As your feet are the foundation of your body you want them to feel great and function at their best. If you have plantar fasciitis, however, even walking can become very uncomfortable. Plantar fasciitis is inflammation in the fascia, which is the tissue found across the bottom of the foot. This tissue stretches from the heel to the forefoot or just below the base of the toes and typically presents as pain in the heel or the arch.
Plantar fasciitis is typically caused by a collapse of that arch. So it’s putting more strain on that fascia or the connective tissue under the base of the foot.
How PT Can Help
Physical therapy helps in a few different ways. One piece is working on increasing blood flow to the area, increasing circulation. Another important aspect is educating patients on what plantar fasciitis is and what causes it so that they can do things to minimize discomfort and irritation to the region.
Many times with plantar fasciitis, we think about using braces or cushions for the foot. Initially, the cushion can help minimize that continued pain. But similarly to a back injury, you’re not going to want to wear a back brace for the rest of your life. To help provide healing, we focus on strengthening the muscles of the back. The same is true for plantar fasciitis. We want to work on strengthening the muscles in the foot to correct that arch collapse and allow you then to be able to walk around barefoot in your house versus always having to wear shoes with orthotics to provide that external support.
What to Expect
First visit
We will get a subjective report on how long you’ve been experiencing plantar fasciitis. Here are some questions you’ll likely be asked:
- What makes it worse and what makes it better?
- How do you spend your time?
- What job do you have? Do you stand a lot?
- What leisure activities do you participate in? Do you run a lot?
To objectively assess plantar fasciitis, we will look at the range of motion and strength of the feet, ankles and lower legs. We will look up into the hips just to make sure that there’s nothing restricting mobility there that’s also affecting the foot. Then treatment will include some manual therapy techniques. We often use Kinesio tape, and a low-level laser to help promote localized healing. We will then give ideas for home stretches and strengthening exercises.
Our Multidisciplinary Clinic
As our practice is a multidisciplinary clinic we offer chiropractic, physical therapy and massage therapy, but anyone can come in for one, two or three types of therapies.
Meet Our PT Crystal Luxmore
Crystal earned a master’s degree in physical therapy from the College of St. Scholastica. Prior to becoming a part of the Family Chiropractic + Wellness team, she worked in various hospital settings, focusing on outpatient but including some inpatient care. Crystal provided pediatric care on an outpatient basis for several years. The rest of her career has been spent in outpatient clinic settings with a focus on orthopedic and neurological dysfunctions.
For Crystal, what she enjoys most about working at our practice is learning about the patients and building rapport with them. She wants to find out what their specific goals are and how their pain or range of motion challenge is affecting their functioning. Crystal wants to help them get back to doing what they love in life.
Contact Us
With chiropractic, physical therapy and massage therapy available in-house, we’re your center in the community for natural healing. Give us a call today to schedule an appointment!