Osteopathy & Heel Pain
By now you are probably aware of your diagnosis of Plantar Fasciitis (PF), also known as Plantar Fasciopathy or plantar (sole) heel pain. It is a painful and a sometimes chronic condition that is characterised by pain in the origin of the plantar fascia.
In lots of cases addressing the local factors such as footwear, appropriate load/rest of area, stretching and other pain reducing activities (ice, rolling ball under foot etc) will stop the pain. In some cases though this doesn’t ease the pain and today I wanted to take the time to talk about how Osteopathy may be beneficial in your recovery.
As an Osteopath I look assess the entire lower limb and spine in relation to how you are moving, transferring and most importantly absorbing load. I often explain this distribution or absorbing done by the body in terms of a spring. Each part of our body that is our joints, muscles, nerves and fascia can absorb energy (like a spring) and this is essential for how we move. If however, for whatever reasons, we have restrictions or ridgitiy in this system it means that we are left with an increased amount of energy that has nowhere to go and hence we strain tissues, sprain joints or irritate nerves that in turn cause pain. In this case the plantar heel pain but in other people the point of decompensation may be in the achillies, knee or lower back.
To demonstrate this point imagine jumping with your knees locked out, lots of pressure, right? And not just in the knee but in the feet and hips too. This a crude example of decreasing your body’s ability to absorb energy by locking out your knees and is what is happening to a smaller degree when you have decreased motion and mobility in your muscles, joints, fascia and/or nerves.
After assessing your joints, muscles, biomechanics and fascia if appropriate we will utilise treatment techniques such as soft tissue massage, stretching, dry needling and manipulation to optimise the function of your musculoskeletal system. By optimising the function of theses structures through the whole of your lower limb and spine we take pressure off your plantar heel allowing it to heal.
If you have any further questions on how Osteopathy may be of benefit, please call the clinic on 0425 876 929 or you can book an appointment online HERE
Osteopaths are five-year University trained primary health care professionals whom are registered under AHPRA. If you have private health care you will be able to claim a rebate on site through HICAPS or in cases where you a referred under a GP care plan you will receive your rebate on the day.
Yours in good health
Daniel Wood