A typical part of our initial visit and examination is to look at how the patients walks. There is so much good information we can learn simply by having a person walk our carpet “runway”. We discovered this person was over-pronating (arch on the inside of the foot) on the side with foot pain. Interestingly, they had the exact opposite findings on their other, non-painful foot. We also found that this patient was experiencing tightness and pain in calf on the side with foot pain.

Not surprising! Arch pain and tight calves are very commonly related! Lastly, we found that she was under utilizing the deep muscles of her feet, contributing to her foot arch pain. Again, these are very common findings we see. We diagnosed this individual with plantar fasciitis; which is a painful inflammation of the thick band of fascial tissue connecting our heel to the balls of our feet. It’s actually the most common cause of heel pain and represents the cause of 25% of all foot pain!

Who gets plantar fasciitis? 

• Athletes
• Young runners
• Weekend Warriors
• People with obesity
• Middle-age women
• *The majority of people with plantar fasciitis are over 40 years old.

What does plantar fasciitis feel like?

• Foot/arch pain on the inside of the foot during the first few steps in the morning Foot/arch pain with walking barefoot
• Tightness in calves
• Tightness in hamstrings
• Foot/arch pain late in the day with extended periods of inactivity
• Foot/arch pain while walking up/down stairs

So, because of connection between the plantar fascia and the calf muscles we started treatment with acoustic wave therapy and myofascial release to relieve pain and improve muscle tension. After performing manipulative therapy to their feet, biomechanical tape was applied to provide extra stability to the arch and create better foot movement. As we always do, we provided exercises to improve overall foot function and strength using one of our favorite tools, the Toe Pro.

Best part was this patient left us with significantly less pain and improved function at the end of their FIRST appointment and was able to go to their lifting club that same night and get under a barbell. After approximately 6 visits, the pain was completely resolved.

Are you experiencing pain in the arch of the foot and live in the Seabrook-area? We’d be honored to take a look and see if we can help. Just click below to set up your appointment with one of our performance chiropractic doctors today.