LA Dodgers pitcher Clayton Keyshaw has been reported to
suffer from plantar fasciitis. He claims that although his foot is in a good
deal of pain, it does not inhibit him from pitching, only running. As a result,
fans and the coaching staff have expressed concern for his injury, but he is pushing through and
seeking the necessary treatment to continue to pursue his love for baseball.
Plantar fasciitis is an injury that occurs when the
connective tissue sheath on the bottom of your foot is overstretched
repeatedly, causing micro tears within the fascia. The plantar fascia connects
the heel bone to the area of your foot that is right before your toes. As you
walk, run, jump, or do any motion that involves flexing and relaxing your foot,
you are putting a stretching motion on this tissue. For people that do a lot of
running, standing on uneven surfaces (like a roof) or are just starting to age,
the plantar fascia is an area of concern for injury.
Plantar fasciitis is a condition that has very specific
symptoms in the average presentation. You will have a great deal of pain on the
inside portion of your heel when you first wake up in the morning and take your
first steps or after you have been sitting down and resting throughout the day.
This pain signifies that these micro tears are in the very beginning stages of
healing, but then you stand up and start to move, irritating and stretching the
area, and this will result in putting a strain on those inflamed areas.
So, treatment for plantar fasciitis is very dependent upon
the individual case. These micro tears, if untreated for a long time, can lead
to rupture of your plantar fascia. When this occurs, surgery will need to be
done. But for most of us, we will not advance to that level of injury and so
for many cases, there are several other options. One of these is giving a
corticosteroid shot to block the inflammation to the area and reduce the pain
and then immobilizing your foot so that it can heal by not having stress on the
injured areas.
Another option for plantar fasciitis is a non-invasive low
energy laser that will stimulate the tissue to move from a chronic injury
setting to acute. What this does is it brings in all of the cells that are
useful for healing the tissue and returning it to its original state.
If you or anyone you know has been suffering from heel pain
in the Methuen, Tewksbury, Bradford, Westford or North Billerica, Massachusetts
our office staff would be more than happy to help you schedule an appointment.
Dr. Wachtel will be able to help you
determine what your underlying cause is and get you back up on your feet again.
No comments:
Post a Comment