*Avoid going barefoot. Wear a shoe or slipper around the house. I often recommend Crocs to be worn in the house. Your foot needs support. Walking barefoot in the house, especially if you have hardwood floors or your home is built on a concrete slab foundation, will aggravate an already inflamed plantar fascia.
*Stretch your calf. A tight achilles tendon can cause heel pain. There are several stretching exercises that you can do to decrease tightness and pain.
*Avoid wearing worn out shoes. Often times it is the favorite pair of old shoes that causes plantar fasciitis.
*Try using an insert in the shoe to support your arch.
*Don't avoid seeing a physiotherapist for foot pain. Would you go to the mall for heart problems? Of course not. Then why do so many people go to a shoe store for foot problems? The clerk there is most likely not a doctor. I hate seeing a patient come in who has spent a lot of money on an insert purchased from a local store. Avoid the advertising scam! Podiatrists have years of training and, in most cases, can quickly diagnose and treat most foot problems.
*Use ice. I recommend my patients use a 16 ounce water bottle. Freeze it. Roll it in the arch. The ice helps decrease inflammation and the motion of the bottle on the arch helps stretch out the plantar fascia. Try this for 5-10 minutes twice a day.
*If you have heel pain, arch pain, or "heel spurs" for longer than 3-4 weeks, go see a physiotherapist. Don't let this become a chronic problem. The sooner heel pain is treated the quicker it will respond. It will go away with the correct treatment.
If you need to see a physiotherapist, they may treat you with a cortisone injection, xrays, ultrasound, physical therapy, a night splint, a custom orthotic, other types of braces or supports, shock wave therapy, or even a new procedure called dry needling. Surgery is rarely needed for heel pain. Remember, heel pain is never normal. It can be effectively treated. A physiotherapist is the expert when it comes to foot and ankle care.
*Stretch your calf. A tight achilles tendon can cause heel pain. There are several stretching exercises that you can do to decrease tightness and pain.
*Avoid wearing worn out shoes. Often times it is the favorite pair of old shoes that causes plantar fasciitis.
*Try using an insert in the shoe to support your arch.
*Don't avoid seeing a physiotherapist for foot pain. Would you go to the mall for heart problems? Of course not. Then why do so many people go to a shoe store for foot problems? The clerk there is most likely not a doctor. I hate seeing a patient come in who has spent a lot of money on an insert purchased from a local store. Avoid the advertising scam! Podiatrists have years of training and, in most cases, can quickly diagnose and treat most foot problems.
*Use ice. I recommend my patients use a 16 ounce water bottle. Freeze it. Roll it in the arch. The ice helps decrease inflammation and the motion of the bottle on the arch helps stretch out the plantar fascia. Try this for 5-10 minutes twice a day.
*If you have heel pain, arch pain, or "heel spurs" for longer than 3-4 weeks, go see a physiotherapist. Don't let this become a chronic problem. The sooner heel pain is treated the quicker it will respond. It will go away with the correct treatment.
If you need to see a physiotherapist, they may treat you with a cortisone injection, xrays, ultrasound, physical therapy, a night splint, a custom orthotic, other types of braces or supports, shock wave therapy, or even a new procedure called dry needling. Surgery is rarely needed for heel pain. Remember, heel pain is never normal. It can be effectively treated. A physiotherapist is the expert when it comes to foot and ankle care.
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