Plantar Fasciitis & Foot Pain Treatment in Delano, MN
Foot pain affects over one-quarter of the population and can significantly decrease your quality of life and your ability to do the things you love.
Your feet are the base of almost every activity you do, from walking to doing housework to playing hockey.
If your feet aren’t working well, the rest of your body will struggle to work correctly.
“When your feet hurt, you hurt all over.”
Your feet are the base of your body, at least when you’re standing and doing other upright activities. When they hurt or aren’t doing their job, your body has to compensate for that, creating issues and imbalances elsewhere.
In addition to your foot pain or dysfunction, we often see knee pain, hip pain, and lower back pain related to those issues in the foot.
Having healthy feet is an essential part of having a healthy body!
Effects of foot pain and plantar fasciitis include:
Decreased ability to move well
Increased risk of falls
Loss of independence
Decreased mood and mental function
Decreased physical activity and exercise
Increased risk of pain and dysfunction elsewhere in the body
We see 3 major causes of foot pain in our office.
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Plantar Fasciitis
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Metatarsalgia & Morton's Neuroma
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Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome
Plantar Fasciitis
Running along the bottom of your foot is a thick band of tissue called the plantar fascia. This tissue works with your foot and calf muscles to support your arch, while also acting as a shock absorber. Every time you take a step or use your feet, your plantar fascia is working to keep your feet in the right shape and to keep you standing upright.
Sometimes, this plantar fascia gets overworked or injured. This creates microtears in the plantar fascia and causes inflammation and pain in the foot. As the tissue gets more inflamed, irritated, and angry, more pain and other symptoms arise in the foot and the heel.
The major causes and risk factors for plantar fasciitis include:
Having high or low arches
Excess body weight
Being on your feet all day for work.
Playing sports and exercises without adequate rest and warmups
Long-distance running
Exercising or working on a hard surface
Wearing shoes that don’t support your feet well enough (like flip flops)
Symptoms of plantar fasciitis usually come on gradually over time, but they can appear suddenly, particularly after an injury or trauma. Symptoms can include:
Constant dull, and achy pain in the heel and arch of your foot
Sharp and stabbing pain when using your foot/stepping on your heel
Pain is worst right away in the morning and with prolonged activity or standing
Stiffness
Swelling around your heel
Plantar fasciitis can be managed.
Dealing with plantar fasciitis long-term requires identifying the root cause of the foot pain and inflammation. This condition is often related to biomechanical issues, including muscular imbalances in the calves and thighs, lack of big toe motion, and weakness in the glutes.
Treatment for plantar fasciitis addresses your specific issues, by incorporating:
Chiropractic Adjusting - Chiropractic adjusting is used to ensure the joints in the foot, ankle, and leg are moving well. If the joints are restricted, the surrounding tissues can get tight, creating plantar fasciitis and foot pain. Adjustments also decrease pain in the areas around the joint while increasing strength and control of your muscles.
Soft Tissue Mobilization - Assisted stretching techniques, manual therapy, and trigger point work can also help loosen up tight muscles in the legs and feet. This helps to address muscular imbalances while decreasing pain and dysfunction in the foot.
Corrective Exercise - Specific stretches and exercises are used to loosen the plantar fascia, while also strengthening calf and leg muscles to prevent the issue from recurring.
Lifestyle Changes - Depending on your occupation and daily routine, certain changes may be necessary. These changes could include modifying your workout routine until the inflammation calms down and buying new shoes or insoles to better support your foot.
Metatarsalgia & Morton’s Neuroma
Your metatarsals are bones in your foot, right by your toes. In certain situations, the joints, muscles, ligaments, and nerves in this area can get irritated and inflamed, creating pain in and around the ball of your foot. This is called metatarsalgia (metatarsal- meaning foot bones, and -algia meaning pain).
Morton’s neuroma is similar to metatarsalgia, in that it creates pain in the foot near the toes. This is caused by frequent pressure and strain on a nerve running down your foot to your toes; this strain irritates the nerve, causing it to swell and create a fibrous bulb around the nerve called a neuroma.
