How We Treat Plantar Fasciitis At Featherston Street Pain Clinic
Please utilise our booking system for Wellington appointments by clicking the button below. For Wairarapa appointments, please fill out the appointment request form available on our Contact Us page.
Our service is for people who want to be truly free from chronic pain & injuries. This involves healing the real causes of pain and injury susceptibility, deep in the body and nervous system. It also means moving beyond outdated ‘symptom based’ approaches to pain.
We combine cutting edge technology, hands on methods, tailored rehab programs and stress management. This enables us to manage everything from fresh ankle sprains; to the chronic pains associated with conditions like osteoarthritis, disc bulges and PTSD.
We provide transformative healthcare in a welcoming and friendly environment. For us, genuine care and authentic communication are not bonus features. They are healthcare fundamentals.
Successful management and relief of stubborn plantar fasciitis pain can be surprisingly straight forward. Yet in other instances a systematic, focused, and persistent approach may be required to get your pain under control.
We specialise in providing flexible ‘multidisciplinary’ pain relief – using a wide range of tools and techniques. This ensures we have the best possible chance to help everyone: from the most easy straightforward cases right through to the most stubborn treatment resistant forms of plantar fasciitis pain.
Find The Cause
Hands On Pain Relief
Rehabilitation And Prevention
Getting to the bottom of your plantar fasciitis pain means finding out where exactly the pain is coming from – and exactly what is causing it.
We have a wide range of technologies and tests at our disposal, in order to identify the sources of pain.The first thing we want to know is which tissues are generating your plantar fasciitis pain.
Plantar fasciitis pain can come from muscle, tendons, joints, nerves, bones or fascia (connective tissue). Establishing clearly which tissue is creating the pain is the first step towards relief. But we don’t stop there because we also want to know why it’s hurting.
Some plantar fasciitis is caused by flat feet. Some plantar fasciitis is caused by weak glutes.. Some plantar fasciitis pains are caused by scar tissue from old injuries. Some plantar pain is caused by the nature of a person’s job. Some plantar fasciitis pains are even caused by psychological stress.
Finding out why you have plantar fasciitis pain is essential if you want longer term relief. Which is why we place great importance on this step. If you need an X Ray or MRI to diagnose your pain we can organise a referral for the relevant imaging for you on the spot.
In most cases of plantar fasciitis pain, it’s necessary to work with someone who combines a variety of technologies and hands-on methods to ease your pain. So that’s exactly what we do.
Most people who require treatment for stubborn plantar fasciitis pain don’t respond particularly well to just being given calf raises. Much in the same way that most people with toothache don’t respond too well to just being sent home with dental floss.
If you have chronic plantar fasciitis pain you almost certainly need hands on treatments with professionals who are trained to physically relieve the pain for you. We use some of the most advanced pain technology available anywhere combined with a wide range of skill based manual techniques.
Successful management of plantar fasciitis pain in the longer term often requires more than just the right ‘treatments’.
For many patients, plantar fasciitis pain treatment that brings some blessed relief is often just the start point. Stress management, postural correction, lifestyle tweaks, workstation tweaks and even dietary tweaks are often necessary.
Most cases of plantar fasciitis pain are either caused by an injury, something that we are doing wrong or something that the body needs help with like strength or alignment. Making necessary adjustments to your lifestyle and the wellbeing of your body may be necessary for longer term success. Coaching for these important changes in those who wish to make them is a part of what we do
Book an online consultation and get personalized advice from the comfort of your home. Our licensed practitioners are here to assess your concerns, provide expert diagnosis, and offer treatment recommendations—all through a secure virtual session.
027 508 8083
tobias@severnclinics.co.nz
There are many different ways to treat plantar fasciitis, and it’s just as well because we don’t all respond to the same stuff.
The ultimate key to successful treatment of plantar fasciitis is working with a team who are willing to take a sufficiently flexible approach, and trial a number of different therapies to see what works best on your specific case.
ShockwaveTherapy was originally researched and developed in the 1980s for the non-invasive treatment of kidney stones. Later it was discovered that the same sound soundwaves have a profoundly beneficial effect on injured soft tissues and even bone.
The startling effects of Shockwave Therapy that have been observed in the scientific literature include: blood vessel regeneration – reduction of pain signals – regeneration of bone tissue – prevention of cartilage degeneration – increase in tissue ‘growth factors’ – reversal of chronic inflammation re-absorption of calcification in the tendon – reducing tendinopathies. These effects are a glimpse into how useful shockwave is in the treatment of arch pain and heel pain.
Shockwave has an excellent track record for treating plantar fasciitis. Both under rigorous scientific conditions and in clinical settings. It is widely considered the treatment of choice for plantar fasciitis pain
Low Energy Laser Therapy is the application of specific deeply penetrating light waves to a painful area. Light with a wavelength in the red to near infrared region of the spectrum (660nm–905nm) is generally employed because these wavelengths have the ability to penetrate skin, and soft/hard tissues. Lasers like these are known to trigger the release of a substance called ATP within cells, this suggests that they boost tissue metabolism in painful areas.
A great many clinical trials have shown this type of treatment has a meaningful effect on inflammation and tissue repair. In our experience people with plantar fasciitis pain often experience immediate improvements in their pain after laser sessions.
