How You Can Overcome Foot Pain with Physical Therapy

Are your first steps in the morning filled with sharp pain in your foot? If so, you might be dealing with a plantar fascia injury—a common issue that affects the very foundation of your body. The good news is that physical therapy can get you back on your feet fast. 

I am Lauren Masi, Doctor of Physical Therapy and Board Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist. I’m also the owner and Clinical Services Director of Bay Area Physical Therapy and Lafayette Physical Therapy. Today, we’re going to talk about caring for a plantar fascia injury with physical therapy. 

What Is the Plantar Fascia?

The plantar fascia is a very thick connective tissue that runs along the sole of your foot, between the ball of your foot and your heel. If you’ve ever experienced pain in your arch or heel first thing in the morning when you step out of bed, that is your plantar fascia. 

What Causes Plantar Fascia Injuries, or Foot Pain?

The plantar fascia is meant to have a little bit of pliability to absorb shock as our foot hits the ground, but not too much; and that’s the problem with the poor footwear that a lot of us wear. Poor arch support can put excess strain on this tissue and lead to inflammation. If the strain on the plantar fascia is extreme, it can even tear, which is very painful. 

Another cause of pain is poor balance and strength in the muscles of your foot, or even up into the larger muscles of your hips. You don’t want your little foot muscles doing all the work. Usually, if we have foot injuries or problems, it’s because something farther up the chain isn’t doing its share, and now these little tissues down in the foot are getting injured. 

Common Treatments for Foot Pain

One thing we can do here at Bay Area physical therapy is musculoskeletal ultrasound. This allows us to actually look at the tissue in your foot to determine if it is just inflamed, or if there are signs of tearing. 

Depending on the extent of the injury, we might need to put you in a boot for a while. This will minimize the excessive motion through your foot and allow the tissues to heal. That’s not something that we issue from here, but we would refer you back to your doctor to handle. 

There are also surgeries to repair this area. I will say that foot surgery should never be your first choice. It takes a long time to recover from, and it can definitely impede your life. That’s why we want to try the conservative care approach first, immobilize the area if necessary, and make sure we set up your foot for a good healing environment. 

How Physical Therapy Can Help with Foot Pain

Once we’ve done the musculoskeletal ultrasound to ensure you don’t need more specialized care for a plantar fascia tear, there are several things we as physical therapists can do to help you heal and feel better: 

• Arch Supports: Using proper arch supports in your everyday shoes, including flip-flops, can help alleviate pressure on the plantar fascia.

• Strengthening Exercises: We’ll work on strengthening muscles higher up the leg, such as the hips and calves, to reduce stress on the foot.

• Calf Stretches: Tight calf muscles can contribute to plantar fascia pain. By stretching your calves, you may relieve the pressure on the plantar fascia and promote healing.

On evaluation day, we can help to guide you toward the best approach for you. And if you are having too much pain, we can help you control that pain through some of the modalities that we have, like our Class IV laser or electrical stimulation. After that, we can get you doing stretching and strengthening exercises to get you back to normal as quickly as possible. 

What You Can Do at Home to Manage Foot Pain

There are several things you can try at home to treat foot pain. Icing the area is a great treatment, as is massage. An easy way to do this at home is to get a plastic water bottle, fill it up, and freeze it. Then sit in a chair with the water bottle on the floor in front of you. 

You can step on the water bottle and move your foot back and forth, rolling it through your arch. This is actually a combination of self-massage and icing, which can help a lot with foot pain.  

If you need any further advice on how to handle foot pain, please call our front desk at (925) 284-3840 for a complimentary consultation. We’ll be happy to help.