Plantar Fasciitis Surgery vs. Conservative Treatment: When to Consider Each Option

If you have plantar fasciitis and your pain is not getting better with physical therapy or pain medication, should you consider surgery? It is not that simple. There are factors and other treatments that need to be considered first before surgery. Surgical options for plantar fasciitis are the last resort, considered when all other treatment modalities have failed to improve your condition and chronic pain is affecting your daily life activities. Learn about conservative treatment options and when you should consider surgery for plantar fasciitis in this article. Get a consultation with the best Podiatrists in Brooklyn.

Plantar Fasciitis Conservative Treatment Options

In most cases, plantar fasciitis is treated with conservative options, for instance:

1. Medications: This is the first option for treating plantar fasciitis. You can buy pain relievers without a prescription, like ibuprofen and naproxen sodium. If these don’t relieve your pain and inflammation, then the doctor will prescribe strong pain-relieving medications.
2. Walking boots, canes, and crutches: Your doctor might suggest using walking boots to remove weight from the affected foot to allow healing. You can get customized boots that support your feet and remove pressure/weight off the affected foot.
3. Night splints: Your doctor may put a splint on your affected leg to lengthen the position overnight to promote stretching while you sleep.
4. Orthotics: Your doctor might prescribe off-the-shelf or custom-fitted arch supports, called orthotics, to distribute the pressure on your feet equally.
5. Physical therapy: Your doctor may refer you to a physical therapist to teach you some exercises to stretch the plantar fascia and Achilles tendon to strengthen the lower leg muscles and improve range of motion and flexibility. A therapist also teaches how to apply athletic taping to support the bottom of your foot.
6. Steroid injections: The doctor may use steroid injections to provide temporary pain relief. They use anesthesia or platelet-rich plasma injected into the tender area of the plantar fasciitis to provide temporary relief. However, it is not recommended to use it too frequently as it can weaken your plantar fascia, which can lead to rupture. During injections, doctors use ultrasound imaging for precise needle placement.
7. Extracorporeal shock wave therapy: In this therapy, sound waves are used to stimulate healing. It is only used for chronic plantar fasciitis that doesn’t respond well to more conservative treatments. Some studies show promising results, but it is not consistently effective.
8. Ultrasonic tissue repair: This is a minimally invasive procedure that uses ultrasound imaging to guide a needle-like probe into damaged plantar fascia tissue. The probe sends vibrations that break the damaged tissue, which is suctioned out.
9. Home remedies: Some home remedies can help to relieve pain, such as:
10. Cold therapy
11. Take enough rest
12. Essential oils massage
13. Focus on a nutritional diet

Is Plantar Fasciitis Surgery the Right Choice for You?

While every case of plantar fasciitis is unique, deciding whether you need surgery or not depends on several factors, such as:

1. The severity of your pain: If your pain is severe and makes it difficult to walk or perform daily activities, surgery for plantar fasciitis should be considered. However, for mild cases, conservative treatments are considered.
2. Duration of symptoms: If you have chronic plantar fasciitis, lasting more than 6 to 12 months without improvement, you may need more aggressive treatment, involving a surgical approach.
3. Impact on Daily activities: If your symptoms significantly limit your ability to work, exercise, and enjoy daily life, you may need to explore surgical options after other methods have failed.
4. Failure of previous treatments: Surgery for plantar fasciitis is mostly considered when conservative treatments such as rest, physical therapy, custom orthotics, or injections haven’t worked.
5. Overall health and lifestyle: Your overall health plays an essential role in recovery after surgery for plantar fasciitis. Conditions like diabetes or obesity may affect surgical outcomes, so discussing your health history with a specialist is critical.
6. Consult a specialist: It is important to consult a foot and ankle specialist because they can thoroughly evaluate your condition and develop a treatment plan based on your needs, ensuring the best approach to manage your plantar fasciitis.

What Not to Do with Plantar Fasciitis

Certain things should be avoided to relieve the pain when it occurs due to your condition. Some of those ways can worsen your symptoms, making it even more challenging to get better. When you feel pain due to plantar fasciitis, you should avoid:

• Exercising your feet: Participating in strenuous activity that involves running or jumping can cause a high impact on your feet, which worsens the condition. You may think it will stretch your ligaments and reduce pain; but high-intensity cardio, hiking, and running only increase your plantar fasciitis pain.
• Standing for long periods: Standing for longer periods can increase plantar fasciitis pain. So, if you have a standing job, make sure you take breaks to sit and reduce to lower the pressure on your ligaments.
• Putting off professional treatment: Some people think resting for a few days will fix their foot pain. However, this is only a temporary solution, and the pain will return. The only way to alleviate the pain is to get professional treatment from a foot doctor. They can treat the root cause of your plantar fasciitis and find the appropriate treatment to relieve your pain.

If you have plantar fasciitis, you must take good self-care and doctor-prescribed treatments to relieve your pain. You should wait to get healed first, and only after consulting with a professional should you start high-impact physical activities, like running.

Surgical options for treating Plantar fasciitis are needed when other conservative treatments mentioned above have failed to relieve pain and discomfort. However, you may need to consider several other factors to decide whether surgery is a good option for you or not.

Need help with plantar fasciitis treatment? Visit our podiatry clinic in Brooklyn to get professional medical help. Call us to book your appointment now!!!! At Doral Health & Wellness, we have Podiatrists with extensive education and expertise. If you’re ready to take the next step in managing your pain, we recommend consulting with our healthcare provider to explore the right treatments or therapies for you. Always listen to your body and adjust your daily routine to prioritize your well-being. Trauma to the tendons, muscles, and bones of the foot is quite common. It’s not a good idea to put off seeing Foot Doctor Brooklyn until you are in a lot of pain. Our address is 1797 Pitkin Avenue, New York, NY 11212. To make an appointment, please call + 1 718 367 2555 or send an email toinfo@doralhw.org.