Plantar Fasciitis Specialist
-
- Tweet
Center For Orthopedic Surgery
Orthopedic Surgeons & Foot and Ankle Specialists located in Lubbock, TX
If you’ve ever experienced excruciating foot or heel pain when you get out of bed in the morning, odds are you have plantar fasciitis. The stabbing pain makes this condition hard to ignore, which is why seeking treatment is a wise decision. At the Center for Orthopedic Surgery in Lubbock, Texas, the doctors can help you overcome this debilitating pain, allowing you to jump out of bed each morning free of pain. If you’re plagued by plantar fasciitis, call or book an appointment online today.
Plantar Fasciitis Q & A
What is plantar fasciitis?
Your plantar fascia is a ligament that stretches across the bottom of your foot, connecting your heel to the front of your foot. This band of tissue is pulled taut, providing support for your arches while acting as a shock absorber for your foot.
In its role both providing support and as a shock absorber, your plantar fascia undergoes a tremendous amount of stress, which can lead to tiny tears in the tissue over time. These tears can cause inflammation in the band, which leads to pain in your heels and along the underside of your foot. Together, this creates plantar fasciitis.
What are the symptoms of plantar fasciitis?
The first thing anyone with plantar fasciitis notices is the hallmark stabbing pain, usually in the morning. Any time you rest your inflamed plantar fascia and then get up to walk again, the tissue objects painfully. This pain typically subsides after a few minutes of walking around.
You may also experience this pain after engaging in exercise.
What causes plantar fasciitis?
Plantar fasciitis typically develops when repetitive stresses cause tiny tears in your tissue. What makes some people more prone to the condition than others boils down to a few common risk factors, such as:
- Age: the older you are, the more prone you are to plantar fasciitis
- Exercises where you apply concussive force, such as running on hard surfaces
- The structure of your feet: both flat feet and high arches can contribute to plantar fasciitis
- Obesity
- Spending long periods on your feet
How is plantar fasciitis treated?
When you go in to see your doctor at the Center for Orthopedic Surgery, the first order of business is to diagnose the extent of the problem. To do this, your doctor reviews your symptoms and examines your feet.
Once the severity of the problem is clear, your doctor typically recommends one or more of the following treatments:
- Anti-inflammatory medications
- Physical therapy and stretching exercises
- Orthotics
- Night splints
- Corticosteroid injections
- Shockwave therapy
- Scar removal
If your plantar fasciitis persists despite these treatments, your doctor may suggest surgery to detach your plantar fascia. Getting to this point is uncommon, but it’s an option that can relieve the pain if your plantar fasciitis isn’t responding to more conservative measures.
If you’d like to learn more about plantar fasciitis treatments, call the Center for Orthopedic Surgery today or use the online booking tool to schedule an appointment.
