Graston Technique For Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis is a common and often persistent kind of repetitive stress injury (RSI) of the foot. What are plantar fasciitis symptoms?

• • Stabbing foot arch pain and/or heel pain.

• • Foot pain in the morning when you step down out of bed

• • More pain after standing for a prolonged time

Plantar fasciitis is not the same thing as heel spurs and flat feet. However, these can be related and may be confused. We may need to rule out a bone spur if your symptoms suggest that as an alternative diagnosis of contributing factor.

Who Gets Plantar Fasciitis?

It affects nearly anyone standing for a living—from cashiers to nurses to walkers and hikers. The biggest victims of this problem are runners. Other risk factors include high-impact sports such as running on pavement or concrete.

What Is Fascia?

Chances are you’ve heard of plantar fasciitis. But what is Fascia anyway? The reason plantar fasciitis causes so much pain will be evident when you find out.

Fascia (plural: Fasciae) is a connective tissue that holds organs, blood vessels, nerves, and even muscles in place. They usually are very flexible. But repetitive, intense stress can cause problems. 

You may experience pain, tightness, and reduced mobility when they become inflexible and damaged. On top of this, muscle scar tissue can impact the foot mechanics, forcing fascia tissues to work harder and leading to inflammation.

The Plantar Fascia is a band of fascia that runs from the heel to the toes.

How Long Does Plantar Fasciitis Take to Heal on Its Own?

Will plantar fasciitis go away on its own? Most people recover from plantar fasciitis with a bit of rest, arch support, and stretching, but not everyone. For some, it doesn’t go away or keeps coming back. Most severe cases can stop you in your tracks, undermine your general health, and be prolonged for years. So foot pain is not something to ignore.

Benefits of Graston Therapy for Plantar Fasciitis

Graston Therapy is very similar to other therapies for plantar fasciitis but is non-invasive, and it takes a short time to experience the benefits of the Graston Technique. Some you’ll notice immediately. Others happen over a series of weeks. These include the following in the treated area:

• • Improved circulation

• • Reduced inflammation

• • Restored fascia flexibility

• • Support for the body’s natural healing processes

• • Encouraging the body to dispose of damaged or unhealthy tissues

• • Promoting healthier overall function

• • Less (or no) pain

What About Self-Graston Technique Plantar Fasciitis?

Now, at this point, many people wonder about doing the Graston technique at home for plantar fasciitis. You may want to know to do Graston Technique on yourself for plantar fasciitis.

You can roll a stick or a golf ball under your foot on the cheap. Many people with chronic plantar fasciitis do this, and it does help for a short time. Or you can even buy specialized stainless steel tools that professionals use. This can be quite helpful in breaking up adhesions and improving blood flow.

However, many patients will find additional benefits in a licensed provider’s instrument-assisted soft tissue therapy.

We can often reach the problem from an angle you may not. And we can feel where the adhesions are and systematically target them. That’s why many people experience significant pain relief in as little as a week through the version of this professional therapy.

 

Many people report significant pain relief in the days and weeks following Graston Therapy as blood flow improves while adhesions and scar tissue break down. Breaking up scar tissue is an essential step in healing plantar fasciitis quickly.

Graston Vs. Surgery for Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis surgery is a last resort option. You don’t want to have to go to that extreme if you don’t have to. As a surgery alternative, Graston therapy targets the same tissues and structures but does so through the skin non-invasively.

Thus, the Graston Technique may be for the patient with intense chronic plantar fasciitis that won’t go away.

We can’t promise a cure for foot pain because you can re-traumatize the foot through your everyday activity. But we can guarantee a deep understanding of the subject and your available options. We can tell you those who have the technique applied for express foot pain relief in as little as a week. And you can “take steps” to improve the benefits you receive from the technique.

Supplementing the Graston Technique for Plantar Fasciitis

There is always room for more research on the effectiveness of the Graston Technique. Nonetheless, many reports show promising results. Still, some questions remain about whether the Graston Technique is more effective than basic self-massage.

Compared with alternative plantar fasciitis treatments, the Graston Technique is inexpensive and non-invasive, with few side effects. If you have found success with massage therapy and wonder if Graston therapy is right for you, there’s no reason not to try this technique.

Other evidence-based therapies for fasciitis pain in the foot include dry needling and shockwave therapy.

In all cases, Graston Therapy should be combined with treatments targeting plantar fasciitis’s root cause. So, just chasing the symptoms without treating the source of your foot and heel pain can turn into a chronic condition or symptoms worsening. Therefore, Graston Technique complements chiropractic adjustments to the foot and pelvis very well. If the root cause is biomechanical dysfunction, it must be corrected in conjunction with the fascia pain. Otherwise, you continue to reinjure the foot.

 

Daily corrective exercises are essential to add to your routine to strengthen the plantar fascia and surrounding muscles and ligaments. There may be an indication to wear orthotic inserts or compression socks to lift the damaged fascia to its optimal height while reducing the pain. It’s just as important to correct other trouble spots like ill-fitting footwear, not giving your feet a break or weight gain adding stress on your arches.

If you are looking for plantar fasciitis pain relief and would like to find out if you are a candidate for our treatment we would like to meet you, and you can learn more about this Graston Technique here.

You may want to keep learning about Plantar Fasciitis and other treatment options we offer or additional know-how, here are good articles worth spending sometime with;

• Top 5 Plantar fasciitis Exercises
• Graston Technique For Pain Relief
• What Is Shockwave Therapy And How Can It Treat Plantar Fasciitis?
• Treating Plantar Fasciitis With Shockwave Therapy