Articles that can help your heel pain
30+ Tips and Tricks to Beat Plantar Fasciitis
Plantar Fasciitis: Why does such a common injury seem incurable?
Plantar Fasciitis Symptoms: What kind of heel pain do I have?
Why Do Shoes Cause Plantar Fasciitis?
What Causes Heel Spurs?
Do Barefoot Treatments work? Are they safe?
How to Combine Different Therapy Treatments for Fast Relief!
How Heel Pain Can Cause Pain to Other Areas of The Body (mainly the knees and the back)
How to Avoid Shockwave Therapy Scams
How to Fix Plantar Fasciitis While on a Budget
Top Plantar Fasciitis Websites:
www.heelspurs.com -My personal favorite. He shares an unbiased opinion of different treatment options and also gives out surveys to determine what treatments have shown the most promising results. This site is a great resource of information on how to understand more about the plantar fascia itself and what its role in the foot is, and what goes wrong when its injured.
http://www.goodbyeplantarfasciitis.com/ - A new blog sharing updated information about Plantar Fasciitis! Lots of great information made available by someone who understands the pain. Highly recommended!!
Plantar Fasciitis Solutions A really cool resource for great articles and advice about plantar fasciitis that is not very common. My favorite one is about the question as to why NBA players seem to get rid of their heel pain in weeks and are back out in the game jumping around no problem. There is also a lot of information about treatments that actually work and why they do. Great website, check it out!
A Fantastic Conservative Approach -Shows basic methods to helping your Plantar Fasciitis. I love this PDF because it shows a great introduction to soft tissue manipulation and lots of tips to dealing with your Plantar Fasciitis. Check it out!
Dshen.com "DIY Graston" Blog Post- This guy shows how to do graston to yourself at home in a simple article. I suggest having graston done by a professional before attempting it yourself so you know how to do it and what it is supposed to feel like. He does give a great description of what you need to look for when doing it and some tools he has used.
Tendinosis.org -Great site about how chronic inflammatory conditions such as
plantar fasciitis develop and what you can do to fix it.
Cross Friction Massage - Check out this quote: "ice, anti-inflammation medications, orthotics and calf muscle stretching. Most of the time these methods, either together or separately, will do the trick, but other times they won't and the problem becomes chronic. In these cases, it may be worthwhile to try a therapy known as cross-friction massage (CFM)." I LOVE cross friction massage in the treatment of plantar fasciitis. Check out the site and see how it works. This website is a must to read if you have had plantar fasciitis for more than 6 weeks or so.
Alternative Therapies for Heel Pain that WORK
Graston Main Website -Graston is a soft tissue manipulation technique that has various methods used for breaking up adhesions that perpetuate Plantar Fasciitis. I love these kinds of therapists. They seem to be the smartest kind I have come across, and their tools may hurt, but I have had tons of relief from them. Most, if not all, will have a good amount of relief from seeing these therapists.
Graston PDF with some very useful information -warning! This page includes anatomical/medical terminology that can confuse the average person! Gives great information on graston, its role in plantar fasciitis, and outcomes of patients who used graston to deal with their heel pain.
Active Release Technique Main Website -Active Release Technique seems to be the number one leader when it comes to soft tissue therapy. I have noticed that you need to look around for a good ART therapist to get great results. When you do find one, they can help you with SO many kinds of injurys. I had a bad ART therapist at first, but I later replaced him with a buff italian ART therapist who gives me much better results every time I see him. These guys can be smart, but for me it took three of them till I found an exceptionally good one. Here is a quote from one of their sites in " The ART® Soft-Tissue Management System has a success rate that surpasses 90% in the treatment of Plantar Fasciitis." Source: http://www.activerelease.ca/3_PlantarFas.html
No matter who you choose for ART, you should see some good results no matter what. I am just very picky and like to find soft tissue therapists that are "miracle workers". You will not be dissapointed with the results, so give it a try.
ASTYM Main Website -These guys are similar to graston in my opinion. I had tons of relief from ASTYM therapists, and yes, its painful. I feel that ASTYM locks in some long lasting results though. I also love the tools they use in this therapy. This is another therapy that I am sure you will get results from if you have heel pain. Check them out.
ESWT Website from Canada- This site shows ALOT about ESWT and what machine you want to use. They also show how ESWT works. I recommend using the low level piezioelectric kind. piezioson100 and sonocur machines are the best in my opinion. It does take around a month or more to notice the results of ESWT, so be patient after you have had it done. Do not stop your other therapies after you have had it done, keep on stretching/trigger point therapy/scrapping/icing.
Prolotherapy/ PRP- Check out this:" In my experience of treating plantar fasciitis with Prolotherapy along with Dr. Gustav Hemwall's over 40 years experience (the doctor whose practice I took over) we have had at least a 85% of success withProlotherapy. In total we have treated hundreds and hundreds of heels and arches with Prolotherapy, usually it being the sole treatment to the heel area." Source:http://www.getprolo.com/prolotherapy_for_chronic_plantar_fasciitis.htm
What Prolotherapy does is caused a focused and extreme inflammatory response to the heel area so the body can fix it. When you have plantar fasciitis for an extended amount of time, and it becomes chronic, the body is actually weakening the area day by day. It causes the injury to be in a downward spiral, and makes it feel like it will never get better. Prolotherapy is meant to fix this cycle. When your body has an extreme inflammatory response to the heel, it will lay down new collagen fibers and stregnthen the area. It does take a few weeks to notice the results, so be patient after you have it done. It can be hard to find a prolotherapy therapist though, so I suggest putting in to google something like this "prolotherapy therapist san francisco" if you live in san francisco.
