Plantar Fasciitis Home Remedy
Plantar Fasciitis Home Remedy – Do they Work?
At Sydney heel pain clinic we are often asked the question is there a plantar fasciitis home remedy and does it actually work. Truthfully, there are many home remedies available online if we search long and hard enough. Many of these home remedies have been around for more than 10 years and can be considered to be old science.
Plantar Fasciitis Symptoms – Is this You?
Patients with plantar fasciitis usually report pain first thing in the morning when they rise from bed. They normally hobble around for the first 10 minutes of their day until the heel warms up and the pain subsides slightly. They also report pain after periods of being seated such as driving or watching television. Other people report pain after they have been seated at their office desk while at work. The pain from plantar fasciitis is usually under the base of the heel and can be central for more often towards the medial side.
Plantar Fasciitis Home Remedy
Sometimes, one plantar fasciitis home remedy will work for one person but not for another. Sometimes a plantar fasciitis home remedy is beneficial simply because the patient has a very mild case of heel pain and has begun to treat it quickly, before it becomes chronic. To this end, a home remedy can be useful, but will not always work for everybody.
A Note
“After treating thousands of patients at the Sydney heel pain clinic it has become apparent that the single most important factor in resolving plantar fasciitis is the physical support and unloading of the plantar fascia itself. The sports podiatrist is able to achieve this in one of several ways but is also able to demonstrate a very reliable and simple strapping technique that can be applied as a plantar fasciitis home remedy, by the patient themselves.”
A Popular Plantar Fasciitis Home Remedy
One of the most popular plantar fasciitis home remedies exercises is to roll your foot on a frozen bottle of water or any other hard cylindrical object. The theory here is to massage the soul of the foot and to release the plantar facia. At the same time the iced water allegedly reduces inflammation and reduces pain. However, it is not uncommon for the patient to report an increase in symptoms following this particular exercise. In theory, this may be due to an overload of physical pressure against the base of the heel from the hard object, which simply further irritates the plantar fascia. While some of these plantar fasciitis home remedies provide short-term relief, sometimes for a few minutes only, they often create long-term irritation and can prolong the heel pain condition. Therefore, at Sydney Heel Pain Clinic we do not recommend this treatment.
Foot Streches as a Plantar Fasciitis Home Remedy
Another popular plantar fasciitis home remedy is to stretch the sole of the foot. One way of doing this is to stand on the edge of the steps and allow your heel to drop. Some people perform this exercise as a way of stretching the calf muscles and also as a way to stretch the plantar fascia through the bottom of the foot. In theory, this would also stretch the flexor tendons and the muscles bottom of the foot too. For some people these step stretches can be beneficial but for some people they cause tearing or extreme irritation in the plantar fascia. This is due to a massive increase in load through the soul of the foot at the point where the plantar fascia attaches to heel. The plantar fascia can also be affected through the mid-arch area during these old-fashioned stretches. Again, not advised at Sydney Heel Pain Clinic.
The most beneficial plantar fasciitis home remedy, when it comes to stretching, is a supinated calf stretch while standing and leaning against a wall. One foot back, one foot forward and both feet pointing straight ahead. However, the foot must be supinated and it is important that it does not pronate during the stretch. It should be noted that plantar fasciitis treatment is multifactorial and there is no one magic bullet. Even if this stretch is performed perfectly, or if another home remedy is executed correctly, this does not mean that the condition will resolve. There are often at least one of two other contributing factors that need to be addressed. During a biomechanical assessment and physical examination at the Sydney heel pain clinic, the sports podiatrist is able to correctly diagnose and highlight one or more of the contributing factors. Following these examinations, the podiatrist is able to execute a treatment plan which may or may not involve a plantar fasciitis home remedy. The sports podiatrist is able to demonstrate the supinated calf stretch during consultation.
Sydney Heel Pain Mobile Phone App
In order to provide the correct plantar fasciitis home remedy, Sydney heel pain clinic will provide every patient with the Sydney heel pain mobile phone application. Listed in the app are the home remedies that should be avoided but importantly the home remedies with a higher success rates are included. Each patient is provided with a password in order to open and access the contents of the application. The application is available in the Apple store and the Google play store, and is completely free of charge for patients attending the clinic.
Stretching with a Beach Towel or Bath Towel
Another common plantar fasciitis home remedy is stretching the bottom of the foot by using a long beach towel or bath towel. Again, this is risky. It can be beneficial for mild cases of plantar fasciitis and can be beneficial if the condition is caught early enough. There are benefits to this particular stretch as it is a good way to lengthen the calf muscles. It should be noted here that the plantar fascia is not an elastic structure that can be stretched or lengthened. Hence, there is the risk of overloading the facia and increasing the pulling sensation on the base of the heel. Some patients will report short-term relief when carrying out this plantar fasciitis home remedy however the condition persists.
The Application of Heat Packs as a Plantar Fasciitis Home Remedy
If a patient’s heel pain condition has been persisting for long enough they will continue to search as many plantar fasciitis home remedies as possible. The application of a warm wheat bag or any other form of heat pack against the base of the heel will provide short-term relief. Due to this short-term pain relief the patient will continually and repeatedly reapply the heat pack against the heel every day until they realise that the condition is not resolving. It has been suggested that the increase in blood flow from the heat pack creates vasodilation and allows an increase in inflammatory cells around the heel. This increase in inflammation only prolongs the condition and causes an increase in heel pain.
Throbbing or Stabbing / Shooting Pains
If a patient experiences throbbing or shooting pains this would indicate an acute case of plantar fasciitis for which there is no real plantar fasciitis home remedy. At this stage it is important to seek the opinion of a medical practitioner such as a sports podiatrist.
In summary, there are at least four or five plantar fasciitis home remedies and on occasions one of them may work for an individual if the condition is mild and has only been present for a very short time. It should be understood that plantar fasciitis is a complex condition and that there are many contributing factors, some of them only recognisable by a healthcare practitioner. If a patient has tried one or two home remedies but is still suffering with heel pain from plantar fasciitis then it is advisable to seek the help of a suitably qualified medical practitioner. Please note that the home remedies listed in this article should not be taken as medical advice and therefore should not be used as a treatment plan or as a guide for a plantar fasciitis home remedy.
Please read “shock wave therapy as a new and wonderful treatment option for plantar fasciitis”.
Written by Karl Lockett