Walking on pins and needles?
Does this situation sound familiar? You wake up from a wonderful night sleep, you’re laying in bed stretching and getting your mind awake and ready for the day. You sit up, set your feet on the floor and the moment you stand up putting weight on your feet it feels like you are standing on pins and needles. The pain is so intense you can hardly walk. You have to use the bathroom so you force yourself to get there, all the while suffering with every single step you make.
Has this happened to you? If it has, I am so sorry! But you should know you are not alone. Nearly 20 million Americans suffer from plantar fasciitis, so you are not alone. So many people just ignore it, the pain affects them but they just keep moving and adapt how they walk to reduce the pain. That is NOT the answer.
Treatment could be a simple evaluation with a chiropractor. At Healthmax we look and assess feet every day! Your feet are the foundation of YOU. If they cause you pain, if they are not supporting you or if you are not able to walk properly this can set off a chain reaction of problems that can affect your whole body. Having an assessment of your whole body is what we focus on at Healthmax, whole body healing from the inside out!
What is plantar fasciitis? Let’s dive into the anatomy of the foot first. You have 26 bones in one foot… that’s 52 bones in both feet. Can you imagine if one of those bones was out of alignment, and how that could affect your gait, your mobility and your pain level? Then we have over 100 muscles and ligaments of the foot and ankle. All of that is surrounded by a fascia. Plantar fasciitis is an inflammation of the tissue in the foot, not just the heel. Most sufferers of plantar fasciitis have pain right at the heel, but the inflammation is typically throughout the foot. Any tissue inflammation or injury needs relief to the nerves that go to the foot, that is why a chiropractic adjustment to balance and align the spine helps heal the foot pain faster than just manual soft tissue work.
Most people who experience the symptoms of plantar fasciitis are between the ages of 40-60, but more and more people are being affected, even kids! We have seen a strong correlation with people who have lateral curves to their spine, otherwise called scoliosis, and an increased risk of experiencing plantar fasciitis.
Here are just a few of the things we do when someone comes into the office with pain in the foot. First and foremost we do a comprehensive evaluation of the spine, the nervous system as well as an assessment of the feet and scan to see if we have falling aches in any of the 3 arches of the foot. Yes I said 3 arches in the foot. We have the medial arch, the transverse arch and the lateral arch. If you are not supported in one of several of these arches, that leads to several problems, but plantar fasciitis is one. Treatment plans for someone with foot pain primarily consists of chiropractic adjustments to spine and extremities down the leg(s) to the foot to relieve the nervous system and balance and align. Then we support the adjustment with specific rehabilitation exercises for the core, lower back, leg and foot. We must work the muscle and fascia of the foot on a daily basis, so we typically give exercise homework for the individual. We support their falling arches with custom made arch supports, made by Foot Levelers. Other treatments have been using kinesiology tape for 3-5 days along the plantar fascia to support and help heal. Rolling a frozen water bottle on the bottom of the foot has helped. Lastly but equally important we also look at reducing inflammation throughout the body by encouraging a low glycemic, anti-inflammatory diet to help heal from the inside out.
What questions do you have? We’d love to answer them – book your evaluation today!
