Plantar Fasciitis is the most common cause of heel pain. It is sometimes referred to as heel spurs but this is not always an accurate or true diagnosis. Sometimes there can be heel pain but no actual evidence of bony growth in the heel. One of the key note symptoms of plantar fasciitis is pain in the heel which is experienced first thing in the morning upon arising and then usually lessens as more walking is done as the day progresses.
This condition tends to affect more women than men.
There is little that modern medicine has to offer in the way of treatment apart from anti inflammatory medications that damage the stomach and cause heart disease and increase the chance of stroke.
Research has now confirmed that acupuncture is an effective treatment for plantar fasciitis and other types of heel pain. The Journal of the British Medical Acupuncture Society reported that there is now evidence supporting the effectiveness of acupuncture for plantar heel pain. Other modern medicine treatments such as night splints, stretching and injections of dexamethasone have been reported by most patients as having little benefit and these patients have hence sought acupuncture as an alternative treatment.
Modern medicine informs us that most cases of plantar fasciitis are as a result of a biomechanical fault and many patients ask how then acupuncture can help this. Acupuncture can in fact treat misaligned posture and various types of postural problems such as scoliosis and pigeon toe stance. It can also help with abnormal pronation as seen with plantar fasciitis.
Over the centuries many acupuncture points have had a tried and proven result that keeps getting reinforced, recorded and written down and then passed onto the next generation. If it didn’t work, the next generation of acupuncturists would stop using it. Some of the examples of the classical indications include points for scoliosis and others for interning feet.
There are many acupuncture meridians but two are very appropriate in the treatment of plantar fasciitis. They are the yin heel vessel and the yang heel meridians. These originate at the heel and are responsible for the ebb and flow of day energy and night energy. If the heel pain is worse in the morning, there is a problem with the yin heel vessel.
In other instances, the kidney meridian and kidney acupuncture points are used in the treatment of plantar fasciitis. The kidneys play an important role in calcium metabolism and bony spurs on the heel are as a result of calcium deposits. The specialized technique of moxibustion is also a commonly used adjunct to acupuncture to address the pain associated with plantar fasciitis.
