Podiatrists servicing the Scottsdale, Tempe, Glendale and Phoenix, AZ areas

What is plantar fasciitis?

Your feet are engineering marvels, able to provide support and mobility for your entire body. At the very base of this support is a band of tissue called the plantar fascia, which runs from the base of your toes to your heel. This tissue is pulled extremely taut, which is what gives you the springy support along the bottom of your foot and in your arches.

When this tissue becomes inflamed, it leads to plantar fasciitis, which is characterized by severe, stabbing pain in your heels and along your foot, especially during your first few steps in the morning or when you get up after a long period off your feet. The pain usually only lasts for a few steps as your inflamed plantar fascia stretches back out.

What causes plantar fasciitis?

While the cause of plantar fasciitis is tiny tears or stresses in the tissue that leads to swelling, what’s behind those tears and damage in the tissue is usually tied back to:

• Structural irregularities in your feet
• Spending long periods on your feet
• Engaging in concussive activities, like running
• Carrying extra weight
• Age (the older you get, the more prone your tissue is to wear-and-tear)

While plantar fasciitis isn’t necessarily a dangerous condition, the pain it causes can be moderate to severe. And the condition doesn’t usually go away on its own unless you seek professional help, like that found at Arizona Foot Health.

How is plantar fasciitis treated?

After Dr. Golub examines your feet and reviews your symptoms to confirm a plantar fasciitis diagnosis, he starts you on a treatment protocol that’s designed to provide you with long-term relief.

Between exercises that gently stretch your plantar fascia, orthotics, and splints, Dr. Golub is able to address the immediate problem. For longer-term results, he goes a step further and offers amniotic growth factor injections to encourage tissue repair and rebuilding on a cellular level.

Using amniotic tissue, which is full of strong growth factors and collagen, Dr. Golub introduces a natural healing resource into your tissue that encourages tissue restoration. Not only do the injections contain valuable growth factors, but they also encourage your body to respond in kind and send in your own cells to help with rebuilding and repair. This type of medicine provides long-lasting tissue health in order to prevent plantar fasciitis from developing again.

To learn more about treating your plantar fasciitis, call Arizona Foot Health or use the online scheduling tool.