Plantar fasciitis is a very common cause of heel pain. It occurs when the plantar fascia, the ligament that connects your heel bone to your toes, is strained, swollen or inflamed. Pain and stiffness are typical in the morning and after prolonged periods of standing/walking. Flat soled shoes/Ballerinas or hard heeled shoes trigger more pain but shoes with heel raise and soft heels tend to reduce the symptoms.
Treatment for Heel pain – plantar fasciitis
Conservative treatment should be initiated as soon as possible once the diagnosis has been confirmed. This includes daily stretching of the calf muscle, supportive footwear with a small heel raise which is soft/cushioning, insoles, and reduced weight-bearing activities (standing/walking). In addition, it might help to tape the foot, apply ice, take some anti-inflammatory medication for a short period of time and use a night splint. If symptoms do persist for a prolonged period of time one can consider shock wave treatment or an ultrasound-guided injection of cortisone. For the very few intractable patients with a very tight calf muscle, one can consider a very small operation. Thereby a small incision is performed to release the tight calf muscle and this reduces the stress on the plantar fascia.
