Why suffer with foot pain when there are natural solutions available?
Plantar fasciitis is a diagnosis often given to patients who have pain in their feet and a thickening of the tendons on the bottom of their feet. It is a general diagnosis but the treatment protocol from M.D.s are to rest, ice, take anti-inflammatory drugs, possibly cortisone injections and physical therapy. Sometimes this protocol will work for a period of time but most often, I see patients who have had this condition for years without significant improvement. At the end of it, their condition is at a cost to their quality of life. Many don’t run any more, exercise or walk for long periods because of their condition that they become accustomed to.
The good news: other treatment options do exist that are in many cases MORE EFFECTIVE! And yes, without drugs and without surgery! The feet are indubitably the foundation to our bodies. The 26 bones that make up each foot can mis-align, pull on tendons and ligaments and cause irritation and pain. An effective treatment option in my office with my patients is the following:
When a patient comes in complaining of pain in their feet, ankles, knees hips and/or lower back pain, we examine the arches of their feet. There are three arches that make up the feet and when they are all present that tells us that the foot is moving properly allowing the joints above (ankle, knees hips, etc.) to also move correctly. When an arch is lost or too pronounced, the biomechanics of the body will shift as the ligaments, muscles and tendons will move differently and since everything all connects together it will cause improper motion of joints and things can/will misalign and cause pain and irritation.
Once the actual shift of the bone, loss of arch or exact cause of the pain is determined after an evaluation, we will focus on re-aligning the bones of the foot correctly, support the feet with custom-made orthotics (if necessary) reset the tendons and work out the scar tissue that has developed in the ligaments that has in some cases caused significant loss of motion of the foot and extreme pain. The results are that the patient will regain proper movement of their feet and joints above and resume a happy motion-filled life again!
Know someone who has been suffering with foot/ankle pain? Have them contact us for evaluation and possible treatment at our office.
