Is persistent heel pain disrupting your routine or making it difficult to stay active?
If you dread getting out of bed (or getting up after sitting down for a while) because of heel pain that’s worse with your first steps and eases as you walk around but grows as the day progresses and is particularly painful the day after an increase in your activity, plantar fasciitis could be to blame. The condition is a common source of heel pain, with approximately 10 percent of people experiencing plantar fasciitis during their lifetime and an estimated 2 million patients seeking treatment for it each year.
Don’t let chronic heel pain stand between you and the active lifestyle you love. At Indy Podiatry, our skilled Indianapolis-area podiatrists offer comprehensive plantar fasciitis care, including advanced therapies and personalized treatment plans. Discover how our podiatry team helps central Indiana patients with plantar fasciitis get back on their feet.
Understanding Plantar Fasciitis and Its Causes
The plantar fascia is a thick band of supportive tissue that runs the length of your foot, connecting the heel bone and toes. This fibrous band helps stabilize and support your feet while standing, walking, or running. When its fibers are overstretched or develop small tears, the plantar fascia can become irritated and inflamed, resulting in plantar fasciitis’ characteristic heel pain and swelling.
Plantar fasciitis can have numerous causes, such as:
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Increasing activity intensity or duration. Beginning a new exercise program and doing too much, too soon, or suddenly increasing your physical activities’ intensity or duration can lead to plantar fascia inflammation and pain.
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Wearing shoes that lack sufficient support. Unsupportive shoes allow for excessive flattening of the foot, which can overstretch, irritate, and inflame this crucial band of tissue.
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Having high arches or flat feet. Foot structure can alter optimal foot alignment and place excessive stress on the plantar fascia, leading to irritation and inflammation.
Exploring Our Plantar Fasciitis Treatment Options
Prompt, professional plantar fasciitis care is crucial for a swift and safe recovery. Left untreated, this condition can worsen to the point where every step is painful or allow small tears in the plantar fascia to partially or entirely rupture, resulting in a more extended, more painful recovery period. Indy Podiatry offers conservative to advanced plantar fasciitis treatments. Initial treatments aim to decrease inflammation and reduce the stress on the plantar fascia so that it can begin to heal. Examples of these therapies include:
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Ice therapy
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Anti-inflammatory medications
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Stretching exercises
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Wearing sufficiently supportive shoes
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Taping the foot
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Wearing a splint at night
When conservative methods fail to resolve plantar fasciitis heel pain fully, your Indianapolis podiatrist may recommend physical therapy, cortisone injections, or more advanced treatments, such as:
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Custom orthotics. These bespoke shoe inserts are made to your feet’s exact specifications, allowing them to hold the foot in optimal alignment and provide support and cushioning precisely where you need it.
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High-energy shockwave therapy. Sometimes called orthotripsy, this non-invasive procedure uses high-energy acoustic impulses, or shockwaves, to penetrate deep into the injured tissue, triggering your body’s natural healing processes and speeding recovery. Shockwave therapy is safe and painless and boasts a 70 percent or higher success rate for patients with plantar fasciitis. All of our Indianapolis and Fishers podiatrists are trained and experienced in this technology.
- Class IV laser therapy. Class IV laser therapy targets plantar fasciitis at its source using photobiomodulation, where powerful near-infrared light penetrates the inflamed plantar fascia. This technology increases cellular energy (ATP) production directly in the damaged tissue, accelerating the healing of the micro-tears, causing your heel pain. The laser simultaneously reduces inflammation, stimulates blood flow to this poorly vascularized area, and triggers natural pain-relieving endorphins—effectively addressing both pain and underlying causes.
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Surgery. Though plantar fasciitis resolves without surgery in 95 percent of cases, surgically releasing the plantar fascia can be an effective course of action for patients for whom other treatments failed.
Getting You Back on Your Feet With Innovative Treatments for Active Lifestyles
When foot pain disrupts your training schedule or keeps you from staying active, you need a podiatry team that truly understands your goals. At Indy Podiatry, our foot and ankle specialists are athletes themselves, giving them unique insight into getting you back to peak performance quickly and safely. From precisely calibrated custom orthotics to innovative therapies that accelerate healing, we create personalized treatment plans that align with your specific needs and activity level, offering solutions that minimize downtime while addressing the root cause of your heel pain.