Plantar fasciitis happens when the thick band of tissue running along the bottom of your foot becomes inflamed from repeated stress and poor biomechanics. At Hometown Family Wellness Center in Freehold, we address plantar fasciitis by correcting foot alignment with custom orthotics and treating the biomechanical issues in your feet, ankles, and lower body that caused the problem in the first place. Most patients experience significant relief within 4-6 weeks.
What Plantar Fasciitis Really Is
Your plantar fascia is a thick, fibrous band connecting your heel bone to your toes. It acts like a shock absorber and supports the arch of your foot.
When this tissue gets overloaded, tiny tears develop and inflammation sets in. That’s plantar fasciitis.
The classic symptom? Stabbing pain in the bottom of your foot near the heel, especially with your first steps in the morning. After you’ve been moving around, the pain often improves, but it comes roaring back after sitting or standing for long periods.
Here’s what makes plantar fasciitis so frustrating: it rarely resolves on its own. Without addressing the mechanical problems causing the stress, that tissue keeps getting irritated over and over.
Why Your Feet Are Breaking Down
Plantar fasciitis doesn’t just happen randomly. In my 27 years treating patients in Freehold, I’ve seen the same underlying causes again and again.
Flat Arches or High Arches
Both extremes create abnormal stress patterns. Flat feet cause your plantar fascia to overstretch with every step. High arches don’t absorb shock properly, concentrating force on the heel and ball of your foot.
Overpronation
When your foot rolls inward excessively during walking or running, it pulls on the plantar fascia from an abnormal angle. This repeated tugging causes inflammation and micro-tears.
Tight Calf Muscles
If your calf muscles and Achilles tendon are tight, they limit ankle flexibility. Your plantar fascia has to work overtime to compensate, leading to overload and injury.
Poor Footwear
Shoes without proper arch support or cushioning force your plantar fascia to do all the work. Flip-flops, worn-out sneakers, and unsupportive dress shoes are common culprits.
Sudden Increase in Activity
Starting a new exercise program, increasing running mileage too quickly, or spending more time on your feet than usual can overload the plantar fascia before it has time to adapt.
Weight and Body Mechanics
Extra body weight increases the load on your feet with every step. Combined with poor walking mechanics, this accelerates plantar fascia breakdown.
How Custom Orthotics Fix Plantar Fasciitis
Generic shoe inserts from the store don’t work because they’re not designed for your specific foot. Custom orthotics are different.
At our Freehold practice, we use advanced 3D scanning technology to capture the exact contours of your feet. This creates orthotics molded precisely to your unique foot structure.
What Custom Orthotics Do
They support your arches at the correct height, preventing excessive flattening or strain. They redistribute pressure evenly across your entire foot instead of concentrating it on the heel and ball. They correct pronation, keeping your foot in proper alignment during every step.
They absorb shock, reducing the impact forces that travel through your plantar fascia. They provide cushioning exactly where your foot needs it most.
The result? Your plantar fascia can finally heal because it’s no longer being repeatedly injured with every step you take.
Why Foot Levelers Orthotics Work Better
We use Foot Levelers orthotics because they’re custom-made for your feet and designed to support all three arches in your foot, not just one. Most drugstore inserts only support the medial arch, leaving the other two arches unsupported.
Foot Levelers orthotics are also designed to work with your specific activities. Whether you need orthotics for athletic shoes, dress shoes, or everyday wear, we create the right solution for your lifestyle.
Chiropractic Treatment for Plantar Fasciitis
Custom orthotics are crucial, but they’re not the only piece of the puzzle. We also address the biomechanical dysfunctions throughout your lower body that contributed to your plantar fasciitis.
Foot and Ankle Adjustments
Using extremity adjustments, we restore proper alignment to the 26 bones in each foot and the ankle joint. When these bones move correctly, stress on the plantar fascia decreases dramatically.
Lower Leg and Calf Work
We use soft tissue therapy to release tight calf muscles and improve Achilles tendon flexibility. This reduces the pulling force on your heel and allows your ankle to move through its full range of motion.
Addressing the Kinetic Chain
Problems in your feet often trace back to issues higher up. We evaluate your knees, hips, and lower back to identify compensatory patterns that increase stress on your feet.
If your hips are misaligned, your feet twist to maintain balance. If your spine is out of alignment, your entire gait changes. We correct these issues so your feet can function normally. Learn more about how foot problems affect your entire body.
Rehabilitation Exercises
We teach you specific stretches and strengthening exercises to support your recovery. Strengthening your foot intrinsic muscles and improving calf flexibility prevents plantar fasciitis from returning.
