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Housecall Archives
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Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
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Lifestyle and home remedies
By Mayo Clinic staff
- Put your feet up. Stay off your feet for several days when the pain is severe.
- Apply ice. Hold a cloth-covered ice pack over the area of pain for 15 to 20 minutes three or four times a day or after activity. Or try ice massage. Freeze a water-filled paper cup and roll it over the site of discomfort for about five to seven minutes. Regular ice massage can help reduce pain and inflammation.
- Decrease your miles. You probably won't have to permanently retire your running or walking shoes, but it's a good idea to cover shorter distances until pain subsides.
- Take up a no- or low-impact exercise. Swap swimming or bicycling in place of walking or jogging. You'll likely be able to return to your regular activities as heel pain gradually improves or disappears. However, some people find that the only way to avoid a recurring problem is to permanently modify their aerobic activities.
- Add arch supports to your shoes. Inexpensive over-the-counter arch supports take the tension off the plantar fascia and help absorb shock.
- Stretch your arches. Simple exercises using household objects can stretch your plantar fascia, Achilles tendon and calf muscles.
References
- Plantar fasciitis. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cf,?topic=A00149. Accessed Jan. 2, 2009.
- Sheon RP, et al. Plantar fasciitis and other causes of heel and sole pain. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 2, 2009.
- Pasquina PF, et al. Plantar fasciitis. In: Frontera WR, et al. Essentials of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/115323583-3/0/1678/89.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4007-1..50088-2_1412. Accessed Jan. 2, 2009.
- Thomas JL, et al. Clinical practice guideline: The diagnosis and treatment of heel pain. The Journal of Foot and Ankle Surgery. 2001;40:329.
- Running and jogging injuries. American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine. http://www.sportsmed.org/secure/reveal/admin/uploads/documents/ST%20Running%20and%20Jogging%2008.pdf. Accessed Jan. 5, 2009.
- Stracciolini A, et al. Sports rehabilitation of the injured athlete. Clinical Pediatric Emergency Medicine. 2007;8:43.
