What Is Plantar Fasciitis?
Plantar fasciitis is a degenerative breakdown of the thick band of tissue running from your heel to your toes. This tissue—the plantar fascia—supports your arch and absorbs shock when you walk. When it's overloaded or mechanically stressed, it develops micro-tears and gets stuck in a failed healing response, causing that stabbing heel pain.
Here's what's actually happening in your foot. Despite the name "fasciitis" (which suggests inflammation), plantar fasciitis isn't primarily an inflammatory condition. It's degenerative tissue breakdown. The plantar fascia develops micro-tears faster than your body can repair them. That's why ice and anti-inflammatory medications give you temporary relief but don't solve the underlying problem.
The plantar fascia has relatively poor blood supply compared to other tissues in your body. When tissue is chronically injured, it often gets stuck in what we call a failed healing response. Your body started trying to heal the plantar fascia, but for various reasons—poor blood supply, repeated stress, or simply time—that healing process stalled out. It's like having a construction crew that started a job but never finished it. The site is torn up, there's equipment everywhere, but no actual progress is being made.
Each plantar fasciitis risk factor you have is like adding another obstacle to that construction site—making it even harder for your body to complete the healing job. When you understand which obstacles are in your way, you can start removing them systematically.
Risk Factors You Can Control vs. Risk Factors You Can't
Understanding which plantar fasciitis risk factors you can influence—and which you can't—is empowering. It helps you focus your energy on the changes that'll actually make a difference instead of worrying about things you can't fix.
Let me break this down into two categories so you know exactly where you have control.
Risk Factors You Can't Control
Some risk factors for plantar fasciitis are simply part of who you are. You can't change them, but you can work around them.
Age (40-60 Peak Risk Years)
Plantar fasciitis most commonly develops between ages 40 and 60. As you age, your plantar fascia loses elasticity, and the fat pad in your heel naturally thins out. This is why plantar fasciitis can seem to appear "suddenly" in your 40s even if you haven't changed anything about your activity level.
You're not imagining it—your body's tissues genuinely change as you age. But this doesn't mean you're doomed to heel pain. It just means you need to be more proactive about foot support and mechanics.
Foot Structure
Your basic foot architecture—whether you have high arches or flat feet—is primarily genetic. You inherited this from a parent or grandparent, and it significantly affects your plantar fasciitis risk.
High arches (pes cavus) create poor shock absorption. Think of your foot like a tripod, with weight distributed between your heel and the ball of your feet. When you have high arches, that tripod is rigid and inflexible. Instead of spreading force evenly, all the pressure concentrates on your heel and the ball of your foot. That concentrated pressure overloads your plantar fascia.
Flat feet (pes planus) cause the opposite problem—overpronation. When your arch collapses, your foot rolls too far inward with each step. That excessive inward rolling stretches and strains the plantar fascia along its inside edge, creating micro-tears over time.
Here's the good news: we can't change your foot structure, but we can absolutely change how it functions. Custom orthotics compensate for high arches by providing cushioning and shock absorption. They control overpronation in flat feet by supporting the arch and limiting excessive inward rolling. Your foot structure might be fixed, but your risk isn't.
Genetics
Beyond foot structure, you can inherit other risk factors—tendon flexibility, tissue quality, even how your body responds to mechanical stress. If your mother or father had chronic plantar fasciitis, you're at higher risk.
But genetics isn't destiny. It just means you need to be more mindful about the risk factors you CAN control.
Risk Factors You Can Control
These are the factors where your choices make a real difference. Even small changes here can significantly reduce your plantar fasciitis risk.
Body Weight (BMI Over 27-30)
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Here's the math that matters: for every pound you're overweight, your feet experience about four pounds of extra pressure when you walk. If you're 20 pounds over your ideal weight, that's 80 pounds of additional force on your plantar fascia with every step.
I'm not here to judge your weight—but I need you to understand this connection. Research shows that people with a BMI over 30 have nearly four times the risk of developing plantar fasciitis compared to people at a healthy weight. Even a BMI between 27 and 30 significantly increases your risk.
The encouraging news? Even losing 10 pounds can reduce your plantar fasciitis risk by 30%. You don't need to achieve some perfect weight—even modest weight loss makes a measurable difference in the pressure on your feet.
Activity Levels and Changes
Both extremes cause problems. Sudden increases in activity—like going from sedentary to training for a 5K—overload your plantar fascia before it can adapt. But complete inactivity creates tightness in your calf muscles and Achilles tendon, which then pulls on your plantar fascia when you do become active.
