Plantar Fasciitis Treatment in Cedar Rapids
New Therapies for Plantar Fasciitis Pain Relief in Cedar Rapids
- FDA Cleared
- Noninvasive
- Drug Free
- Effective
Plantar Fasciitis is a common condition causing foot and heel pain that ranges from a minor inconvenience to severe pain that alters daily life. Traditional treatments can be effective for minor cases, but they often fail to provide lasting relief for severe pain. InMotion Pain Solutions offers a combination therapies that effectively provide lasting pain relief.
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I’ve done all of the other treatments and nothing worked. This was the first time in 4 years I was able to stand barefoot and walk without a limp. It’s given me a part of my life back. – Belinda
Learn More About Plantar Fasciitis
What is Plantar Fasciitis?
Plantar Fasciitis (PF) is a condition where the plantar fascia becomes swollen and painful. The plantar fascia is the thick ligament that runs along the bottom of your foot from the heel to the toes. It supports the underside of the foot, creates and maintains the arch in the foot, and plays an important role in the proper mechanics of foot motion.
Symptoms of Plantar Fasciitis
Common symptoms of plantar fasciitis include:
- Pain and stiffness in the bottom of the heel
- Burning, aching, stabbing pain
- Pain that is worse in the morning, after standing or sitting, when climbing stairs, or after intense activity
What Causes Plantar Fasciitis?
Plantar fasciitis was previously thought to be driven by bone spurs or heel spurs. However, research now suggests that most cases are due to repetitive use or over use. Repetitive use injuries are minor injuries that are undetectable when they occur, but over time, add up to create a more serious condition.
In the case of PF, the plantar fascia loses its elasticity as you age. As you move throughout the day, the fascia and surrounding soft tissues can develop small tears as they try to stretch with movement. Since we use our feet so often, these tissues have little time to rest and recover.
Additionally, your body will put down scar tissue in an effort to heal the damage. Scar tissue is a tight, fibrous tissue with poor circulation and flexibility. It is structurally weaker and has many more pain receptors than the tissue it is replacing. The stiff scar tissue further restricts the natural movement of the foot.
These small injuries may go unnoticed until one day, the accumulation of all the damage results in pain. If left untreated, the resulting scar tissue can calcify to become painful arthritis.
Why Won’t My Plantar Fasciitis Go Away?
For some people, common treatments work for occasional flare ups. But for others, plantar fasciitis pain lasts a long time and can interfere with everyday life. The reason your plantar fasciitis won’t go away may be that the treatment is only addressing the symptoms of the problem instead of the root cause.
For example, when you use ice and rest, you may get the swelling to decrease and the pain to subside. But the physical compromise in the foot that caused the pain and swelling in the first place has not been addressed and will likely come back.
If you’re using stretching and other physical interventions, you may find that the relief lasts longer, because you are getting closer to the root source. But for people with severe plantar fasciitis pain that will not go away, this may still not provide lasting relief.
More severe cases of PF may be treated with cortisone steroid injections into the heel and foot. This is done to reduce swelling and relieve pain. However, it is only a temporary measure, as it is not actually treating the root cause of the PF.
The Root Source of PF Pain
There are 27 bones and 33 joints in the foot. Connecting these many parts are muscles, tendons, and ligaments.
Having many small parts and connectors is what enables your foot to be so mobile and flexible. If you think about it, there’s a lot of action happening in that very small portion of your body.
Try this: take your shoes off (you can leave your socks on). Stand up and have something nearby that you can grab for balance if needed. Try to balance on one foot. While doing so, pay attention to all of the small movements that are happening in your foot, ankle, knee, and leg in order for you to maintain that balance. There is a lot of motion happening just to keep you standing still. All of these joints need to maintain their mobility for your body to work as it is intended. When you have PF, this mobility is severely compromised.
As you take a footstep, the foot distributes the force and weight of your entire body. When we walk, we strike with the heel and transition to the toe to push off. Additionally, when you walk, your foot conforms to the surface upon which you are walking. If the plantar fascia does not have full flexibility, small micro tears will occur and impact its proper function. As these minor injuries occur, the scar tissue that forms will further reduce the flexibility of the plantar fascia, further disrupting the proper mechanical motion of the foot.
Chronic Plantar Fasciitis Goes Beyond your Feet
Now, take that a step further (don’t mind the pun). If your foot is not moving properly, other parts of your body will compensate to try and correct for the dysfunction. The ankle, knee, hip, all the way up to the low back – all of these structures rely on the proper motion of the foot. If the foot is not moving properly, your body will make adjustments. These adjustments will negatively impact the proper motion of each of these areas (ankles, knees, etc.), eventually resulting in arthritic changes.
Over time, the improper motion of the foot results in improper motion of the other joints and can cause pain and degenerative changes all the way up the system.
That is why we have to look at the motion of the whole to properly fix the problem. You cannot focus solely on the plantar fascia in isolation. It is only by finding and fixing the entire problem that we can find lasting relief.
PF itself is pretty easy to treat. It is the other issues that develop when the body compensates for the improper motion of the foot that are overlooked by many providers. In the case of PF, it is common for patients to develop arthritis in their foot, because of all of the joints of the foot that compensate for the ailing plantar fascia. In more severe cases, patients develop pain in their ankles, knees, hips and low back because of the problems in the foundation of their body – their feet.
Your feet are the foundation of your entire body. When the foundation is poor, the rest will crumble.
We Are Iowa's Pain Solver
Plantar Fasciitis Treatment at InMotion Pain Solutions
- FDA Cleared
- Noninvasive
- Drug Free
- Effective
We have found that the most effective treatment for Plantar Fasciitis involves a combination of therapies. One of the first lines of treatment is to adjust the foot. Just like other joints in the body, all 33 joints in the foot can be manipulated to help restore proper motion. In addition to adjustments, we utilize a variety of other therapies to treat PF pain including high intensity laser therapy and extracorporeal shock wave therapy, among others.
Treatment is customized to each person and will change as you progress through care.
InMotion Treatment
Long-Lasting Relief
Treating the interconnected system of muscles, bones, nerves, and ligaments provides lasting pain relief.
No Downtime
Continue living your life throughout treatment. There’s no downtime required while you complete your care plan.
No Drugs, No Needles, No Surgery
Our FDA-cleared, noninvasive, drug-free treatments are safe and free from potentially dangerous side effects.
How it Works
Step 1:
No-Cost, No-Obligation Consultation
It’s hard to know from a website if a treatment is a good fit for you. That’s why we schedule a no-cost, no-obligation with Dr. Ben Wyant. We will learn about your condition, answer your questions, and, together, determine if our treatment might benefit you. And if we don’t think we can help you, we will tell you that too.
Step 2:
InMotion Treatment
We have adapted treatments once reserved for elite athletes and made them available to anyone suffering in chronic pain. Dr. Wyant will provide a series of treatments over several weeks’ time to relieve pain and restore motion. As you progress through care, your treatment plan will evolve as your condition improves.
Step 3:
Regain Your Life
Whether it’s returning to a beloved hobby or starting a new one, taking a trip, or simply going about daily activities with less pain – we want you to get back to the life you desire. We address the root cause of your pain and restore proper motion to your body so that you can enjoy lasting pain relief.