Shockwave Therapy was originally developed for its application as a non-invasive treatment of kidney stones. We use a gentler form of the same technology to break up deep muscle knots and tracts of scar tissue in the neck. For more information on shockwave therapy visit our shockwave homepage here.
Gait Analysis & Stride Analysis tools are for people who are interested in long term prevention of pain. When the root cause of your pain has been uncovered it takes all the guess-work out of treatment and rehabilitation of pain. Deep insights into our movement patterns are now possible: with the use of cloud based AI machine learning; and complex sensors that go in your shoes while you perform movement tests.This data opens the door to tailored forms of rehabilitation
We believe that all pains have a story to tell and that there are genuine underlying physical issues behind all stubborn pain. In other words, you don’t get sore overnight, and you certainly don’t get chronic pain overnight, unless you have had a real physical issue. Gait Analysis & Stride Analysis are designed to identify these issues.
Acupuncture can be extremely helpful in the management of many cases of plantar fasciitis pain. As opposed to the traditional approach to acupuncture (where needles are placed in a wider set of related locations) we generally focus directly on the area of pain.
Needling aims to promote blood flow, ease painful pressure points in soft tissues and reduce pain signals. Needles are placed very superficially around the area of pain and we generally leave them in for around 10 minutes, depending on your body’s tolerance to them. If acupuncture works for your plantar fasciitis pain the benefits are usually felt within the first 2-3 sessions.
A large number of people suffer with stubborn plantar fasciitis pain caused in part by soft tissue adhesions. A bit like a tiny spider web that creates tissue tension and irritation. These types of adhesions can come from almost any history of physical injury, trauma or overuse.
Graston Technique is like a form of specialised massage that utilises ‘scraping’ tools to release the connective tissues. Using Graston Technique to release adhesions can bring shockingly fast relief for many plantar fasciitis pain sufferers. Even for those patients who have struggled for years.
In the world of pain management there has been a very decisive move away from ímmobilisation’’ in favour of more active types of rehab in the last 30 or so years. And yet in NZ at least bracing for plantar fasciitis pain is still surprisingly common given that the evidence has led largely away from these types of approach.
Bracing, casts and splints are essential while bone and soft tissue are healing from major breaks and tears. Beyond that a modern take on pain management broadly indicates that you should be suspicious of managing your pain in a way that favours bracing over intense hands on treatment and exercise prescription.
There is an important nuance to understand about the use of exercises in plantar fasciitis pain management. Exercises are a vital part of the longer term rehab of plantar fasciitis pain. In the short term however exercises often either have little effect or slightly aggravate your condition.
If you have a significant build up of muscle knots, soft tissue adhesions or tendinopathies it is way too much to expect that exercises alone will resolve them. Most stubborn cases of plantar fasciitis pain require hands on treatment before they are truly responsive to exercise prescription.
Pain relief first, exercises later, is an excellent rule to observe for most plantar fasciitis pain cases.
Trigger point release techniques use the hands to release those painful muscle points that are all too easy to find in and around literally all chronically painful body parts.
There’s still no full scientific understanding of the role myofascial trigger points play in pain. It’s a very hard thing to study and the truth is we still don’t know much about the body.
Meanwhile, in the front lines where pain is treated day in and day out; treatments that release myofascial trigger points bring dramatic improvements for a great many sufferers of plantar fasciitis pain.
The Mayo Clinic is one of the world’s foremost medical research institutions, their website lists the following known cortisone side effects: Cartilage damage – death of bone tissue – joint infection – nerve damage – joint inflammation – tendon weakening and rupture – thinning of bone (osteoporosis) – permanent thinning of skin and soft tissue around the injection site.
Maybe you might consider trying our long list of treatments that carry no long term side effects whatsoever before you consider risking a cortisone injection as treatment for your plantar fasciitis pain.
Hands On Treatments
We are in the business of helping you get out of pain. The beating heart of our clinical process is a committed and very hands on approach to getting you out of pain as quickly and painlessly as possible. We are willing to use a wide range of tools and also to work tirelessly in our efforts to get you out of pain.
Flexible Treatment Approach
Even among professionals there is little agreement on the best ways to treat pain. But there is one thing that we know for certain about pain management, it’s that a flexible multidisciplinary treatment approach pain is best. This is why we take such great care to provide the most diverse range of pain relief tools possible under one roof.
Get To The Bottom Of It
The human body seldom if ever generates pain for no reason. Pain is a highly organised and intelligent form of feedback that we have evolved over millions of years. In other words.. if you have pain it will be for a good reason. We always strive to find the deepest possible explanation for your pain so that you have the best possible chance of preventing it in the longer term.
Excellent Communication
Unlike a one-off filling at the dentist, successfully relieving most plantar fasciitis pain is a process. A process that often requires commitment, trust and clear communication. We believe that clear and open communication combined with genuine rapport is fundamental within our arsenal of pain management tools.
Assume Nothing
Just because a treatment has worked for us a thousand times before; doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed to work on you! Pain management is not a ‘1 size fits all’ moment in life. We monitor your response to treatment very closely. This approach enables us to make agile treatment protocols that can be altered in real time should we find you aren’t responding to the tools and techniques that we expect to work for you.
Our team offers a wide range of treatments, helping you to achieve your recovery goals.
Please utilise our booking system for Wellington appointments by clicking the button below. For Wairarapa appointments, kindly use the appointment request form.