Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar Fasciitis is well-treated using naturopathic medicine.

Plantar fasciitis is one of the most common causes of heel pain. It is an inflammatory condition of the plantar fascia, the thick band of tissue that runs across the bottom of your foot and connecting your heel bone to your toes, and acts as a shock absorber.

The pain of plantar fasciitis results when excessive tension (e.g., from poorly fitting footwear) results in tearing, and consequently in irritation and inflammation of the plantar fascia.

Plantar fasciitis is painful, can affect your quality of life, and in time lead to foot, knee, hip, or back problems that develop from changes your walking motion.

Symptoms of Plantar Fasciitis

Possible symptoms of plantar fasciitis include, pain that (is):

  • Develops gradually
  • Usually affects only one foot
  • Sharp
  • Felt at the heel your foot
  • Is most intense with the first few steps after waking or prolonged sitting, or after periods of prolonged standing

Treatment of Plantar Fasciitis at Toronto Centre for Naturopathic Medicine

At Toronto Centre for Naturopathic Medicine, the goal of plantar fasciitis treatment is complete resolution of pain and prevention of recurrence.

Conventional treatment for plantar fasciitis may include a physical therapy, night splint use, surgery and variety of medications, including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and corticosteroids. These treatments may have short- or long-term side effects.

For this reason, you may choose to try natural treatment to possibly avoid use of conventional medications, or together with conventional medications in order to decrease dosages of conventional medications required to manage your plantar fasciitis symptoms.

Naturopathic treatment of any chronic health concern must be recognized as a process that involves:

  • Identifying specific treatment goals
  • Development by your naturopathic doctor, of a thorough understanding of all factors affecting your health, including physical, psychological, emotional and lifestyle factors
  • Development of a comprehensive treatment plan
  • Implementation and maintenance of that plan through periodic monitoring and adjustment

At Toronto Centre for Naturopathic Medicine, a typical approach to treating plantar fasciitis may be to:

  • Identify and address underlying factors in your lifestyle (e.g., exercise patterns, occupational requirements and other activities that stress the plantar fascia, poorly fitted footwear) or general health (e.g., being flat-footed or having a high arch, having an abnormal walking motion, obesity) that may be contributing to development of plantar fasciitis
  • Resolve pain using acupuncture, Bowen Therapy or Suikodo™
  • Prevent recurrence using acupuncture, Bowen Therapy or Suikodo™ maintenance protocols

Where appropriate, a number of therapeutic options are available, to be used alone, or more often in a complementary fashion, including:

Treatments provided by naturopathic doctors are covered by most extended healthcare plans.

References

Plantar fasciitis [Internet]. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; [cited 2010 Jan 28]. Available from: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/plantar-fasciitis/DS00508.

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