The plantar fascia is a ligament located in your foot; it runs from the front to the heel on the bottom of your foot right with the arch. Aside from your toes, your foot is not intended to stretch or bend, and neither is the plantar fascia. However, it is possible to mistreat your feet in a way that forces this ligament to stretch, or that causes injuries to it like bruising or tearing. Any trauma to it can lead to a condition called 'plantar fasciitis'.

MRI imaging can be used to diagnose the condition, but many times it is diagnosed off symptoms, the pain that comes with the condition are generally tell-tale signs. For example, plantar fasciitis generally causes a stabbing and burning feeling close to the heel that tends to hurt much worse in the morning. If you end up with this condition, you'll want to know what types of plantar fasciitis treatment options there are, and some are listed below.

Treat the pain

Along with treating the condition, your immediate pain will also need to be tended to. Treating the pain will consist of doing things that will help to reduce the inflammation. There are medicines you can purchase over the counter can be used to reduce the inflamed areas.

However, in serious cases, the podiatrist may give you an injection of a very strong NSAID that can immediately begin to reduce the inflammation by a good amount to help you get the fastest relief. They may also inject you with a steroid and this can help to keep the inflammation down for a longer period that can be as long as a month in some cases. Putting your feet on ice packs can also help.

Treating the condition

When it comes to treating the condition, there are a number of options your podiatrist may discuss with you. The options they feel are the best for you will depend on how bad your case is, as well as other things that should be considered, such as your overall health, your lifestyle, etc.

The podiatrist may prescribe you an appliance to wear, such as splints that you will need to wear at night while you are asleep. The splints help by gently lengthening the ligament over time which can help to treat plantar fasciitis. Or, they may want you to wear specific arch supports in your shoes that will help prevent too much pressure from being placed on one area of the foot.

They may recommend going to physical therapy where a therapist will try to help you by showing you things you can do to slowly correct the issue with movements. This may hurt at first, but you will hopefully see improvement. If it doesn't help, then the podiatrist will look for other things and may request you to stop your therapy sessions.

If your condition is serious, then the podiatrist may want to discuss surgery with you. Surgery can correct the problem, but is generally a very last resort when other things have been tried and failed.