“A Great Way to Get Rid of Plantar Fasciitis and Improve Walking, Running and Recreation!”

Imagine getting out of bed in the morning and walking without pain in your foot and heel.  Imagine getting up from your chair at work and walking through the office pain-free.  Now imagine how you would feel if you could not only do that, but also run, hike, play sports or play with your kids without heel and foot pain.  Would that be meaningful to you?

What is Plantar Fasciitis?

Plantar Fasciitis is one of the most common causes of foot and heel pain. Fascia is a type of connective tissue that runs throughout the entire body. Plantar fascia is a thick band that supports the arch of the foot during weight bearing. As a result of overuse, the plantar fascia can become irritated or inflamed leading to the condition known as plantar fasciitis. Typically, there will be a sharp, stabbing pain in the heel that is usually worse with the first steps in the morning. However, pain can also occur with extended periods of standing or when getting up to walk after sitting for several hours.

Running, jumping, long distance walking, being overweight and poor footwear can all contribute to making the symptoms of plantar fasciitis worse.

What causes Plantar Fasciitis?

Plantar fasciitis can occur for a number of reasons. Typically, it is caused by repetitive overstretching in the arch of the foot, which can occur with running, prolonged standing or excessive walking. With repetitive overuse, micro-tears occur and the fascia becomes inflamed causing pain in the heel of the foot where the fascia attaches.

The most common causes include:

1. Tightness in the calf muscles
2. High impact activities that involve running and jumping
3. Weakness in the foot muscles and poor foot mechanics (including over pronation or flat feet)
4. Being overweight.

Overuse can also occur in jobs that require standing all day like restaurant and construction workers.

Impairments Plantar Fasciitis can cause

Plantar fasciitis can make simple walking difficult. Even getting up from a chair at work or at home to use the restroom can become painful. Work productivity can decline due to pain and difficulty with standing and walking. Alterations in walking in attempt to minimize pain can lead to issues in other areas of the body such as the knee, hip or lower back. Regular daily activities can become much more difficult and exhausting to perform because of plantar fasciitis symptoms. We rely heavily on being able to stand and walk. When this becomes painful, the tendency is to avoid the pain, thus leading to more sedentary behavior. This decline in activity can affect the whole body by causing weakness of muscles, stiffness of joints and drop in energy levels.

Physiologically, the pain often stems from…

• Collagen degeneration created by repetitive micro-trauma to the plantar fascia causes an inflammatory response in the plantar fascia.
• Micro-trauma caused by repetitive contraction of the gastrocnemius muscles (calf) in combination with dorsiflexion of the toes, which results in traction or over-stretch of the plantar fascia.
• Thickening of the plantar fascia caused by buildup of scar tissue from a continued cycle of tear and repair of the fascia.
• Occasionally, nerve impingement and irritation from increase swelling and tightness around the hind foot and ankle.

When should I worry?

• If symptoms have been present for more than 7-14 days and do not appear to be improving.
• If you have taken drugs, such as an anti-inflammatory, but it no longer helps to reduce symptoms.
• When simple walking becomes more painful and progresses from just a few painful steps in the morning to more prolonged pain with walking that does ease up.

When does it become an emergency?

• If you have foot and heel pain at rest when not walking or standing.
• You begin having pain in other areas such as the knee or hip.
• You begin to notice numbness or tingling in the foot and/or toes.
• If you start having progressively more severe pain and stiffness that radiates up the calf muscle.

If you experience any of these symptoms, contact us immediately.

Traditional treatments that most try but are not as effective include:

• Drugs or anti-inflammatories
• Ice or Heat
• Shoe inserts
• Generic Physical Therapy (ultrasound, electric stimulation, etc.)
• Steroid injections

If left untreated, Plantar Fasciitis can lead to SIGNIFICANT FUNCTIONAL LOSSES.

Ignoring plantar fasciitis can lead to chronic heel pain due to build up of scar tissue. This build up can lead to chronic heel pain making performance of regular daily activities more difficult. Basic household chores, work duties, stair climbing and casual walking can become extremely painful limiting how much activity can be tolerated. As a result of pain and inactivity, you can begin to develop weakness, tightness and imbalance that affect the muscles of your legs and trunk. These imbalances make you more susceptible to other musculoskeletal injuries to the back, hips or knees.

