Although benign in nature, plantar fasciitis pulls down nearly all the activities, and it might be difficult to perform the routine chores. Various modalities are in use, invasive & non-invasive, including surgery, but the results are variable. Possibly this problem could be quite common in the armed forces around the world, with long and forced marches, regular drills, using boots for prolonged hours, prolonged standing, changing into new boots / shoes once the previous ones have worn out or damaged, getting back into business after leave, etc.
Some other common predisposing causes could be :
• Tight, and ill fitting shoes
• Hard heel pad of shoes or sandals
• Overweight
• Reiter’s syndrome (reactive arthritis), and incomplete Reiter’s syndrome
• Chapped feet
• Deformities of feet, like
o pes planus
o pes varus
o pes calcaneus
o pes cavus
o pes valgus, etc.
By also having the first hand knowledge of military medicine, with additional interest in sports medicine, and internal medicine, I have been taking into consideration all these above factors. Our results have been good, and the management usually varies from one patient to another. In cases we suspect a reactive arthritis or an incomplete Reiter’s syndrome, or where we find external signs of inflammation over or around an affected heel, we use antibiotics as well, and once the inflammation has settled down after regulating activity and avoiding boots/ shoes/ sandals, we use a combination of SWD (short wave diathermy), ultrasonic therapy, IR therapy (infra red therapy), and the pain is gone in one hour. Precautions are advised in the form of avoiding using tight fitting shoes/ boots, avoidance of prolonged standing, and a padded cushion is advised depending on the deformity of foot, so as to correct it. Warm soaks for few minutes daily for a few days, weight loss, taking care of chapped feet, are some of the other things that we suggest to our patients. A few patients may have to be given another two or three consults, but that’s all.
Through you BMJ, maybe our new technique developed and mastered over the years, could help spread smiles across patients all over the world as they start getting relief from this problem of plantar faciitis, by totally non-invasive, painless technique, that does not use any steroids or needles, and the relief if not permanent, is for pretty long period, and comes within an hour, yes.
Best regards.
Dr (Lt Col) Rajesh Chauhan
Faculty IMA CGP
& Honorary National Professor
Dr. Ajay Kumar Singh Parihar
MBBS, MD Medicine (Second Year)
Competing interests:
No competing interests
20 May 2013
Dr (Lt Col) Rajesh Chauhan
Consultant Family Medicine
Dr. Ajay Kumar Singh Parihar
Family Healthcare Centre, 154 Sector 6-B, Awas Vikas Colony, Sikandra, AGRA - 282007. INDIA
Rapid Response:
Re: Plantar fasciitis
Dear Editor,
Although benign in nature, plantar fasciitis pulls down nearly all the activities, and it might be difficult to perform the routine chores. Various modalities are in use, invasive & non-invasive, including surgery, but the results are variable. Possibly this problem could be quite common in the armed forces around the world, with long and forced marches, regular drills, using boots for prolonged hours, prolonged standing, changing into new boots / shoes once the previous ones have worn out or damaged, getting back into business after leave, etc.
Some other common predisposing causes could be :
• Tight, and ill fitting shoes
• Hard heel pad of shoes or sandals
• Overweight
• Reiter’s syndrome (reactive arthritis), and incomplete Reiter’s syndrome
• Chapped feet
• Deformities of feet, like
o pes planus
o pes varus
o pes calcaneus
o pes cavus
o pes valgus, etc.
By also having the first hand knowledge of military medicine, with additional interest in sports medicine, and internal medicine, I have been taking into consideration all these above factors. Our results have been good, and the management usually varies from one patient to another. In cases we suspect a reactive arthritis or an incomplete Reiter’s syndrome, or where we find external signs of inflammation over or around an affected heel, we use antibiotics as well, and once the inflammation has settled down after regulating activity and avoiding boots/ shoes/ sandals, we use a combination of SWD (short wave diathermy), ultrasonic therapy, IR therapy (infra red therapy), and the pain is gone in one hour. Precautions are advised in the form of avoiding using tight fitting shoes/ boots, avoidance of prolonged standing, and a padded cushion is advised depending on the deformity of foot, so as to correct it. Warm soaks for few minutes daily for a few days, weight loss, taking care of chapped feet, are some of the other things that we suggest to our patients. A few patients may have to be given another two or three consults, but that’s all.
Through you BMJ, maybe our new technique developed and mastered over the years, could help spread smiles across patients all over the world as they start getting relief from this problem of plantar faciitis, by totally non-invasive, painless technique, that does not use any steroids or needles, and the relief if not permanent, is for pretty long period, and comes within an hour, yes.
Best regards.
Dr (Lt Col) Rajesh Chauhan
Faculty IMA CGP
& Honorary National Professor
Dr. Ajay Kumar Singh Parihar
MBBS, MD Medicine (Second Year)
Competing interests: No competing interests