Patients with musculoskeletal disorders often struggle with chronic heel pain syndrome. It is unclear which exact pathologic characteristics are to blame for each patient’s symptoms.
The development and persistence of the heel pain, however, may caused by a variety of factors, including thickening of the proximal fascia, reduced vascularity, peritendinous inflammation, loss of normal elasticity (tensegrity), and changes in nocioceptor physiology.
How does the diagnosis happen?
When the patient initially gets up after awakening, this discomfort is typically there. It could linger throughout the day and get worse as a result of routine tasks like working or engaging in leisure activities.
Proximal plantar fasciitis is extremely simple to diagnose clinically. Seronegative arthropathies and nerve entrapment syndromes are less common disorders that should taken into account when making a differential diagnosis. A heel spur on the inferior surface of the calcaneus is commonly seen on radiographs, although it is not thought to pathognomonic for the condition.
Although the natural history may be linked to symptomatic improvement in the absence of any intervention, the majority of patients eventually seek shock wave therapy for plantar fasciitis because of their level of pain and incapacity.
The first course of treatment should be conservative (nonoperative), including techniques such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medicines, orthotics, physical therapy (focusing on extending the fascia and the heel cord), night splints, and shoe modifications.
With one or more of these therapies, the majority of patients get a satisfactory improvement. Injections of steroids into the sore region have also used.
How shockwave therapy can treat plantar fasciitis?
A painful ailment of the feet is plantar fasciitis. It happens when the plantar fascia, a band of connective tissue at the bottom of the foot, becomes irritated and inflamed. People who are on their feet a lot tend to get the ailment. A defining symptom of plantar fasciitis is morning heel discomfort after waking up. Fortunately, most patients may find relief from their problems without surgery.
On the bottom of the foot lies a thick band of connective tissue called the plantar fascia. It spans the whole foot, from the heel to the ball. The foot’s arch is preserve by the plantar fascia.
Problems with the foot’s structure are the root cause of plantar fasciitis. The plantar fascia is particularly long in those with flat feet and particularly short in people with high arches, making them more prone to plantar fasciitis. The problem is exacerbate by sudden weight gain, obesity, and extended standing or walking on hard surfaces.
Symptoms and Diagnosis:
Heel discomfort from plantar fasciitis may be quite painful. When you first wake up in the morning, right after a nap, or after spending a lot of time standing, the pain is typically worse. Walking or stretching may help to relax the plantar fascia and relieve the discomfort.
Your podiatrist will check your foot and go over your medical background. Your symptoms and how much time you spend standing up should discussed with your doctor. To find the position and size of a heel spur, X-rays, bone scans, or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans may be utilized to provide more details about the structure of your foot.
Treatment:
A potential therapeutic option for those with persistent plantar fasciitis is shock wave therapy (SWT). The body receives concentrated shock waves from SWT. Shock wave treatment is believe to function by causing microtrauma to the plantar fasciitis-affected tissue. The body responds to this microtrauma by starting a healing process. Blood vessels grow as a result of the healing process, and the amount of nutrients delivered to the injured region is increased.
Microtrauma is suppose to trigger a healing process and ease plantar fasciitis symptoms.
Why you should never ignore the flat feet problem?
Many different outcomes might happen, some good and some negative, as with any game of chance. If you’re fortunate, you might never have any issues while having flat arches your entire life. No discomfort, foot weariness, trouble putting on shoes, decreased mobility, or decreased quality of life.
But what if you’re unlucky?
Flat feet can play a significant role in the emergence of chronic conditions such as heel discomfort, arch pain, ankle edema, aberrant gait patterns, and increased risk of injury, to mention a few. These issues can get worse over time until surgery is the only option since the pain is intolerable.
You’re essentially putting everything on red and letting it ride. In this instance, however, the payout stinks given what you were wagering; you are instead allowed to carry on as usual.
What exactly do your arches do?
Your feet’s arches play a crucial role in how your body is supported, how you are cushioned, and even how you move ahead.
One on the medial side, one on the lateral side, and a transverse arch that joins them over the ball of the foot make up your three underfoot arches, but for simplicity, the flat feet doctor will treat them as a single unit. Together, they sort of resemble a pitched triangle.
When you take a step and place your weight on your foot, the arch is intended to gently flex and roll. They can serve as shock absorbers, which is the most evident advantage.
To lessen the possibility of damaging muscles, bones, and joints, impact forces might be dispersed over a longer period.
Additionally, there is a biomechanical benefit. When you push off with the same foot, the energy that has stored in a completely flexed arch is released, assisting you in moving in the desired direction. It gives you a spring in your step, in other words.
The feet aren’t as effective at carrying the weight of standing, walking, and playing when the arches aren’t appropriately shape. That may result in discomfort, exhaustion, and collapse.
Having flat feet as a youngster:
It turns out that a significant portion of children during their early childhood have observable flat arches. This is especially obvious when they first begin to walk.
Arches are still growing and maturing at that age and haven’t yet risen to adult height. Depending on whether or not your child is standing, you can see that these flat feet are flexible, going away and then coming back.
A trip to the flat foot specialist for a 3-year-old with flat feet is generally not necessary. But as they develop, please keep a very careful eye on them. After the toddler years, most children’s flat feet soon begin to disappear.
Adults with flat feet:
Of all, a lot of grownups have flat feet that they “carry over” from infancy because their arches just never developed. Right now, if you aren’t showing any symptoms, you’re probably okay, at least temporarily.
However, you could be in for further discomfort if you’ve observed that your once-sturdy arches have begun to flatten over time. The tendon that is mainly in charge of keeping up the arch, the posterior tibial tendon, is typically torn, stretched, and weakened with time.
Again, this is not something you want to take a chance on. Adult-acquired flatfoot usually becomes worse and worse if you do nothing. Even though you may not be in too much pain right now, it will come.
Read More: When is the right time to visit a foot specialist near me?