Causes of metatarsalgia and Morton’s neuroma include:
High or low arches
Wearing high heels, or shoes that are too tight
Intense or high-impact exercise and sports
Foot deformities like bunions and hammertoes
Excess body weight
Having other conditions of the feet, like gout or rheumatoid arthritis
Morton’s neuroma and metatarsalgia have similar similar symptoms, but a Morton’s neuroma will more typically cause numbness, tingling, and other nerve-related symptoms. Otherwise, common symptoms for both metatarsalgia and Morton’s neuroma include:
Sharp/burning pain in the ball of your foot
Pain that’s worse when moving or standing
Always feeling like there’s a pebble in your shoe
Symptoms increase when wearing tight shoes or squeezing the toes
A conservative approach is generally the best place to start when dealing with metatarsalgia and foot pain.
Chiropractic Adjusting - Chiropractic adjusting is used to ensure the joints in the foot, ankle, and leg are moving well. If the joints are restricted, the surrounding tissues can get tight, creating foot pain and inflammation. Adjustments decrease pain in the areas around the joint while increasing strength and control of your muscles.
Soft Tissue Mobilization - Assisted stretching techniques, manual therapy, and trigger point work can also help loosen up tight muscles in the legs and feet. This helps to address muscular imbalances while decreasing pain and dysfunction in the foot.
Corrective Exercise - Specific stretches and exercises are used to strengthen your foot, calf, and leg to take pressure off the ball of the foot and prevent the metatarsalgia from recurring in the future.
Lifestyle Changes - Depending on your occupation and daily routine, certain changes may be necessary. These changes could include modifying your workout routine until the inflammation calms down and buying wider shoes or barefoot/minimalist shoes to better support and strengthen your foot.
Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome
Your tarsal tunnel is found on the inside of your ankle, containing a number of nerves, tendons, and blood vessels traveling to your foot.
Specifically in the tarsal tunnel, there’s a nerve called the posterior tibial nerve, which innervated the bottom of your foot. If something gets swollen inside the tarsal tunnel, the posterior tibial nerve gets squished, creating pain and tingling in the sole of the foot.
Symptoms of tarsal tunnel syndrome include:
Pain in the sole of the foot
Numbness/tingling in the sole of the foot
Shooting pain in the foot or up the leg
Weakness of foot muscles
Causes of tarsal tunnel syndrome include:
Flat feet/fallen arches
Tendinopathy or swelling in the foot and ankle
History of ankle sprain or another ankle/foot injury, including surgery
Shoes that fit poorly or have poor support
Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome is manageable.
There are a variety of options to conservatively manage your tarsal tunnel syndrome and foot pain.
Chiropractic Adjusting - Chiropractic adjusting is used to ensure the joints in the foot, ankle, and leg are moving well. If the joints are restricted, the surrounding tissues can get tight, creating foot pain and inflammation. Adjustments decrease pain in the areas around the joint while increasing strength and control of your muscles.
Soft Tissue Mobilization - Assisted stretching techniques, manual therapy, and trigger point work can also help loosen up tight muscles in the legs and feet. This helps to address muscular imbalances while decreasing pain and dysfunction in the foot. Having proper motion in the foot and ankle is essential to keeping the tarsal tunnel open and the nerve moving well throughout.
Corrective Exercise - Specific stretches and exercises are used to strengthen your foot, calf, and leg to take pressure off the tarsal tunnel and prevent it from recurring in the future.
Lifestyle Changes - Depending on your occupation and daily routine, certain changes may be necessary. These changes could include modifying your workout routine until the inflammation calms down and changing your diet to work on systemic illnesses like diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis.
At Northbound Chiropractic, we work with you to find the cause of your plantar fasciitis and foot pain and create an individualized treatment plan targeting your specific problems.
We’ll make a plan with you to get lasting results, so you can continue doing the things you love.