How long should you rest for plantar fasciitis?

Written by Guan Jing Tao

Orthopedics

Updated on January 24, 2025

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For an initial episode of plantar fasciitis, it is recommended to rest for at least two to four weeks, avoid exposure to cold and weight-bearing activities, and perform local physical therapies such as heat therapy, physiotherapy, and acupuncture. If there is no significant improvement after about a week of treatment, it is advisable to visit a hospital for further consultation. If necessary, pain point block treatment may be administered once a week, with a total of two to four sessions constituting a treatment course, which can also yield good therapeutic effects. If there is still no significant improvement, it is suggested to conduct a local radiographic examination to ascertain any abnormal bone changes, and based on the results, further guidance and treatment will be provided.

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Written by Wang Cheng Lin

Orthopedics

57sec

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Plantar fasciitis etiology

The most common cause of plantar fasciitis is excessive weight-bearing walking, which leads to a type of nonspecific chronic aseptic inflammation of the plantar fascia, resulting in pain on the medial side of the foot when weight-bearing. This is the most common reason. The second cause is degeneration, which is most commonly seen in middle-aged and elderly female patients. The degeneration of the fascia can cause pain and may also be accompanied by heel spurs. Currently, there are two main treatments for plantar fasciitis. The first is conservative treatment, which includes rest, acupuncture, and local injection therapy to relieve pain. If conservative treatment does not work after more than six months or the condition gradually worsens, then surgical treatment becomes necessary. Surgical treatment can remove local inflammatory tissue and release the plantar fascia to achieve the purpose of relieving pain.

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Written by Wang Cheng Lin

Orthopedics

1min 9sec

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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.

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Written by Wang Cheng Lin

Orthopedics

57sec

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Plantar Fasciitis Physical Therapy Methods

The most common clinical treatments for plantar fasciitis are, firstly, injection therapy, secondly, acupuncture, and thirdly, small needle knife therapy. Among these, injection therapy has the most noticeable effects, but it also has a significant problem. Since the injections contain steroids, excessive use of injection therapy can not only fail to alleviate symptoms but may actually damage the plantar fascia, leading to a worsening of plantar fasciitis symptoms. Therefore, it is crucial to limit the frequency of injection treatments to no more than once or twice a month. If the symptoms of plantar fasciitis do not improve significantly with physical therapy and the pain progressively worsens, then surgical treatment may be necessary. The goals of surgery are firstly to release the plantar fascia and secondly to remove bone spurs, thereby completely alleviating the symptoms of plantar fasciitis pain.

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Written by Wang Cheng Lin

Orthopedics

41sec

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How long does it take to recover from plantar fasciitis?

For the disease of plantar fasciitis, if treated under normal conventional methods, the recovery time is generally around four to six weeks. However, during the treatment period, it is crucial to strictly follow the treatment principles, such as prohibiting excessive weight-bearing walking, strenuous exercise, and overworking. At the same time, some physical therapy methods should be coordinated, such as massage, acupuncture, electrotherapy, and magnetotherapy. In more severe cases, occlusion methods can be used to alleviate local pain. Generally, the time frame is four to six weeks. If the results from regular conservative treatment are not satisfactory, surgical treatment may be required later on.

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Written by Cheng Bin

Orthopedics

58sec

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Causes of Plantar Fasciitis

Regarding the causes of plantar fasciitis, the most common cause observed clinically is prolonged and excessive weight-bearing walking. Local excessive stimulation, exposure to cold, or trauma can also trigger plantar fasciitis. The main symptom of plantar fasciitis is pain in the sole of the foot. The methods to manage it include reducing local stimuli. For a period of time in the near future, try to avoid weight-bearing walking as much as possible, persist in using topical Chinese herbal medicines that invigorate the blood and dispel stasis which are boiled and then used for fumigation washing daily. Oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and pain relief medications, and blood-activating stasis-dispelling medications should be taken for treatment. Topical plasters that invigorate the blood and dispel stasis can also be used locally. Gradually, recovery will be achieved.