Plantar Fasciitis Treatments:
Many patients that we help at Toronto Orthotics have already Googled self-help ideas for plantar fasciitis treatment – ones that they can do at home. This is a good place to start. Some of these may include:
- icing (reduces inflammation and pain)
- rolling their foot on a frozen water bottle (reduces inflammation, pain and relaxes tight muscles and connective tissue)
- rest and elevating the foot (reduces inflammation and gives the tissues a chance to heal)
- using creams, remedies and over-the-counter or prescription medications (reduces inflammation and pain)
- buying over-the-counter insoles (for cushioning and support)
- buying different shoes (for cushioning and support)
- buying over-the-counter support socks (for support and to reduce inflammation and pain)
- stretching (to reduce tension in the muscles)
However, if these remedies have not healed the pain after 2 weeks, we recommend that you make an appointment with Dr. Horowitz and obtain a comprehensive foot examination.
The Importance of Obtaining an Accurate Diagnosis by a Foot Pain Expert & Receiving A Comprehensive Treatment Plan:
There are a number of good reasons why it is a wise investment for you to consult with Dr. Horowitz for a comprehensive foot/leg examination. These include:
1. You will save yourself time, money and feeling prolonged pain and frustration by obtaining an accurate diagnosis and comprehensive treatment plan.
People often try to self-diagnose based on a google search. While you can find helpful ideas and sometimes you may be correct in attributing your pain to Plantar Fasciitis, not all heel and foot pain is due to Plantar Fasciitis. Like most people, you are likely not aware of the fact there are specific times and locations where the pain must be, in order to fit into that diagnosis. What you think is Plantar Fasciitis may actually be referred from a different muscle, tendon, ligament or bone. If the true cause of the pain is overlooked, you will not heal in a timely and thorough manner.
There are also traumatic, systemic and arthritic conditions as well as certain skin conditions that can cause heel pain. Without a proper diagnosis, something can be overlooked, which will prolong your pain and delay resolution.
True Story: Dr. Horowitz had a patient come in for an examination directly from the emergency department of a local hospital. He was given the diagnosis of Plantar Fasciitis. However, upon first observing how the patient was walking, discussing the pain with patient and conducting a thorough examination, it became clear that this patient had a Rheumatic joint condition that required referral to a Rheumatologist.
2. Dr. Horowitz teaches you how to choose the proper size and styles of shoes and footwear, based on your particular lifestyle. She shares her list of recommended running shoes, shoe store resources as well as where to find sandals that can be customized.
On a weekly basis, Dr. Horowitz has patients who come in who have innocently wasted their money on shoes that do not fit properly or are not appropriate for the type of activities they are doing. No one ever really teaches us how to choose footwear and how to decide if the shoes are fitting us properly. When it comes to treatment for Plantar Fasciitis, you can spend hours doing all of the self-help ideas found online, but if you are not wearing the proper footwear, then you will quickly undo your efforts and the pain is likely to return.
3. Obtain an honest opinion about if you need Custom Orthotics to treat your Plantar Fasciitis
Not everyone who has Plantar Fasciitis requires custom orthotics. Only by having a comprehensive foot and leg exam, which includes a Computerized Gait Scan, will you know for certain how important custom orthotics may be to your ability to heal quickly. If you have a collection of over-the-counter shoe inserts or insoles that were made for you at a mall or trade show (without having had a thorough diagnosis) and you still are in pain, then clearly, those have not been the complete answer to healing your pain. If you do not need custom orthotics, Dr. Horowitz will tell you so. If you do need them, wearing them they can be life-changing.
4. Getting the proper level of compression after having obtained accurate measurements of your feet and legs is the most effective way of using compression socks.
Dr. Horowitz, is the owner of the popular online store Onestopcompressionsox.com. She is a certified fitter and consultant for medical-grade compression socks and stockings. Not all support socks are created equal! If you have Plantar Fasciitis and are wearing over-the-counter support socks, ones purchased on amazon with unknown quality control and/or your were not properly measured for the products, you may not be getting the level of compression that you require. They may be too small or large to function optimally and your pain may continue despite your best efforts.
5. Learn which of the 6 targeted foot stretches are most needed to heal your pain and how to do them correctly.
Our feet and legs are wonderful and work so hard for us! We so take them for granted! We don’t usually learn about foot health until we are in pain. Many people never even think to stretch out their foot muscles, tendons and ligaments. Even some patients who do know how to stretch the feet often miss stretching important muscle groups that are critical in the healing and treatment of plantar fasciitis or they don’t use the proper form.
6. Plantar Fasciitis may require hands-on treatments. Dr. Horowitz is trained in manually manipulating the foot joints.
There are 26 bones in the feet and most of them should be moving properly. Foot joint manipulation, deep massage and therapeutic ultrasound may be critical steps in healing your Plantar Fasciitis.
More painful or invasive treatments such as cortisone injections and shockwave therapy are considered to be last resort treatments for custom orthotics according to research, only after all other conservative treatments have failed.
When patients follow the treatment plan suggested by Dr. Horowitz, most patients experience 70-80% relief within 3 weeks of starting treatment and continue to improve.
Ignoring Foot Pain is Unwise: 
It is important to begin treatment for Plantar Fasciitis as soon as possible, as micro-tears can develop in the connective tissue and if inflammation is left unchecked, a bony spur may develop and pain can become chronic. It can then take up to a year for the condition to resolve. It can also then develop in the other heel.
BOOK ONLINE
Toronto Orthotics offers on-site therapy and treatment options that may be required for Plantar Fasciitis Treatment.
Toronto Orthotics Foot, Leg & Back Pain Clinic
Relief for Plantar Fasciitis
Have Questions about how we can help?
Contact us by calling (647) 349-4909 or ask Dr. Horowitz a question by filling out this form below: