Plantar fasciitis is one of the inflammatory diseases of the feet, which is accompanied by the formation of microcracks of the fascia of the foot. This disease causes severe burning pain and is the cause of lameness.
Diagnostics
If every morning you’re having difficulty getting on your feet and it’s hard for you to start walking normally, then it's too late to talk about ways to prevent this problem. In such a situation, it is important to confirm plantar fasciitis disease. Symptoms, prevention and treatment of this problem are the lot of surgeons. Do not engage in self-diagnosis and even more so try to alleviate your condition. Even with the first and only symptoms it is better to visit a specialist.
A surgeon should make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment for plantar fasciitis. Although everyone himself can suspect these problems for himself . The first sign is morning pain in the legs in the area of the arch of the foot, which decreases in the evening. The doctor can confirm the diagnosis after examining the Achilles tendon and triceps muscle of the leg. Patients with plantar fasciitis cannot bend the foot beyond the usual straight position, they cannot get it closer to themselves. The surgeon also confirms the assumption of the disease after examining the foot, palpation of the plantar aponeurosis.
The most accurate is the diagnosis using MRI. With pathologies of the plantar aponeurosis, edema is visible in the pictures. This study also allows you to see hidden fractures, fibromas, or Baxter's nerve neuroma. This helps to avoid making the wrong diagnosis.
Treatment methods
Do not refuse drugs prescribed by your doctor if he has confirmed that you have plantar fasciitis. Modern medicines can reduce pain and prevent the further development of the disease. For these purposes, the doctor will prescribe special orthopedic insoles and tell you how to do gymnastics. Without following these recommendations, hoping for a recovery is not worth it. The use of special orthopedic tires, which are applied overnight, also gives good results. Physiotherapeutic procedures have a good effect.
In many cases, you can not do without anti-inflammatory drugs. Doctors often prescribe Diclofenac or Ibuprofen, or their analogues. If the disease has gone so far that a person cannot get out of bed on his own in the morning, and conventional medications do not help, then glucocorticoid injections can be prescribed.
In the most difficult cases, the doctor can even recommend surgery. But it will be discussed only after all methods of conservative treatment have been tried.
Physiotherapy
To prevent problems in the early stages of the disease, it is important to stretch the Achilles tendon and plantar aponeurosis. This can be done with the help of simple exercises, in which the foot must be pulled over. At home, you can do foot massage with both hands and using a small threshold between rooms. To do this, just roll the foot over it. In the early days, the sensations will be painful, but over time they will subside. With the help of such massage the treatment of plantar fasciitis is carried out, because during its execution the ligaments will work and the plantar aponeurosis will stretch. It is also useful to lift small objects from the floor with your toes. They can also collect a spread towel.
In addition to exercises, the doctor may recommend an ice massage. To do this, freeze water in a paper bag and drive them in the foot for 5 minutes every evening. In this case, you can slightly press on the skin to stretch the plantar fascia.
Drug treatment
To quickly alleviate the patient's condition, anti-inflammatory drugs can also be prescribed. They help to quickly relieve the pain caused by plantar fasciitis. Treatment, for which an ointment can also be prescribed, is to reduce inflammation and prevent microcracks. At night, you may be advised to apply Ortofen or Cortisone creams to your foot.
To alleviate the condition, Ibuprofen, Diclofenac or Naproxen medications can. In advanced cases, only injections of corticosteroids help. But they only bring temporary relief, over time the pain may return. Often such injections can not be done, because this can lead to rupture of the plantar fascia.
Physiotherapeutic procedures
With only painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs, treatment of plantar fasciitis will not be effective. It should go in combination with stretching exercises, the right insoles in shoes and physiotherapeutic procedures.
The most effective is shock wave therapy. Most often, it is prescribed to people who have chronic plantar fasciitis. Treatment, tablets in which only connect to temporarily alleviate the patient's condition, should lead to a stretching of the fascia. But a comprehensive medication and physiotherapy approach can quickly get rid of the problem. In addition, he will prevent fascia ruptures in the future, which means that the patient will no longer feel pain in the morning.
Ultrasound treatment may also be prescribed. Using this method, the tissues affected by the sensor warm up well. As a result, inflammation decreases and pain subsides.
Folk methods
Along with medical treatment, you can try the methods that alternative medicine offers. It aims to reduce inflammation and prevent microcracks that accompany plantar fasciitis. Treatment with folk remedies consists in applying compresses to problem areas.
You can make them from flax seeds (you need 2 handfuls) and washed potato peelings. To do this, these components are mixed, poured with 2 glasses of water and boiled until a thick slurry forms. Treatment of plantar fasciitis can begin as soon as the prepared mixture has cooled slightly. It is necessary to hold your legs for 20 minutes. After rinsing and wiping your feet, you can do stretching and massage of heated tissues that affected the plantar fasciitis. Treatment with folk remedies will give results quickly enough, if you do not forget to do compresses regularly and intensively knead the foot after this.