Plantar Fasciitis: Why does such a common injury seem incurable?
Plantar Fasciitis Symptoms: What kind of heel pain do I have?
Why Do Shoes Cause Plantar Fasciitis?
What Causes Heel Spurs?
Do Barefoot Treatments work? Are they safe?
How to Combine Different Therapy Treatments for Fast Relief!
How Heel Pain Can Cause Pain to Other Areas of The Body (mainly the knees and the back)
How to Avoid Shockwave Therapy Scams
How to Fix Plantar Fasciitis While on a Budget
Top Plantar Fasciitis Websites:
www.heelspurs.com -My personal favorite. He shares an unbiased opinion of different treatment options and also gives out surveys to determine what treatments have shown the most promising results. This site is a great resource of information on how to understand more about the plantar fascia itself and what its role in the foot is, and what goes wrong when its injured.
http://www.goodbyeplantarfasciitis.com/ - A new blog sharing updated information about Plantar Fasciitis! Lots of great information made available by someone who understands the pain. Highly recommended!!
Plantar Fasciitis Solutions A really cool resource for great articles and advice about plantar fasciitis that is not very common. My favorite one is about the question as to why NBA players seem to get rid of their heel pain in weeks and are back out in the game jumping around no problem. There is also a lot of information about treatments that actually work and why they do. Great website, check it out!
A Fantastic Conservative Approach -Shows basic methods to helping your Plantar Fasciitis. I love this PDF because it shows a great introduction to soft tissue manipulation and lots of tips to dealing with your Plantar Fasciitis. Check it out!
Dshen.com "DIY Graston" Blog Post- This guy shows how to do graston to yourself at home in a simple article. I suggest having graston done by a professional before attempting it yourself so you know how to do it and what it is supposed to feel like. He does give a great description of what you need to look for when doing it and some tools he has used.
Tendinosis.org -Great site about how chronic inflammatory conditions such as
plantar fasciitis develop and what you can do to fix it.
Cross Friction Massage - Check out this quote: "ice, anti-inflammation medications, orthotics and calf muscle stretching. Most of the time these methods, either together or separately, will do the trick, but other times they won't and the problem becomes chronic. In these cases, it may be worthwhile to try a therapy known as cross-friction massage (CFM)." I LOVE cross friction massage in the treatment of plantar fasciitis. Check out the site and see how it works. This website is a must to read if you have had plantar fasciitis for more than 6 weeks or so.
Alternative Therapies for Heel Pain that WORK
Graston Main Website -Graston is a soft tissue manipulation technique that has various methods used for breaking up adhesions that perpetuate Plantar Fasciitis. I love these kinds of therapists. They seem to be the smartest kind I have come across, and their tools may hurt, but I have had tons of relief from them. Most, if not all, will have a good amount of relief from seeing these therapists.
Graston PDF with some very useful information -warning! This page includes anatomical/medical terminology that can confuse the average person! Gives great information on graston, its role in plantar fasciitis, and outcomes of patients who used graston to deal with their heel pain.
Active Release Technique Main Website -Active Release Technique seems to be the number one leader when it comes to soft tissue therapy. I have noticed that you need to look around for a good ART therapist to get great results. When you do find one, they can help you with SO many kinds of injurys. I had a bad ART therapist at first, but I later replaced him with a buff italian ART therapist who gives me much better results every time I see him. These guys can be smart, but for me it took three of them till I found an exceptionally good one. Here is a quote from one of their sites in " The ART® Soft-Tissue Management System has a success rate that surpasses 90% in the treatment of Plantar Fasciitis." Source: http://www.activerelease.ca/3_PlantarFas.html
No matter who you choose for ART, you should see some good results no matter what. I am just very picky and like to find soft tissue therapists that are "miracle workers". You will not be dissapointed with the results, so give it a try.
ASTYM Main Website -These guys are similar to graston in my opinion. I had tons of relief from ASTYM therapists, and yes, its painful. I feel that ASTYM locks in some long lasting results though. I also love the tools they use in this therapy. This is another therapy that I am sure you will get results from if you have heel pain. Check them out.
ESWT Website from Canada- This site shows ALOT about ESWT and what machine you want to use. They also show how ESWT works. I recommend using the low level piezioelectric kind. piezioson100 and sonocur machines are the best in my opinion. It does take around a month or more to notice the results of ESWT, so be patient after you have had it done. Do not stop your other therapies after you have had it done, keep on stretching/trigger point therapy/scrapping/icing.
Prolotherapy/ PRP- Check out this:" In my experience of treating plantar fasciitis with Prolotherapy along with Dr. Gustav Hemwall's over 40 years experience (the doctor whose practice I took over) we have had at least a 85% of success withProlotherapy. In total we have treated hundreds and hundreds of heels and arches with Prolotherapy, usually it being the sole treatment to the heel area." Source:http://www.getprolo.com/prolotherapy_for_chronic_plantar_fasciitis.htm
What Prolotherapy does is caused a focused and extreme inflammatory response to the heel area so the body can fix it. When you have plantar fasciitis for an extended amount of time, and it becomes chronic, the body is actually weakening the area day by day. It causes the injury to be in a downward spiral, and makes it feel like it will never get better. Prolotherapy is meant to fix this cycle. When your body has an extreme inflammatory response to the heel, it will lay down new collagen fibers and stregnthen the area. It does take a few weeks to notice the results, so be patient after you have it done. It can be hard to find a prolotherapy therapist though, so I suggest putting in to google something like this "prolotherapy therapist san francisco" if you live in san francisco.