The "weekend warrior" pattern is particularly risky. If you sit at a desk all week and then go on a long hike every Saturday, you're repeatedly shocking your plantar fascia without giving it time to strengthen and adapt. This pattern is one of the most common causes of running and sports injuries we see.
What works better? Gradual, consistent activity. If you're increasing your walking or running, follow the 10% rule—don't increase your mileage by more than 10% per week. Your plantar fascia needs time to adapt to new demands.
Footwear Choices
Here's the truth: those cute flats with zero arch support? Those old running shoes with 700 miles on them? They're contributing to your plantar fasciitis risk.
Your feet need three things from shoes: arch support, cushioning, and structural stability. Completely flat shoes (like ballet flats or flip-flops) offer none of these. Worn-out athletic shoes have lost their cushioning, even if they look fine on the outside. High heels shift all your weight forward onto the ball of your foot and shorten your Achilles tendon over time.
For Houston patients working at the Texas Medical Center or standing on concrete in warehouse districts, shoe quality isn't optional—it's essential. The right shoes with proper support can prevent plantar fasciitis. The wrong shoes can cause it, even if you have no other risk factors.
Occupational Standing
If you spend most of your workday on your feet—teachers, nurses, retail workers, warehouse employees—you're at significantly higher risk for plantar fasciitis. Standing puts continuous pressure on your plantar fascia without the relief that comes from walking (where the load constantly shifts).
Hard surfaces make this worse. Concrete and tile provide zero shock absorption, forcing your plantar fascia to absorb all the impact. Anti-fatigue mats, better shoes, and more frequent position changes can make a real difference if standing is part of your job.
The key insight here: focus your energy on the risk factors you can actually change. You can't alter your age or foot structure, but you can manage your weight, choose supportive footwear, increase activity gradually, and modify your work environment. Those changes alone can prevent plantar fasciitis—or keep it from coming back if you've already healed.
The Hidden Risk Factor: Your Entire Kinetic Chain
Here's what most people don't realize: your plantar fasciitis might not be starting in your foot at all.
Your plantar fascia isn't working in isolation. It's part of a complex chain that starts in your mid-back and runs all the way to your toes. Think of your body like a puppet on strings. When one string gets tighter or twisted, it affects everything below it.
When your mid-back is stiff, it changes how your hips move. When your hips don't move properly, it puts extra stress on your calf muscles. And when your calf muscles get tight, they pull on your Achilles tendon, which pulls on your plantar fascia. Suddenly you have heel pain—but the root cause started three feet away from your heel.
This is why I always examine the entire kinetic chain when patients come in with plantar fasciitis. I'm not just looking at your foot—I'm watching how you walk, checking your hip mobility, testing your ankle flexibility, and feeling for tightness in your calves and mid-back. The actual source of your heel pain might be hiding somewhere unexpected.
The Tight Achilles Connection
Research shows that four out of five people with plantar fasciitis also have a tight Achilles tendon. That's not a coincidence.
When your Achilles is tight, it limits your ankle dorsiflexion—the ability to pull your toes toward your shin. We talked about limited dorsiflexion earlier as one of the biggest risk factors (23 times higher risk). But here's the connection: a tight Achilles causes limited dorsiflexion, which forces your foot to overpronate to compensate, which overloads your plantar fascia. The chain reaction starts in your calf and Achilles, but you feel the pain in your heel.
This is exactly why stretching just your plantar fascia often doesn't work. You're treating the symptom, not the cause.
The 60-Second Morning Stretch Sequence
When you understand the kinetic chain, you understand why my recommended morning stretch routine addresses three different areas—not just your foot.
Spend 20 seconds on each area, but the sequence is crucial. Start with your mid-back against the wall. Place a small ball or rolled towel behind your spine and slowly move up and down. Next, release your hip flexors in a lunge position. Finally, the calf release—stand with your affected leg behind you, keeping your back straight, and gently lean forward while keeping your heel down.
The key is gentle, controlled movements—no bouncing or forcing. You're releasing tension along the entire chain before your feet hit the floor. When you do this sequence before taking those first painful morning steps, you're preventing the micro-tearing that happens when your contracted plantar fascia gets stretched suddenly.
I've treated patients whose heel pain resolved when we addressed their hip mobility or mid-back stiffness. They'd spent months stretching their feet and getting nowhere, because they were treating the wrong link in the chain. Once we released the tension higher up, their plantar fascia finally had the slack it needed to heal.
The Myths That Keep You in Pain
Let's bust some dangerous myths that might be keeping you from healing.
Myth #1: Heel Spurs Cause Plantar Fasciitis
This is probably the most common misconception I hear in my Houston practice. Patients come in convinced their heel spur is causing their pain.
