Most doctors agree that plantar fasciitis can often be treated with less invasive treatments. Some even guess that over 90% of plantar fasciitis symptoms and complications are resolved within a year. Most patients will experience a complete recovery and freedom from debilitating plantar fasciitis heel pain. Simple and often very affordable treatments can start to take effect within a few days to weeks. It’s important to stress, that for the average person, plantar fasciitis pain can be treated without resorting to surgery.
If you have already tried a variety of proven plantar fasciitis treatment options such as plantar fasciitis night braces, stretches, proper footwear, orthotics or insoles, plantar fasciitis shoes and resolved problems with your posture and weight distribution you might be thinking that you need surgery. Once again, it is rare that surgery is actually the best answer to heel pain and plantar fasciitis symptoms. Your doctor may switch to a slightly more direct plantar fasciitis treatment such as cortisone injections.
So, you still want plantar fasciitis surgery? Ok, lets examine some of the risks to help make an informed decision about plantar fasciitis surgery.
- Not predictable – Like many surgeries, surgery for plantar fasciitis is not completely predictable, different people experience varying degrees of success. Some sources state that plantar fasciitis surgery is succesful in around 70% of patients.
- Loss of arch – The most common type of surgery loosens the tension on the plantar fascia, which if overdone, can lead to flat foot issues. You can potentially lose the arch of the foot. Complications arising from this can be worse than the original plantar fasciitis.
- Nerve damage – Pain and numbness can arise through nerve damage from plantar fasciitis surgery.
- Misdiagnosis – Since plantar fasciitis symptoms can often appear from other causes, if you were wrongly diagnosed in the first place, the plantar fasciitis surgery will not resolve the issue.
- Infection – Infection is A common danger with any surgery.
Endoscopic plantar fascia release is a newer technology that requires much smaller incisions and uses a tiny camera. The effectiveness and dangers of this technique are debatable. Some doctors claim that this can lead to much wider spread nerve damage. Whether or not this is offered as an option depends on your orthopediac surgeons personal opinion on the matter. I think the majority of doctors prefer traditional surgical method for plantar fasciitis surgery.
Before even considering plantar fasciitis surgery make sure that you have fully exhausted all other treatment options. If you have tried a high quality plantar fasciitis night splint, exercises and stretches, insoles and orthotics, plantar fasciitis shoes, acupuncture, massage, and postural modifiction for a year and still have heel pain, then you may want to consult your doctor regarding plantar fasciitis surgery. Make sure you ask many questions and fully understand the risks, and potential for no improvement or more damage.
