3 Treatments For Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis is a problem that you can have with your feet. It's caused by irritation to the tissue that runs along the bottom of your foot from your heels all the way to your toes. As those bands of tissue get irritated, they swell up and they get tight. That can cause you to have a lot pain, especially if you have been idle for a while, such as first thing in the morning, because your feet have been in the same position for a long time. There are several things that you can do to treat your plantar fasciitis. 

Massage

One thing you can do is massage the bottom of your foot. It's pretty easy to do this. All you need to do is put down something round and then run your foot back and forth over it. One common choice is a tennis ball. You can roll it around under your foot, which can help ease the tightness and the pain. If you want to apply some cold, you can fill a round water bottle with water and freeze it, and then you have an ice pack that you can massage your foot with. Make sure that you are wearing a sock on your foot, you don't want to apply ice directly to the skin. 

Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs

NSAIDs, either prescription or over the counter, can give you a lot of pain relief. That's because those medications will work on taking down the irritation and inflammation on those tissues. It won't immediately, you will have to follow your doctor's directions to make sure that irritation goes away, but the first doses should help lower your pain levels. 

Physical Therapy

Another thing that you might do is go to physical therapy. Your doctor would prescribe this treatment for you. How many appointments you have at physical therapy depends on your insurance, your doctor, and the physical therapist. The therapist will take a look at your foot and determine what the best course of treatment is. They will give you a series of stretches to do, and they may also give you massages after your appointments to help ease the pain and make everything more pliable. 

If you think you have plantar fasciitis, you want to make sure that you go see a doctor as soon as possible. The sooner you get it treated, the better you are going to be.