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Plantar Fasciitis treatment
Plantar fasciitis is a painful foot condition condition that involves tightening of the thick band of tissue on the bottom of the foot. Often the first few steps of the morning are the worst.
In the past, typical interventions for plantar fasciitis pain involved stretching the plantar fascia, either by deep tissue massage, or the use of scraping tools. Night splints were also employed to stretch the calf muscles and to prevent the fascia from shortening up during sleep. Today, we realize the plantar fascia is the victim, not the villain, and is tight due to the influence of other structures in the body and treatment requires a different approach.
"It's been a month since I last saw you, and I haven't had any heel pain since...Thank you"
-Linda M.
Most commonly, by the time you feel the symptoms from plantar fascia stress or irritation, the process has been going on for some time and there are multiple layers or tissue systems involved. An evaluation will look for fascial dysfunction throughout the entire body including ligaments of the spine, boney tensions and torsions within the feet and lower leg (caused by the periosteal layer), muscle fascia stretching from the feet to the spine, and the vascular flow into and out of the leg. Treatment of these fascial restrictions involves a gentle shortening of the involved tissue, often through a glide of a specific structure or positioning of the body around the structure to facilitate relaxation of the spinal cord reflex that is causing the dysfunction.