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Preventing Plantar FasciitisProper foot care and maintaining healthy, strong feet can save you from foot pain and disruptions with your activities. Plantar fasciitis may be difficult to prevent as symptoms often don't begin until the tissue damage has been done and you've had the condition for awhile. The trick is to take care of your feet, as you would the rest of your body, to stop any conditions from starting. There are a number of things you can do to keep yourself healthy and prevent further damage.  What's on Your Feet?Wear proper footwear for the activity or work you are participating in - ensure it is comfortable and there is padding, a stiff sole and sufficient arch support (especially if running). If purchasing new shoes leave a 1/2 inch space between your longest toe and the inside of the shoe; try to buy them in the late afternoon, as your feet swell during the day. Properly sized footwear made out of breathable and flexible materials will also help prevent against corns, calluses and bunions (try to avoid vinyl or plastic). Foot devices or inserts may help to ensure support and cushioning. Treat Your Muscles and Tissues RightAlways warm up and cool down your foot and leg muscles before and after working them, and learn the proper form and techniques for your activity. Avoid doing too much too soon to give your body an opportunity to build up its endurance. This is especially important when participating in a new activity. Gradually increase your participation to prevent overstraining your muscles. Also vary your routines and the type of terrain you are participating on to provide relief and avoid overstressing the same area on your foot. Avoid walking on your toes, up stairs or walking barefoot whenever possible.  Stretching and strengthening exercises will help to keep your feet strong and supple, which will prevent further injuries. It is important to build the strength of your toe flexors, as well as your foot, lower leg and hamstring muscles to ensure proper muscle balances. Regular endurance activities such as swimming, water aerobics, or biking will help to keep your body healthy and prevent foot tension. Follow this by gently massaging your feet after activities or long periods of standing to ease any tension in your feet.  Do Not Overload Your FeetMaintain a healthy weight or lose weight if required. Your feet carry the load of your body so there will be less stress on the plantar fascia if there is less weight to carry. Eating a balanced diet will help to ensure optimum health. Plantar Fasciitis TreatmentsConservative treatments tend to be the best way to treat plantar fasciitis. However, it can take months to years to heal depending on your situation and commitment to treatment (6 weeks to 6 months or longer). To improve healing time and treat your pain naturally, cold compression therapy and Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy™ are recommended. Cold Compression TherapyWhen you are experiencing pain, swelling, and inflammation in the bottom of your foot, doctors recommend cold compression therapy. Cold compression therapy reduces tissue damage caused by swelling and inflammation and treats your foot pain quickly.  Cold compression therapy works by interrupting and slowing nerve and cell function in the damaged area. This is important because once blood vessels are damaged, they can no longer carry oxygenated blood to the plantar fascia and tissue cells begin to break-down. The Plantar/Spur Freezie Wrap® allows you to treat yourself in an effective and convenient way and the deep cold provided by the Plantar/Spur Freezie Wrap® slows cell function thereby reducing cellular break-down. Furthermore, because the cold wraps serve to numb the nerves, the wraps also reduce pain! The cooling gel pack inside every Freezie Wrap® have been designed with ColdCure Technology®. The specially formulated gel allows the pack to be supercharged in the fridge, not in the freezer like ice or other freezer packs. The Freezie Wrap® gives you deep cold compression therapy without the risk of 'cold burns' or cryoburn to the layers of your skin. This unique technology, inside a soft and completely adjustable neoprene wrap, gives you comfortable, convenient, and effective cold compression therapy. In addition, the specially designed foot wrap has an adjustable compression band so you can control the amount of pressure that feels good around your foot. Click here to learn more about ColdCure Technology®Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy™Once inflammation and swelling have been reduced in your plantar fascia, nourishing and strengthening the tissue in your foot is the goal. Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy™ (BFST®) promotes blood flow to the treatment area bringing the necessary oxygen and nutrients to your plantar fascia and other weakened tissue. BFST® speeds up the body's natural repair process for faster healing and stronger tissue.  