When you have a problem with your plantar fascia muscle, it can be extremely painful. In fact, it can be debilitating. In many cases, the pain can be so bad that you can’t even walk more than a few steps without the need to sit down. There are, however, treatments available to bring relief, and in some cases, a virtual cure for this problem. The following are just a few things that a podiatrist can do for you and your foot problem.
You can be taught stretching exercises
The plantar fascia muscle run along the bottom of your foot and connects with the muscles in the back of the leg. Plantar fasciitis is simply a tear in this muscle. In essence, you have pulled a muscle. What a podiatrist can do is teach you a specific exercise to stretch this muscle. It may seem counterintuitive to stretch a muscle that you have pulled, but this is exactly the treatment you need. Once you learn the proper technique to stretch the muscle, the healing will begin, and your foot will be less painful. Once the pain is gone, you will still likely need to stretch these muscles, especially if you plan on placing a lot of stress on your feet.
Medication for pain relief
The most common method to reduce pain immediately is through a cortisone shot. This will bring immediate relief from the pain. This is only recommended by foot doctors when the pain is intense, and you need to use your feet for the job that you perform. If you are engaged in a job where you are not on your feet much, and your plantar fasciitis is something that happened when you were doing physical activity outside of work, you may want to forego a cortisone shot. Just stay off your feet, and give your foot a chance to heal. Cortisone shots do have side effects, so you should not have one unless you absolutely need one.
Of course, in certain circumstances, a foot and ankle clinic kissimmee fl may not be able to give you the therapy your foot needs to reduce the pain. In this case, you may need surgery. However, this is always a last resort.