Acupuncture for Plantar Fasciitis
Imagine crawling out of bed, half asleep and feeling the pain of standing on a nail or a hot amber right in your heel. You crumble, knees buckle, jaw clenched in pain … this is Plantar Fasciitis! Acupuncture for Plantar Fasciitis.
What is Plantar Fasciitis?
The plantar fascia is a piece of strong and thick tissue that runs along the bottom of the foot. It connects the heel bone to the toes, creating the foot’s arch. Plantar fasciitis is inflammation of the plantar fascia.
It can be caused by:
- Playing certain sports that put stress on the heel bone or recent increased activity
- Flat-footed, high arches or collapsing arches
- Being overweight
- Pregnancy
- Muscle tension in the legs
- Standing for long periods
- Standing on hard surfaces
- Heel spur
- Injury
- Wearing incorrect shoes
- Misalignment of the pelvis or hips
Based on an Australian local population study of 3206 participants, the prevalence of heel pain was 3.6% (1).
What are the symptoms of Plantar Fasciitis?
Pain! Which tends to be aggravated by:
- Long periods of standing or sitting
- When you first step out of bed in the morning and place your feet on the ground
- After increased physical activity in the lower half the body
How do you know if you could be experiencing Plantar Fasciitis?
Because pain is the main debilitating symptom, in most cases diagnosis is by the presenting symptoms and location of pain in the heel. The achilles tendon is also examined for inflammation. Further investigations such as ultrasound or X-ray may be used to rule out other conditions.
How is Plantar Fasciitis treated?
- Pain relief medications
- Steriod injections into the heel
- Activity adjustments or rest
- Appropriate stretching
- Acupuncture therapy
- Massage therapy
- Sole inserts for shoes
- Change in footwear or padding when standing for long periods
- Rest
- Nutritional adjustments
The most effective treatment plan for Plantar Fasciitis is to first remove the cause, then apply stretching and treatment which results in resolving inflammation and pain.
Chinese medicine views of Plantar Fasciitis
Predominantly with the view that there is a stagnation in the flow of Blood and Qi in the affected are, this may also be accompanied by heat in the local area (inflammation). For this condition, a combination of Chinese Medicine practices may be used.
How can Chinese medicine help?
Firstly, figure out the cause, then apply the correct treatment.
Structural alignment of the body – Assessing whether your pelvis/hips or spine is out of alignment determines whether your feet are hitting the ground correctly.
Diet – Modern understanding of gut health has shown poor gut function can significantly increase inflammation in the body. Looking into your nutrition and your eating habits may assist overall health and therefore provide pain relief for issues such as Plantar Fasciitis and also prevent inflammation.
Nutritional supplementation – Foods and herbs can be useful for reducing inflammation. Such as Omega’s, Tumeric and Magnesium.
Acupuncture – Trials have showed potential positive effects in the treatment for Plantar Fasciitis. Acupuncture can be effective at reducing muscle tension and as such can help to reduce the pressure and strain on the fascia in Plantar Fasciitis. Electro-acupuncture coupled with conventional treatments (stretching exercises, shoe modification and analgesics) provided a success rate of 80% in chronic Planar Fasciitis which was more effective than conventional treatments alone (2). Future research should recognise the complexity of plantar heel pain, of acupuncture and of the relationship between them, to explore the optimum use and integration of this approach (3).
Other techniques – massage, cupping, gua sha, liniments to accompany acupuncture.
Lifestyle recommendations – Adjustment of posture, specified stretches, appropriate footwear and prevention about contributing factors that may be aggravating the condition.
If you are suffering from plantar fasciitis or believe you may have something similar such as burning heel pain please contact us today to discuss how we can help you at our Sunshine Coast Acupuncture clinic with your plantar fasciitis or other pain conditions.
Hi, I’m Tanya, an Acupuncturist and health practitioner in Nambour on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland Australia. I practice Chinese medicine because its safe, logical, relevant and has effectively shown methods of natural wellness for thousands of years (read more about my training here). Life doesn’t need to be complicated and nor does the treatment approaches to get people feeling vibrant and well. I’ve seen people gain a lot from treatments, much more than just alleviating symptoms. It’s exciting to connect with people and share deep wisdom from the classics of ancient and traditional medicine, with modern protocols for todays mind-body living. See you in the clinic !
References:
- Source- Allan J Pollack, Helena Britt (2015) Plantar fasciitis in Australian general practice Volume 44, No.3, 2015 Pages 90-91, Retrieved from https://www.racgp.org.au/afp/2015/march/plantar-fasciitis-in-australian-general-practice/
- The American Journal of Chinese Medicine, An International Journal of Comparative Medicine East and West. Efficacy of Electro-Acupuncture in Chronic Plantar Fasciitis: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Wipoo Kumnerddee and Nitsara Pattapong. Issue 06, Volume 40, 2012. Retrieved from https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S0192415X12500863
- Clark Richard J, Tighes Maria, The Effectiveness of Acupuncture for Plantar Heel Pain: a systematic review. Acupuncture in Medicine. October 2012. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1136/acupmed-2012-010183https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1136/acupmed-2012-010183