Extremities of the body, like the foot, do not receive much blood flow naturally and when you stop moving your foot because it hurts, you are not creating the natural blood flow it usually receives. With the use of Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy™ you can increase your body's blood supply to the plantar fascia. In addition, the fresh blood flow whisks away dead cells and toxins (including lactic acid, commonly found in trigger points) that have built up from the injury leaving the area clean and better prepared for healing. Our Plantar/Spur Inferno Wrap® provides effective, non-invasive, non-addictive pain relief with no side effects. Keeping your planter fascia and foot as healthy and strong as possible throughout the healing process will allow you to get back to your regular activities faster. The Plantar/Spur Inferno Wrap®, available exclusively from MendMeShop®, provides effective, non-invasive, non-addictive pain relief and healing with no side effects. The benefits of BFST® do not end once your foot pain stops! Even when your plantar fascia has healed, your activities can put it at risk of an overuse injury, tightness, or another tear. An Inferno Wrap® treatment before activity is an easy way to warm up the tissues and prepare them for use. Then, end your day with another treatment to prevent tightness from setting in overnight. This incredible healing tool will be the ticket to healthy feet for years to come! Click here to learn more about BFST® During your recovery, you will probably have to modify and/or eliminate any activities that cause pain or discomfort in your foot until your pain and inflammation settle. With these easy-to-use, home therapies you will notice great improvement within a few weeks, with most patients seeing some improvement quickly. The more diligent you are with your treatment and rehabilitation, the faster you will see successful results. If you start using your plantar fascia before it has a chance to heal properly (even though it may feel better), you can end up doing a lot more damage than good! Night Splints Wearing a night splint to treat your plantar fasciitis allows you to begin your day in significantly less pain and heals your inflamed fascia ligament faster.  Night splints are designed to maintain a gentle stretch of the plantar fascia while you sleep. Your ankle is stabilized at an angle that prevents the fascia ligament from becoming taut as you relax your foot throughout the night. As a result, you will no longer go through the painful process of restretching the fascia ligament in the morning. Preventing the fascia from becoming taut as you sleep alleviates the painful mornings all too familiar to plantar fasciitis sufferers and accelerates the healing process. Our lightweight, padded, low-profile Dorsal Night Splint and Night Splint with Tread will give you the stretch you need while you sleep comfortably and heal your pain. Stretching to Relieve Plantar Fasciitis PainStretching will help to alleviate tightness in your foot, lower leg and hamstring muscles. The calf muscles are made up of several muscles which serve to plantar flex the foot. These include the gastrocnemius, the soleus, and the plantaris muscles. When these muscles are tight they can contribute to the development of plantar fasciitis. Stretching of these muscles can reduce the symptoms. Consult your doctor to discuss which stretches work best for you. There are several techniques which include:
Physical therapy will help to improve pain in tissues and restore your weakened muscles through use of ultrasound, muscle stimulation or extracorporeal shockwave therapy and will provide you with a customized exercise program. Chiropractic care, deep massage, reflexology and acupressure have also shown to be effective in relieving tension, strengthening your foot and helping with alignment. Please be aware that this information is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider before starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
| Dear MendMeShop, I purchased this product recently for my plantar fasciitis. I've been using it about a week, and it has helped a lot with the pain when I first get out of my bed in the morning. I previously tried something else, that was more like a sock, that pulled the toes, and that only caused pain. This [night splint] is very comfortable to wear, and I love how much I'm able to adjust it! I would recommend this to anyone! Rating: Bonnie Barber Dear MendMeShop, Just had to share my story. My son who was 17 years old at the time he's now 18, was complaining of pain in both his knees. We took him to the Dr who told us he had torn cartilage in both knees and would need arthroscopic surgery on both knees to take out the torn cartilage. At this young age I did not want him to loose what cartilage he had as it leads to other problems when you get older. The orthopedic surgeon wanted to do surgery right away before more damage was done. He had surgery on his left knee and they took out 35% of his cartilage. I went to the internet for help ,hoping there was a better way to solve his problem in his other knee. That's when I found the Mend me shop. I showed the articles to his Surgeon and told him I wanted to try it before he had more surgery done. He said it was probably just another internet scam but I went ahead and ordered it anyway sine they have a 60 day return policy. What did we have to lose, nothing. To my surprise the inferno wrap took most of my son's pain, clicking and soreness away. His knee feels like new again and he's back to paying basketball. I have never responded to any product before but I feel strongly about these products, they really do work, I wish I had saved him from having surgery on his other knee. So if you are having the same issues give these products a try you have nothing to lose and everything to gain!!!!!! Rating: Karen Larson          |
