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Plantar fasciitis
Is physical therapy useful for plantar fasciitis?
Physical therapy for plantar fasciitis is quite effective. It can reduce local inflammatory reactions and increase local blood circulation, thereby promoting the recovery of the plantar fascia and alleviating pain. Generally, there are many types of physical therapy; currently, the most modern and commonly used is extracorporeal shock wave therapy, which has better effects than previous methods like electrotherapy and magnetic therapy. In addition to this type of therapy, local application of injections can also be used. Blocking injections can provide immediate pain relief, but their use is limited to once or twice a month at most, as excessive use can damage the plantar fascia and exacerbate pain.
Can plantar fasciitis be treated with moxibustion?
Plantar fasciitis can be alleviated by moxibustion to relieve foot pain, but solely relying on moxibustion may not be very effective. In treating plantar fasciitis, it's important first to understand that the main causes of the condition are excessive loading, over-exertion, and degeneration of the fascia due to aging. The primary treatment for this condition is rest, avoiding excessive exertion. At the same time, other treatments such as shock wave therapy, acupuncture, or local injections can also be utilized. If conservative treatments have been applied for over six months without relief of pain, or if the pain gradually worsens, surgery may be needed to provide relief.
What department should I go to for plantar fasciitis?
Plantar fasciitis refers to the aseptic inflammatory reaction of the plantar fascia caused by prolonged exercise or activity, which results in pain and restricted movement. If plantar fasciitis occurs, it is recommended to seek treatment in the orthopedics department of a formal hospital. Based on the symptoms, an appropriate treatment method should be chosen. Initially, it is important to rest and avoid excessive activities. Additionally, the application of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can help relieve symptoms and reduce inflammation, facilitating the restoration of walking and functional abilities.
Do you need to take an X-ray for plantar fasciitis?
Patients with plantar fasciitis need to have imaging done, as many people with plantar fasciitis also develop heel spurs. Therefore, imaging can be used to check if the patient has heel spurs. In addition to imaging, it is also necessary to perform color ultrasound or MRI. These examinations can reveal local edema in the plantar fascia, indicating some damage to the plantar fascia, and even the presence of aseptic inflammation. It is also necessary to combine the patient's medical history, physical examination, and clinical signs to diagnose plantar fasciitis comprehensively. However, imaging is a very necessary part of the examination process.
How is plantar fasciitis treated?
The treatment of plantar fasciitis currently is divided into two methods in clinical practice. The first method is conservative treatment, which includes rest, avoiding strenuous exertion and excessive weight-bearing walking. It can be managed with physical therapy, massage, acupuncture, physiotherapy, and local block injections. If conservative treatments do not improve the condition or even if the pain progressively worsens over more than half a year, severely affecting daily life, surgical treatment may be necessary. The objectives of surgical treatment are firstly to release the plantar fascia and secondly to remove bone, as a significant portion of patients with plantar fasciitis also have heel spurs; therefore, the surgical procedure involves the removal of these bone spurs to alleviate the pain.
Plantar fasciitis clinical symptoms
The clinical manifestation of plantar fasciitis primarily involves pain on the inner side of the foot when bearing weight, particularly severe during excessive weight-bearing activities. This pain can significantly affect your posture while walking and has a substantial impact on daily life. Currently, there are two main treatments used clinically. The first is conservative treatment, which mainly involves rest, local injections, electrotherapy, magnet therapy, and acupuncture to alleviate the pain. If conservative treatment fails to yield results after more than six months and the pain progressively worsens, surgical treatment becomes the only option. Surgical treatment includes releasing the plantar fascia, removing bone spurs, and eliminating inflammatory tissue around the plantar fascia to relieve pain.
Plantar fasciitis symptoms
The main symptom of plantar fasciitis is pain on the inner side of the foot when bearing weight and walking, which severely affects weight-bearing walking. Over time, this pain during weight-bearing walking can turn into what is known as rest pain, which is pain in the foot even when it is not bearing weight. The treatment of plantar fasciitis is currently divided into two parts in clinical practice. The first part is conservative treatment, which mainly involves massage, acupuncture, electrotherapy, magnet therapy, and occlusive methods to relieve the symptoms of foot pain when bearing weight. If this conservative treatment is ineffective and the pain worsens, severely affecting weight-bearing walking, surgical treatment may be necessary. The goals of surgical treatment are, firstly, to release the plantar fascia, and secondly, to remove heel spurs, as a significant number of patients with plantar fasciitis also have heel spurs. Thus, the aim of surgery is to release the plantar fascia and remove the heel spur to alleviate the pain during weight-bearing walking.
Can plantar fasciitis be treated with acupuncture?
After the non-acute phase of plantar fasciitis, it is possible to combine local acupuncture, physiotherapy, and treatments that stimulate circulation and relieve blockages to promote the recovery of inflammation and local tissue damage. However, during the acute phase of plantar fasciitis, and if there is no significant improvement after acupuncture treatment during the non-acute phase, it may be necessary to combine oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving medications, along with daily local heat physiotherapy. Generally, improvement can be seen after two to four weeks. If there still is no obvious improvement, it is recommended to revisit the hospital for further examination. If significant localized tenderness is confirmed, local block therapy may be considered. (Medication should be used under the guidance of a doctor.)
Which department should I register for plantar fasciitis?
To register for plantar fasciitis at a hospital, you need to visit two departments. The first is the orthopedics department, where the primary goal is to determine the cause of your plantar fasciitis. Firstly, it is necessary to check for the presence of heel spurs by taking an X-ray of the foot. Secondly, an MRI of the foot may be required to ascertain whether there is significant congestion and edema in your plantar fascia. As for treatment, you can seek help from the pain management department. The pain management department can provide local physical therapy and local blockade treatment to alleviate your pain. If this pain does not improve or worsens after more than six months of conservative treatment, severely affecting your daily life, you might need to return to the orthopedics department for surgical treatment. The surgery involves loosening the plantar fascia to help relieve the pain.
How to cure plantar fasciitis?
In clinical practice, there are currently two methods for treating plantar fasciitis. The first method is the most commonly seen conservative treatment, such as using rest, wearing orthotic shoes, and utilizing acupuncture, massage, electrotherapy, magnetotherapy, and local infiltration therapy to alleviate the symptoms of foot pain caused by the plantar fascia while walking. However, if conservative treatment does not yield results after six months or if the pain intensifies and severely affects weight-bearing walking, then it may become necessary to proceed with the second method of treatment, which is surgical intervention. The goals of surgical treatment include, firstly, loosening the plantar fascia and, secondly, removing bone spurs, as a significant number of patients with plantar fasciitis also develop bone spurs. Therefore, along with loosening the fascia, it is necessary to excise the bone spurs to relieve the symptoms of foot pain.