Foot & Ankl

Dan lay in bed dreading the next 30 minutes of his day.

After one last glance at the clock, he braces himself, takes a deep breath and stands up. The pain is intense and immediate–the bottoms of both of his feet are aflame, and it feels like a small coal in the heel is the source of the heat.

After a few steps, the fire dies in intensity but doesn’t ratchet down to anything truly manageable until after a shower and the long walk to the car.

Unfortunately, Dan’s commute is just long enough for the cycle to repeat itself, but with a little less intensity.

The first two cortisone shots helped. The third one not as much. At one time, Dan had run marathons to stay in shape. Now, exercise is rare and uncomfortable, and the weight has crept up enough to where Dan avoids the scale. There’s the sinking feeling that the extra weight may be contributing to the pain. Each step now bearing a few more pounds right in the place where the pain is the greatest.

The idea of further treatment was beginning to sound as unbearable as the problem itself. And the surgery seemed too drastic–a “release” of the plantar fascia? Not if he could help it.

At Ducat Chiropractic & Sports Medicine, we take a different approach to plantar fasciitis.

Often, the true problem goes unaddressed: scar tissue build-up around the plantar fascia which creates friction around the tendon sheath and inflammation and pain, especially at the heel.

Our protocol is to assess the quality of the tissue, and take measures to quell the inflammation. Then we coach you through some daily exercises and stretches that have been shown to help you recover quickly.

Sometimes there are functional movement issues in the hips or pelvis that have to be addressed before the problem completely clears up.