Want to learn about some new alternative treatments for plantar fasciitis? Great because we have a lot to teach you. There are a whole bunch of wonderful ways to help eliminate the symptoms of plantar fasciitis. Some you can do at home and some you will need to have done by a doctor.
Lets go into what causes plantar fasciitis in the first place. When you walk it is called a gait. If your gait is faulty it can cause your foot to be unstable. Plantar fasciitis usually only affects one side at a time. The unstable movement increases wear and tear on your entire lower extremity. So from the stomach muscles known as the trunk flexors all the way down to your tiny intrinsic muscles of the toes are involved. The system is corrupted finding the main culprits requires a good exam and deductive reasoning.
Jump in with me as I take you on the journey to a better understanding of plantar fasciitis. The iliopsoas and iliacus are trunk flexors allowing you to bend forward. This is where I want to focus your attention. If the brain senses instability in the lower extremity it will tighten the flexors on one side to add some stability to the lower part of your body. If you move to far threatening the stability you will illicit a pain response preventing you from moving excessively risking further damage. The innate intelligence of your body craves stability and balance. The brain gets what it wants.
The pelvis, made up of the sacrum and two ilium form a very stable base to the spinal column. When the psoas is tight on one side, usually the same side of the plantar fasciitis you have an imbalance of the pelvis. This in turn affects the femur, the long bone of the upper thigh that connects to the pelvis. There is a good chance that the femur will rotate internally towards the inside of the thigh.
What do you think happens next? I will tell you.The tibia the longer and larger bone of the lower leg will rotate externally. So when examining a patient they will almost always have extreme tenderness along the tibia on the outside.This muscle will require some attention to bring about a better healing response.The lower legs also have muscles around the back that are involved and are in need of attention. These are known as the gastrocnemius and the soleus and they are your calf muscles. They will be extremely tight trying to add stability to the mess going on further up the leg.
The calf muscles blend in to form the Achilles tendon. The Achilles is very tight and will pull on he muscles in the bottom of the foot. The bottom of the foot is known as the plantar surface. The tightness cause the arch of the foot to be lessened and brings on a great deal of pain. The pain we refer to as Plantar Fasciitis.
The fascia is a covering of the muscles. It gives shape to the muscle. All of your muscles have this covering. It is nerve rich and is very thin and slippery. since all the muscles are covered with it the muscles glide over each other nice and smoothly without friction. When the covering of the muscle (fascia) gets irritated the fascia develops a tougher not so smooth covering. The result is called adhesions. The adhesions increase friction whenever two muscles that are irritated come into contact with each other. This is the pain you experience with plantar fasciitis.
The pain is really in your foot but it can be caused by a faulty muscle caused by an altered gait. So to properly treat the symptoms of plantar fasciitis you need to focus on the entire leg and the trunk flexors. Properly addressing all of these areas will lead to a better outcome.
Lets get into how you treat these areas in an alternative way. There is a wonderful method called Graston. It was started by Dr.Graston, an English Osteopath. He got the idea for his method by studying an oriental medicine method called cupping. Graston acts to remove painful adhesions in the fascia restoring it back to the shiny slippery covering it was meant to be. Friction is decreased and pain is decreased. You should be warned that the treatment is painful. It is highly effective and results are often felt immediately.
Class IV Cold Laser Therapy is the newest addition to treating Plantar Fasciitis. Surely you understand photosynthesis. Well think of photosynthesis for damaged tissue. Small photons of light energy are applied to the muscles affected. The tissue regenerates faster when the energy form the light is absorbed into the cells of the muscle and fascia. Pretty exciting isn’t it. But even better is that these are 2 highly effective modalities that are making a huge difference in the treatment of plantar fasciitis.
Extremity manipulation is the last piece of the puzzle. Muscles are attached to bones. The bones are major supports for the body. You would be amazed at how effective manipulation is. There is less tension on the joints and muscles. By restoring the bones to their ideal location the muscles can work a normal load. This will prevent adhesions from forming in the first place. No adhesions means no plantar fasciitis.
Feel free to leave any questions or comments below we will try to get them all as quick as possible.
