Running is one of the most popular activities and forms of exercise in Boulder County. In our Boulder and Lafayette Colorado Physical Therapy clinics we work with injured runners each day. Research shows up to 90% of all runners will have an injury that prevents them from training or competing at their preferred level. The...
By: John Crawley, PT, DPT, OCS Attention, fellow runners! Have you ever wondered how your training volume and running form might impact your risk of developing plantar fasciitis? A recent 1-year prospective cohort study titled “Running Distance and Biomechanical Risk Factors for Plantar Fasciitis: A 1-yr Prospective 4HAIE Cohort Study” provides some valuable insights. This...
The vast majority of musculoskeletal conditions and diagnoses are not life threatening or time sensitive and allow for conservative treatments, including Physical Therapy, to be utilized prior to surgery. In our Boulder Physical Therapy practice we commonly see outcomes consistent with the current research on the utilization of Physical Therapy instead of surgery for common...
Plantar heel pain, including plantar fasciitis and plantar fasciosis, is associated with pain along the heel and arch of the foot worsened with prolonged standing, walking, or running. This diagnosis is also associated with intense pain first thing in the morning or upon standing after prolonged sitting. Researchers report athletes, active, as well as, sedentary...
Plantar heel pain, including pain along the plantar fascia, is one the most common diagnoses in the foot. Individuals often experience pain with the first step in the morning or after prolonged sitting. Symptoms limit their ability to perform many standing, walking, and recreational activities. Researchers have found minimal inflammatory cells within the plantar fascia...
Few things remind me of how far we have come as a profession than ultrasound. Early in my career we utilized ultrasound and other modalities to help reduce a patients pain. Initially touted as a medium to deep tissue heating and healing, ultrasound has now fallen out of favor due to the lack of research...
Plantar fasciitis is the most common cause of plantar heel pain estimated to affect 10% of the general population through their lifetime. Proper nomenclature of the pathology is dependent on the tissue involved and how long the symptoms have been in existence. “Fasciitis” suggests an acute inflammatory response, where “fasciosis” illustrates a chronic degenerative response...
Plantar fasciitis (fasciosis) is a painful diagnosis limiting a patient’s ability to stand, walk, or run. The -itis of the name is a misnomer because very few cases of plantar heel pain involve an inflammatory process. Instead, a breakdown of soft tissue fibers and cells is noted in the plantar fascia reflecting the sequential stages...
Plantar heel pain or plantar fasciitis is the most common diagnosis explaining pain originating from the bottom of the foot. Previously, orthotics have been thought to improve alignment of the foot and ankle but more recent research has shown the limitations of these interventions. In our previous blog posts, we have described the inability of...
Manual therapy or the passive movements of joints and tissues has been shown to be effective at reducing short term pain for a number of conditions including heel pain. Interventions including joint mobilization and manipulation are commonly provided to patients suffering from heel pain or plantar fasciitis (fasciosis) in order to restore normal mobility to...