Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis is notoriously painful — but the good news is that 90% of people heal with the right conservative care. At Foot and Ankle Specialists, with two offices in Summit and Hamilton, New Jersey, the team of diagnostic and treatment specialists offers comprehensive plantar fasciitis care. If you have heel pain, call the office nearest you or book your appointment using the online scheduling feature for help now. 

What is plantar fasciitis?

Plantar fasciitis occurs with inflammation in the plantar fascia — the strip of tissue extending from the heel to the toes. It starts when the plantar fascia grows irritated, leading to inflammation with tiny tears and serious heel pain. 

What are the symptoms of plantar fasciitis?

Plantar fasciitis causes sharp heel pain that’s usually most intense in the morning. Once you start moving, the pain often dissipates because walking stretches the plantar fascia and helps it “warm up.” Unfortunately, the plantar fascia retracts during rest periods, so the heel pain usually returns when you’re moving again. 

What caused my plantar fasciitis?

Plantar fasciitis often occurs in people who inadvertently put excessive stress on their plantar fascia. Common causes of this are:

• Flat feet
• Unusually high foot arches
• Standing for long periods 
• Extra weight
• Tight calf muscles
• Repetitive high-impact sports like distance running or ballet 
• Sudden increase in physical activity

With causes so wide-ranging, it’s not a surprise that plantar fasciitis is extremely common. About 10% of Americans develop the condition during their lifetime. 

How is plantar fasciitis treated?

The Foot and Ankle Specialists team offers conservative, minimally invasive, and surgical solutions for plantar fasciitis. Most people experience dramatic improvement with nonsurgical care methods such as:

• Stretching exercises
• Ice packs (20-minute intervals, a few times a day)
• Activity rest or reduction
• Avoid going barefoot
• Wearing supportive footwear with a good arch and slightly elevated heel
• Oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
• Custom orthotics
• Padding shoes
• Foot strapping
• Night splint
• Corticosteroid injections

If these methods aren’t helpful, a minimally invasive nonsurgical treatment, radiofrequency ablation (RFA), can relieve your pain in just one treatment session. RFA requires no incisions. It’s performed using live ultrasound imaging. 

The team determines the area requiring treatment and places a thin electrode near the nerve sending pain signals. The electrode delivers radiofrequency energy, which heats the nerve and disables it.  

After RFA, you’ll have a small bandage over the treatment site. You can remove it the day after the procedure; on day three, you can resume normal activities.

In the rare cases where conservative care or RFA isn’t successful, a minimally invasive surgery called endoscopic plantar fascia release can solve your heel pain problem for good. 

For heel pain help, call Foot and Ankle Specialists or book an appointment online now.

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