Plantar Fasciitis Q & A
What is plantar fasciitis?
Your plantar fascia is located on the bottom of your foot, runs from your heel toward your toes, and helps to support your body weight. Running, jumping, or standing strains on your fascia, and sometimes this constant pressure results in a stress injury called plantar fasciitis.
What are the symptoms of plantar fasciitis?
The symptoms of plantar fasciitis consist of swelling on the bottom of your foot and tenderness on the inside of your heel.
You often feel a sharp, stabbing pain on the bottom of your foot, which usually dissipates after a couple of minutes, but often returns if you stand or sit for an extended period. Pain may disappear during activity but return afterward.
Active patients typically have slow recovery times, three to nine months, because standing and walking aggravate plantar fasciitis. Anyone who is relatively active can experience a slow recovery because of everyday walking and standing. Those in professions that require continuous standing are vulnerable to long-term problems.
How can you treat plantar fasciitis?
When you have excessive inflammation in your foot, your body’s healing process slows down, making your foot sensitive to touch. Cold laser or low-level laser therapy helps decrease your pain and inflammation and speeds up your natural healing process as well.
How does cold laser therapy work?
Cold laser therapy emits specific wavelengths and frequencies that help shut off inflammatory cells, resulting in less pain and inflammation around your tissues. These wavelengths trigger the increased ATP, or mitochondrial production, of energy within your cells. These repairing cells then use this energy to lay down more fibers at a faster time frame.
During the procedure, you feel the device against your skin, but there’s no heat, sounds, or vibrations. The treatment is entirely noninvasive and painless. Most of the time, one session takes only a few minutes. Dr. McNabb determines the number of sessions required based on your condition.
If you think you might suffer from plantar fasciitis, call Kilgore Integrated Health or schedule an appointment online so you can get the pep back in your step and return to enjoying your favorite activities.
