If you dread getting out of bed due to experiencing heel pain every morning, you may have plantar fasciitis and should have it checked by a podiatrist, even if the pain goes away as you go about your day. Just because you don't continue to feel the pain throughout the day doesn't mean there isn't a problem. Here's what you need to know if you have morning heel pain.
What is plantar fasciitis?
Plantar fasciitis is the inflammation of the plantar fascia, which is a band of tissue that runs from your toes to your heel and supports the arch of your foot. When it's stretched too much, it can get little tears. When this happens, an immune system response signals cells in your body to migrate to the trauma and that migration of cells results in inflammation. The inflammation causes pain, particularly when you put weight on your heel.
The inflammation, in turn, causes the plantar fascia to essentially pull away from the heel. In turn, this causes calcification on the heel bone, which is called a heel spur. Heel spurs also cause intensely sharp pain when you put weight on your heel.
Why does the pain improve throughout the day?
The pain typically improves as you move around during the day since the repetitive pressure interrupts the nerves' pain signals to the brain, but that doesn't in any way mean the condition is improving or that you are not continuing to cause more damage to the plantar fascia. In fact, the more you continue to go about your normal activity, the more intense pain you will feel on subsequent mornings, and the more difficult it will be to finally rid yourself of plantar fasciitis and heel spurs. Therefore, treatment is essential, even if you only feel the pain first thing in the morning or after sitting for an extensive period of time.
What are the treatment options?
There are several treatment options available. The treatment option that will be best for you will depend largely on the extent of the damage to your fascia, which can be determined by imaging. A cortisone injection can help relieve the pain, but it's also important to keep weight off of the heel as much as possible while your heel is healing. Prolotherapy is another injection treatment that aims to regenerate the weakened structures of the plantar fascia. Sometimes, surgery is necessary to remove the heel spurs and suture up the tears in the fascia.
To learn more, contact an office like Collier Podiatry PA today.
Share1 December 2019
After suffering a traumatic foot and ankle injury, I wasn't sure how to move forward. I wanted to make things right, but the issue was so significant that I needed surgery. After surgery, I was still struggling, so a friend of mine suggested working with a podiatrist in addition to my foot and ankle surgeon. It was an excellent experience, and it felt like I had truly made some strides in the right direction. On this website, I wanted to talk about how podiatrists can help you to get your feet fixed, and how making the right choices can significantly improve your quality of life.
