Plantar Fasciitis Therapy: Fix the Cause

Picture this: the walls of your home start to crack and you notice a water stain on the ceiling. You cover it up with some posters and decorations.

 

Does that sound like a viable solution?

 

It’s obvious that covering up the water damage won’t fix the problem.

 

Mold can start to form, and the house can get severely damaged if the solution is simply to hide the issue.

 

The Dangerous Way We Treat Our Bodies

 

But when it comes to our own bodies, we often treat them the same way.

 

We want to keep going…so when pain strikes, we gulp a pill that relieves the symptoms.

 

And when the pain returns, we gulp another pill or see the doctor for more potent pain-relieving medications.

 

Looking for a quick solution to mask an injury has become a common practice.

 

The Shocking Mistake that Doctors are Making

 

Doctors routinely send patients away with painkillers or simple advice to “rest” until they “feel better.”

 

The mindset of taking painkillers or resting whenever we feel pain is dangerous.

 

Not only do painkillers have many side-effects (especially if used long-term), but pills and rest do not fix the underlying issue that caused the pain.

 

Just like the cracks and water damage will worsen if simply disguised with posters, our injury will worsen or reoccur until we actually FIX the UNDERLYING PROBLEM.

 

The Ugly Truth About Traditional Plantar Fasciitis Treatments

 

The truth is that most plantar fasciitis treatments out there are symptom-based rather than cause-based.

 

This means you’ll hear advice like “rest, ice, or take pain relievers” whenever your plantar fasciitis is acting up.

 

Soon, you’ll notice that when you stop those treatments, your pain will return.

 

Or worse – if you’re masking your symptoms with painkillers or corticosteroid injections and continuing with your usual activities, you may suffer a more severe injury like a plantar rupture.

 

Any treatment that acts like a “quick fix” to alleviate symptoms will likely do more damage.

 

If you just rest or take painkillers, your plantar fascia will continue to weaken…even if these symptom-based treatments seem to help you temporarily.

 

While resting and anti-inflammatory medications can help acute cases of plantar fasciitis (where you’ve experienced pain for less than a week), you must combine them with cause-based solutions to obtain a permanent cure.

 

 

What’s a Cause-Based Solution for Plantar Fasciitis?

 

A cause-based solution is one in which you look for the underlying cause of your plantar fasciitis, and then fix that underlying cause in order to fix your plantar fasciitis once and for all.

 

Here’s an Example of a Cause-Based Solution for Plantar Fasciitis

 

You may find that your plantar fasciitis was triggered by running on hard surfaces for a long period of time.

 

Your cause-based solution may involve mixing up the surfaces you run on (so that you include softer surfaces like grass).

 

You also cut back your mileage so that you can build up your mileage more gradually (allowing your body to better adapt).

 

Perhaps you substitute some of your running days with low-impact cross training, such as swimming or cycling. This allows you to maintain fitness with exercises that don’t irritate your plantar fascia.

 

You also visit a Plantar Fasciitis Physical Therapy clinic, where your physical therapist provides manual therapy and guides you through exercises that repair your plantar fascia.

 

The physical therapy exercises make your plantar fascia strong and healthy so that your plantar fasciitis doesn’t return or become chronic.

 

Because you practiced this cause-based solution, you were able to get rid of your plantar fasciitis once and for all.

 

What are the Underlying Causes of Plantar Fasciitis?

 

You can’t exactly “fix the cause” if you don’t know what causes plantar fasciitis.

 

The best way to pinpoint the underlying cause of your plantar fasciitis is to see a Doctor of Physical Therapy who specializes in plantar fasciitis.

 

However, knowing some of the common underlying causes of plantar fasciitis can help you get a head start on a cause-based approach to treatment.

 

Here are a few of the most common underlying causes of plantar fasciitis:

 

• High-Impact Exercise (like running or jumping)
• Obesity
• Unsupportive footwear
• Tight Calf Muscles
• Weak or Tight Foot Muscles
• Spending long periods of time on-foot

 

Investing in supportive footwear, a night splint, and practicing exercises for the plantar fascia is a great start to a cause-based treatment approach.

 

Here’s a Quick & Easy Cause-Based Solution to Plantar Fasciitis

 

If you’ve had mild plantar fascia pain for less than a week, first see if you can fix any of the common underlying causes that we’ve listed (such as checking your footwear, for example).

 

Take a break from high-impact activities and practice plantar fasciitis exercises that restore strength and flexibility to your injured plantar fascia.

You should also gently massage the area, such as by rolling a frozen water bottle back and forth under your foot for a minute a few times daily.

 

If you’ve had recurring pain, worsening pain, severe pain, or pain that’s lasted more than a week…

 

If you fall under this category, you’re at a higher risk of developing chronic pain or a more severe injury.

 

To save yourself from increasing medical bills and chronic pain, your best move is to see a Doctor of Physical Therapy who specializes in plantar fasciitis.

 

A Doctor of Physical Therapy knows the best exercises to rebuild your damaged plantar fascia.

 

A great physical therapist works one-on-one with the patient, monitors each exercise, and tailors the treatment to a patient’s specific underlying cause and lifestyle.

 

Most states, such as Florida, no longer require a script from your regular doctor to see a physical therapist.

 

Our Fort Myers Physical Therapy clinic can and will help you end your plantar fasciitis pain once and for all!

 

Never Suffer from Plantar Fasciitis Again with Our Cause-Based Treatment Approach!

 

At Back in Motion Physical Therapy & Performance in Fort Myers, Florida, we know that fixing the underlying cause of a condition like plantar fasciitis is the only way to resolve it permanently.

 

That’s why we practice a revolutionary cause-based treatment approach, called The Gray Method, which eliminates your plantar fasciitis for good.

 

Our Doctors of Physical Therapy specialize in plantar fasciitis and typically discover the underlying cause of an injury in less than 20 minutes. You’ll enjoy a speedy recovery and get back in motion again, pain-free.

 

We work with patients one-on-one in person, or through online Telehealth Physical Therapy – meaning that you can easily access the best plantar fasciitis treatment from anywhere in the world!

 

Call our office at 2396105132 and schedule your appointment today!