the things in life that you enjoy most. At Performance Podiatry, our podiatrists understand the impact that plantar fasciitis can have and it is their mission to see you recovered and pain free as quickly as possible.
What is Plantar Fasciitis?
The plantar fascia is a thick, fibrous band that covers the sole of the foot. Plantar fasciitis is an injury of this band that can cause pain in the heel, arch or ball of the foot. Typically, this pain will be present whilst taking the first few steps in the morning or upon walking after sitting for some time. It is the single most common cause of heel pain and one of the most common conditions that we treat at Performance Podiatry.
What causes Plantar Fasciitis?
With plantar fasciitis, consistent micro-tears to this fibrous band cause degeneration and break down within the tissue layers. Over time, the band thickens, causing it’s once excellent shock absorption properties to become less profound, pre-disposing it to future injury. Several factors can be at play with the cause of plantar fasciitis.
These include:
- Poor foot, knee or pelvis function
- Changes in activity eg. New job or sport
- Prolonged standing or walking
- Rapid weight gain
- Tight calves or restricted ankle movement
- High foot arches
- Flat feet or feet that pronate excessively
How do we assess for plantar fasciitis?
To assess for plantar fasciitis, we first listen to your story. How long has the pain been present? Did it onset with a new activity or occupation? What does it actually feel like and what is the intensity of the pain? What makes it better or worse? Once you have told us some of these details, we can begin to manually assess the area and find the exact site of pain. If we can’t be certain of a diagnosis, we may refer you for an x-ray or ultrasound.
Here at Performance Podiatry we use a Zebris force/pressure analysis treadmill to accurately identify where the maximum forces in the foot are occurring and how your walking or running style is impacting on the plantar fascia. We can use this tool to trial interventions inside your shoe or on your orthotics and measure for changes, meaning that our treatments have an objective, measurable outcome.
Treatment of plantar fasciitis?
At Performance Podiatry we believe that practitioner experience, the correct diagnosis and having a multitude of treatment modalities available, is key. As every human body is not the same, our approach needs to be personally tailored to each of our clients. We consider your lifestyle, occupation, individual mechanics, strength, flexibility, and footwear. Importantly, we have many treatment options at our disposal, such as:
- shockwave therapy
- strapping
- strength and conditioning
- dry needling
- foot mobilisation therapies
- foot orthotics
- gait retraining.
Your podiatrist will walk you through each of the treatment options and find the approach that will work best for you. If you are suffering from plantar fasciitis, feel free to call us or book online to see one of our excellent practitioners.
Make a podiatrist appointment to discuss Plantar Fasciitis treatment.
Our highly qualified and experienced podiatrists are experts in biomechanics and it’s our philosophy that the finest foot care requires an entirely bespoke experience. That’s why we are dedicated to providing entirely tailor-made diagnosis and treatment services that are the best in Australia.
Our dynamic practice has a holistic approach to resolving foot complaints.
From assessment and diagnosis to extraordinary treatment, every step of your journey with us will deliver you the ultimate podiatric experience, resulting in healthier and happier feet.
Book a consultation with our podiatrists in Sydney (Macquarie St), Darlinghurst and Randwick to discuss your condition and we’ll get you pain-free and back to full function as smoothly and quickly as possible, so you can return to the activities and life you love.
BOOK YOUR LOCAL PODIATRIST TODAY!
The human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art.