Try this Self-Test to see if you have Plantar Fasciitis

Because of the strong attachment to the base of the toes, the plantar fascia acts as a stabilizer of the foot during push-off. A great way to test if you have plantar fasciitis is to stress the fascia by recreating push-off.

1. Start by standing up straight with your feet about shoulder with apart and your weight distributed equally on both feet. If you feel pain and symptoms while standing still without even walking, you have active inflammation.
2. Next, simply go up and down on your toes lifting your heels off the ground. If you feel pain in the arch or heel when doing this, it is likely that the plantar fascia is involved. Other foot ailments such as heel spurs will cause less pain with going up on the toes, while plantar fascia issues will be more painful in this position.
3. Returning to the resting position should ease the pain as the plantar fascia is no longer in a stretched position.

DISCLAIMER: This is not a complete diagnostic test. It may be necessary to have a full evaluation by a physical therapist to get a more accurate diagnosis.

“How do you treat or prevent Plantar Fasciitis and return to pain-free walking, running and recreation?”

My revolutionary “Plantar Fasciitis Solutions” pain relieving program helps to get rid of symptoms quickly. Many get relief after the first session. Depending on the complexity of your condition (how long you have had it, severity of symptoms, other medically related factors such as diabetes), it may take up to 6-12 sessions to fix.

I discovered this solution while working with hundreds of patients who have suffered from plantar fasciitis. As I treated their plantar fasciitis, I noticed that there was not only improvement in pain levels, but there was also an improvement in balance and ankle stability. Consequently, strength with push off during walking and running was improved as well.

Through research and treatment, I discovered the importance of the balance of both the intrinsic foot muscles and extrinsic muscles of the leg. This balance of strength and flexibility help to optimize the efficiency of walking and running. Imbalance, weakness and tightness of this group of muscles not only may lead to plantar fasciitis and heel pain, but also cause an altering of the mechanics of the foot and ankle during activity.

I found that if I train these muscles properly through several different functional planes of motion, strength and balance improved very quickly.

By the way, this treatment is all-natural. There are no drugs with harmful side effects. There are no painful injections. Most importantly, there is absolutely no surgery involved. It’s all done through proper movement and challenging muscles in a functional way.

This discovery has led to a dramatic increase in how fast my patients got better. Patients were able to walk, run and be more active. As a result, they were able to gain strength, balance and stability that they never had before. In the end, they were able to play sports, hike, participate in recreation, work, and live their life again!

Not all treatments are the same.

Not all traditional Plantar Fasciitis treatments lead to improving your level of function. Believe it or not, some do not address these other areas and muscles that help to get you to the next level and keep you there! Not all practitioners treat heel pain and plantar fasciitis the same, and not all treatments target these muscle groups properly and effectively.

My method is highly unique. I focus on creating balance of all muscle groups that feed into your foot and heel pain (looking more at the entire body rather than just the foot itself) to get quick, maximum results.

My years of experience and research has led to the discovery of this revolutionary new way to stop plantar fasciitis pain in almost anyone of any age, body type, or condition.

“Who are you?”

My name is Bryan Kreitlow, DPT. I am a licensed physical therapist specializing in foot and ankle issues, especially plantar fasciitis. In addition to my physical therapy experience, I have also been working as a personal trainer focusing on functional movements that build strength properly and safely in order to maximize functional ability. My passion lies not only in getting people pain-free, but also making people healthier, stronger and more active.

“What can I expect from this program?”

1. Get rid of plantar fasciitis and heel pain*
2. Improve mobility, balance and strength
3. Increase energy throughout the day
4. Improve self-esteem and confidence
5. Move better, faster, and more efficiently

*The complexity of your condition will determine your level of results.

“How quickly will I see results?”

1. Most feel better immediately. You can expect the pain and mobility of your foot and ankle to improve after the very first session.
2. You could see an improvement in strength, stability and dynamic balance after just 1-2 weeks with this program.
3. Most are finished with the program in 6 sessions and then continue on their own with the “next step” progressions that are provided to each participant. Occasionally conditions are more complex and may require up to 12 sessions.

Call (301) 356-5500