How to determine if it is plantar fasciitis?

Written by Su Zhen Bo
Orthopedics
Updated on April 18, 2025
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Plantar fasciitis is a type of aseptic inflammation. In diagnosis, there is usually a history of chronic strain in the plantar area, or frequent exposure to cold. Patients may feel stabbing pain in the plantar area, swelling in the plantar muscles and fascia tissues, widespread tenderness, and some exhibit definite tender points, affecting normal plantar activity. There is fascial tissue adhesion; when touching the plantar area, the skin may also feel hard and tight. Ultrasonography and MRI can be conducted, and combined with physical examination, a definitive diagnosis can be made. In treatment, conservative methods are used. Often soaking feet in warm water, applying external ointments that invigorate blood circulation and reduce stasis, performing acupuncture and moxibustion, strengthening exercises for the plantar muscle tissues, and taking oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs.

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Written by Wang Cheng Lin
Orthopedics
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Which department should I register for plantar fasciitis?

To register for plantar fasciitis at a hospital, you need to visit two departments. The first is the orthopedics department, where the primary goal is to determine the cause of your plantar fasciitis. Firstly, it is necessary to check for the presence of heel spurs by taking an X-ray of the foot. Secondly, an MRI of the foot may be required to ascertain whether there is significant congestion and edema in your plantar fascia. As for treatment, you can seek help from the pain management department. The pain management department can provide local physical therapy and local blockade treatment to alleviate your pain. If this pain does not improve or worsens after more than six months of conservative treatment, severely affecting your daily life, you might need to return to the orthopedics department for surgical treatment. The surgery involves loosening the plantar fascia to help relieve the pain.

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Written by Wang Cheng Lin
Orthopedics
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How is plantar fasciitis treated?

The treatment of plantar fasciitis currently is divided into two methods in clinical practice. The first method is conservative treatment, which includes rest, avoiding strenuous exertion and excessive weight-bearing walking. It can be managed with physical therapy, massage, acupuncture, physiotherapy, and local block injections. If conservative treatments do not improve the condition or even if the pain progressively worsens over more than half a year, severely affecting daily life, surgical treatment may be necessary. The objectives of surgical treatment are firstly to release the plantar fascia and secondly to remove bone, as a significant portion of patients with plantar fasciitis also have heel spurs; therefore, the surgical procedure involves the removal of these bone spurs to alleviate the pain.

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Written by Cheng Bin
Orthopedics
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Causes of Plantar Fasciitis

Regarding the causes of plantar fasciitis, the most common cause observed clinically is prolonged and excessive weight-bearing walking. Local excessive stimulation, exposure to cold, or trauma can also trigger plantar fasciitis. The main symptom of plantar fasciitis is pain in the sole of the foot. The methods to manage it include reducing local stimuli. For a period of time in the near future, try to avoid weight-bearing walking as much as possible, persist in using topical Chinese herbal medicines that invigorate the blood and dispel stasis which are boiled and then used for fumigation washing daily. Oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and pain relief medications, and blood-activating stasis-dispelling medications should be taken for treatment. Topical plasters that invigorate the blood and dispel stasis can also be used locally. Gradually, recovery will be achieved.

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Written by Wang Cheng Lin
Orthopedics
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Plantar fasciitis etiology

The most common cause of plantar fasciitis is excessive weight-bearing walking, which leads to a type of nonspecific chronic aseptic inflammation of the plantar fascia, resulting in pain on the medial side of the foot when weight-bearing. This is the most common reason. The second cause is degeneration, which is most commonly seen in middle-aged and elderly female patients. The degeneration of the fascia can cause pain and may also be accompanied by heel spurs. Currently, there are two main treatments for plantar fasciitis. The first is conservative treatment, which includes rest, acupuncture, and local injection therapy to relieve pain. If conservative treatment does not work after more than six months or the condition gradually worsens, then surgical treatment becomes necessary. Surgical treatment can remove local inflammatory tissue and release the plantar fascia to achieve the purpose of relieving pain.

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Written by Wang Cheng Lin
Orthopedics
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How to completely cure plantar fasciitis?

Plantar fasciitis clinically has no method that can achieve a radical cure. Only through surgical treatment can the recurrence rate be reduced, but it cannot be completely cured. Of course, the effects of surgical treatment are definitely more significant than conservative treatment. The first step in surgical treatment is to release the plantar fascia, and the second step is to remove bone spurs, as a significant portion of patients with plantar fasciitis have concurrent bone spurs. Of course, during the surgical process, it is necessary to remove bone spurs. The third step involves drilling into the heel bone to decompress it, as some patients also suffer from high pressure in the heel bone. Therefore, the surgery aims to decompress the heel bone by drilling, thus further alleviating pain in the heel and foot. However, if rest is maintained post-surgery, and strenuous activities are avoided, it can significantly reduce the chances of recurrence of fasciitis, but surgical treatment is not a cure-all method.