Plantar fasciitis symptoms & treatment

Plantar fasciitis can cause quite a bit of pain in the heel of your foot. Whether it starts suddenly or gradually, you may find yourself limiting things you used to enjoy in order to avoid the pain. You might need advice and support from experts in foot and heel pain.

Our orthopedic and sports medicine teams offer noninvasive and minimally invasive treatments for plantar fasciitis. From physical therapy exercises to bracing and, in some cases, surgery – at Aurora Health Care, we’ve got you covered.

What is plantar fasciitis?

Plantar fasciitis is degeneration of the plantar fascia – a thick band of connective tissue that begins on the heel, fans out over the bottom of the arch and connects to the ball of the foot.

The plantar fascia acts like a shock absorber for your foot as it flexes and stretches during walking or running. The tissues stretch and it helps stabilize your foot and support the arch. Problems start when the tissues aren't able to stretch enough to let you move the way you want to.

Most people feel plantar fasciitis pain first as a shooting or aching pain in the heel at the point where the plantar fascia attach to the heel bone. You may also have stiffness in your heel that makes it hard to walk. Pain may be the worst when you stand up either first thing in the morning or after sitting for a long time.

Risk factors for plantar fasciitis

Usually, plantar fasciitis develops with no apparent cause. However, these risk factors make you more likely to develop plantar fasciitis:

• Being involved in work that keeps you on your feet, like factory work or teaching
• Having tight calf muscles that make it hard to flex your foot and bring your toes up toward your shin
• Having tight Achilles tendons
• Wearing unsupportive shoes
• Changing the type of shoes you wear
• Running or other sports that cause repetitive impact
• Increasing mileage of walking or running
• Starting a new sport or physical activity
• Having poor running form
• Being overweight or obese
• Having either very high arches or flat feet
• Being an active person between the ages of 40 and 70

What are symptoms of plantar fasciitis?

With plantar fasciitis, sharp pain typically begins at the heel and gradually moves into the center of the foot. Your heel may also be stiff. This type of pain can occur:

• After exercise
• When you take the first few steps in the morning or after sitting for a long time
• During and after prolonged standing

Home treatment for plantar fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis treatment begins at home, with resting the foot and changing your routine. It's best to seek treament quickly because it usually makes symptoms stop more quickly. As symptoms decrease, most people are able to get back to their regular activities.

You may be able to relieve plantar fasciitis pain by:

• Stretching the calf muscles and plantar fascia several times a day
• Rolling a tennis ball or a cold water bottle under the arch of your foot while sitting down (three to four times a day) – this helps massage and stretch the plantar fascia
• Controlling pain and inflammation with an oral anti-inflammatory medication like ibuprofen, naproxen or aspirin (Consult with your doctor before starting these or any other medications.)
• Giving your feet a break by resting them when the pain is the worst
• Using heel cushions, arch supports or custom foot orthotics (inserts) in your shoes
• Decreasing mileage or stopping running altogether
• Switching to low-impact or no-impact workouts like swimming or biking
• Icing the heel and arch for 10 to 20 minutes after painful activity

If plantar fasciitis pain doesn’t improve within a few weeks or the pain gets worse, contact your doctor.

How do doctors diagnose plantar fasciitis?

During a physical exam, we’ll ask about your foot pain, including when it started and what you think caused it. We’ll also do some simple tests to check where it hurts and study how your foot moves.

Sometimes, our doctors use X-rays to diagnose plantar fasciitis. X-rays show the bones in the foot and can show if there is a bone fracture. X-rays can also show heel spurs – bony growths on the heel bone that do not cause plantar fasciitis but often occur along with it.

MRIs are not usually ordered unless your pain in the heel of your foot doesn't get better after treatment. They can help rule out another cause for your pain, like a pinched or compressed nerve.

Learn more about having a heel spur.

Medical plantar fasciitis treatments

Our orthopedic and sports medicine doctors – including sports medicine-trained family doctors – have deep experience with treating foot and ankle problems. So you'll get an accurate diagnosis and the treatment you need to keep moving.

Our doctors might recommend these noninvasive medical treatments to relieve plantar fasciitis including:

• Custom bracing or splinting (night splints) to hold your foot flexed in the best position to heal, especially while you sleep
• Physical therapy to improve mobility and build strength and flexibility in the foot and calf
• Integrated medicine to relieve pain naturally, including massage, chiropractic and acupuncture
• Scheduling a performance running assessment to identify any problems with your running biomechanics, which in turn can reduce pain
• Injections for joint pain (cortisone shots) to relieve pain while your foot heals (when over-the-counter medications don't help)
• We offer access to noninvasive treatments for plantar fasciitis, from heel cushions to custom orthotics to orthopedic physical therapy.
• With cutting-edge treatment options like the AlterG antigravity treadmill, we help you keep moving – even during recovery.

If nonsurgical methods don’t work, surgery might be the best way to eliminate the cause of plantar fasciitis. We offer tendon procedures to break up and remove the scar tissue around heel spurs that can occur with plantar fasciitis. Because doctors do this treatment through a tiny incision, most people return to normal activities within a few weeks. Learn more about surgical treatments for foot and ankle pain at Aurora.

With convenient locations throughout eastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois, it’s easy to find a doctor or physical therapist close to home. Use our online search tool to find a location near you.