What to Expect During Treatment
Plantar fasciitis typically takes longer to heal than many other conditions because you can’t stop walking on your feet while they recover. But with the right approach, most patients see significant improvement within 4-6 weeks.
Week 1-2: Initial Relief
We focus on reducing inflammation and pain. You’ll start wearing your custom orthotics, and we’ll begin adjustments and soft tissue work. Many patients notice reduced morning pain within the first week.
Week 3-4: Progressive Improvement
As inflammation decreases and your feet adapt to proper support, you’ll notice pain occurring less frequently and with less intensity. Activities that were difficult become more manageable.
Week 5-8: Restoration Phase
We continue correcting biomechanical issues and strengthening supporting structures. Most patients are back to normal activities by this point, though some chronic cases take longer.
Ongoing Maintenance
Once your plantar fasciitis resolves, continuing to wear your custom orthotics prevents recurrence. Periodic adjustments help maintain proper foot and lower body alignment.
Other Approaches That Don’t Address the Root Cause
Rest and Ice
Rest reduces inflammation temporarily, but it doesn’t fix the mechanical problems causing your plantar fasciitis. As soon as you resume normal activity, symptoms return.
Anti-Inflammatory Medication
NSAIDs mask pain without addressing why your plantar fascia is inflamed. They can provide temporary relief but don’t promote healing or prevent recurrence.
Cortisone Injections
Steroid injections reduce inflammation but can weaken the plantar fascia over time, increasing rupture risk. They’re a short-term fix that doesn’t correct the underlying biomechanical issues.
Generic Shoe Inserts
Drugstore inserts provide minimal support and aren’t customized to your foot structure. They might feel slightly better than nothing, but they don’t correct the problems causing your pain.
Night Splints
Night splints keep your foot stretched while you sleep, which can reduce morning pain. But they don’t address the daytime biomechanics that caused the injury in the first place.
Preventing Plantar Fasciitis from Coming Back
Once we’ve resolved your plantar fasciitis, keeping it away requires some ongoing attention to your feet.
Wear your custom orthotics in all your shoes, not just occasionally. Replace athletic shoes every 300-500 miles or when cushioning breaks down. Avoid walking barefoot on hard surfaces, especially first thing in the morning. Stretch your calves and plantar fascia regularly. Maintain a healthy weight to reduce stress on your feet.
Gradually increase activity levels rather than sudden jumps in intensity or duration. If you’re a runner, follow the 10% rule: don’t increase weekly mileage by more than 10% at a time.
When Surgery Becomes Necessary
The vast majority of plantar fasciitis cases resolve with conservative care. Surgery should only be considered after 6-12 months of consistent treatment without improvement.
If we determine surgery might be necessary, we’ll refer you to a qualified podiatrist or orthopedic surgeon. But in my experience, proper biomechanical correction with custom orthotics and chiropractic care resolves most cases without ever needing surgery.
Why Plantar Fasciitis Gets Worse Without Treatment
Ignoring plantar fasciitis doesn’t make it go away. Instead, your body compensates.
You start walking differently to avoid pain, which creates new problems in your knees, hips, and back. The plantar fascia develops more damage as inflammation becomes chronic. Scar tissue forms, making the fascia less flexible and more prone to re-injury.
Some people develop heel spurs, which are calcium deposits that form where the plantar fascia attaches to the heel bone. These spurs develop as a response to chronic stress and inflammation.
The earlier you address plantar fasciitis, the easier it is to fix. Chronic cases that have been ignored for months or years require more intensive treatment.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I need to wear custom orthotics?
Most patients benefit from wearing custom orthotics long-term to maintain proper foot alignment and prevent plantar fasciitis from returning. Think of them like prescription glasses for your feet. They work as long as you wear them.
Can I use my orthotics in any shoes?
Custom orthotics are designed for specific shoe types. We typically recommend having orthotics made for your most-worn shoe styles, such as athletic shoes and dress shoes. They won’t fit properly in sandals or very narrow dress shoes.
Will orthotics feel uncomfortable at first?
There’s usually a brief adjustment period as your feet adapt to proper support. We recommend gradually increasing wear time over the first week. Most patients find their orthotics comfortable within a few days.
Does insurance cover custom orthotics?
Some insurance plans cover custom orthotics, while others don’t. We’ll verify your coverage and discuss costs during your initial consultation. Even without insurance coverage, custom orthotics are a worthwhile investment in preventing chronic foot problems.
Get Real Relief from Plantar Fasciitis
If that stabbing heel pain is limiting your activities or making every morning miserable, let’s fix the problem at its source. Call our Freehold office at (732) 780-0044 or schedule your consultation online. We’ll evaluate your feet, create custom orthotics designed specifically for you, and develop a treatment plan to get you walking pain-free again.
