Plantar fasciitis is inflammation in the connective tissue which covers the sole of the foot. The plantar fascia is a strong supporting structure that begins at your heel and then fans out over the length of the foot connecting at the base of your toes. Plantar fasciitis is caused by micro tears in the fascia due to overload or stress. It is a very common problem for runners, or other athletes due to the constant pounding of the foot which occurs when the heel strikes the ground and then the remainder the foot moves forward. People with increased pronation of the foot are also at higher risk for developing this condition. Plantar fasciitis has also been linked to pinch nerves in the lower back. A classic finding for plantar fasciitis is pain in the heel and foot on your first step of the morning when getting out of bed.
Initial treatment is conservative, and includes rest, ice, stretching, physical therapy, and supporting products such as orthotics and other braces. Correcting training errors can also have a big impact on improving plantar fasciitis. He is very important to stretch the calf muscles and the Achilles tendons on a regular basis.
If conservative treatment fails, one should say NO to steroid injections or surgery. Steroids can weaken the fascia and lead to further damage. Surgery, including removing bone spurs, greatly increases one’s risk for a collapse foot since you are cutting into the most important support arch in your foot.
PRP is an excellent treatment option if initial conservative treatment fails. This needs to be done correctly under ultrasound guidance. The super concentrated platelets in the PRP will heal the micro-tears in the plantar fascia on a permanent basis. At Regenexx Pittsburgh, our physicians are trained to do PRP injections under ultrasound guidance. In addition, our PRP (SCP–super concentrated platelets) are of a higher quality than one can get from an orthopedic surgeon’s office. The reason for this is our advanced laboratory techniques allows us to remove all the red blood cells and concentrate platelets at a significantly higher percentage than can be done with a bedside machine.
Thus, if you suffer from plantar fasciitis, do not consider surgery or a steroid injection. Rather look into a super concentrated PRP injection for a cure.