Here's the truth: about 50% of people with plantar fasciitis have heel spurs, but the spur itself isn't causing your pain. The spur is actually a result of the tension on your plantar fascia—not the cause. Your body deposits calcium where the fascia attaches to your heel bone, creating that visible spike on X-rays. But many people have heel spurs and zero pain.
The heel has a thick fat pad that cushions the spur. Unless that fat pad has worn away (which is rare), the spur isn't what's hurting. Your pain is coming from the damaged plantar fascia tissue, not from the bony growth.
Myth #2: Complete Rest Heals Plantar Fasciitis
This is counterintuitive, but complete rest actually makes plantar fasciitis worse.
When your foot is completely inactive, the plantar fascia shortens and loses flexibility. Then when you do resume activity—even just walking to the bathroom—you re-tear that shortened, inflexible tissue. That's why your pain is worst in the morning after sleeping all night.
What you need is activity modification, not complete rest. Keep moving, but reduce the intensity and impact. Swimming, cycling, and gentle walking are usually fine. It's the high-impact activities (running, jumping) that need to be scaled back while you heal.
Myth #3: It's Just Inflammation
Despite the name "fasciitis" (which means inflammation), recent research shows that plantar fasciitis isn't actually an inflammatory condition. It's degenerative tissue breakdown.
This explains why ice and anti-inflammatory medications (like ibuprofen) provide temporary relief but don't solve the problem. They're treating inflammation that isn't the core issue. The real problem is that your plantar fascia has developed micro-tears and can't complete the healing process. You need treatments that restart that stalled healing response—not just reduce inflammation.
Myth #4: Only Runners Get Plantar Fasciitis
While runners do develop plantar fasciitis, they're far from the only group at risk. About 10% of the general population will experience plantar fasciitis at some point.
One of the biggest risk factors is spending most of your workday on your feet—standing, not running. Teachers, nurses, warehouse workers, retail employees, and healthcare workers are all at high risk. The constant standing on hard floors creates continuous load on the plantar fascia without the relief that comes from varied movement.
Sedentary people are also vulnerable, especially if they suddenly increase their activity level or if they've developed tight calf muscles and limited ankle flexibility from years of inactivity.
Understanding these myths matters because they affect your treatment decisions. If you think your heel spur is the problem, you might consider surgery you don't need. If you think complete rest is the answer, you'll actually delay your healing. If you think it's just inflammation, you'll keep taking ibuprofen instead of addressing the real tissue breakdown. And if you think only athletes get it, you might ignore early warning signs because you don't fit that profile.
The truth is always more useful than the myth—even when it's more complicated.
The Risk Factors Most Doctors Get Wrong
After treating thousands of patients with plantar fasciitis in my Houston practice, I've noticed something: most articles list risk factors but never explain WHY they matter or HOW they connect to treatment. Let me fill in those gaps.
The biggest risk factor that doctors often overlook? Limited ankle dorsiflexion—the ability to pull your toes up toward your shin. Research shows that people with zero degrees or less of ankle dorsiflexion have a 23 times higher risk of developing plantar fasciitis compared to those with normal flexibility. Twenty-three times. That's not a typo.
Here's why this matters so much. Think of your body like a chain. When one link is off, it affects everything else. Limited ankle dorsiflexion causes your foot to overpronate when you walk—rolling too far inward. That overpronation puts excessive load on the inside of your plantar fascia. That increased load leads to micro-tears. Those micro-tears trigger scar tissue formation. The scar tissue makes the fascia less flexible. And less flexibility creates even more load. One small mechanical problem cascades into chronic heel pain.
People don't notice limited dorsiflexion until someone tests for it. You're not aware that your ankle doesn't bend as much as it should—you've been living with it your whole life. But it's often the hidden culprit behind "mysterious" plantar fasciitis that seems to come out of nowhere.
This is exactly why calf stretching and custom orthotics become critical in your treatment plan. If limited ankle flexibility is driving your plantar fasciitis, no amount of ice or rest will fix it. You need to address the mechanical problem at its source.
Houston Podiatrist Treats Plantar Fasciitis Risk Factors
Understanding your risk factors is step one. Step two is addressing them with a comprehensive treatment approach.
In my Houston podiatry practice, we don't just treat your heel pain—we identify which risk factors are driving your plantar fasciitis and create a personalized plan to address them.
I find that people are reluctant to come into the office with heel pain because of the fear that they'll need surgery. I can tell you that 95% of cases are managed without any surgery. Let me walk you through exactly how we progress from conservative care to advanced treatments—and when surgery actually becomes necessary.
Level 1: Lifestyle Modifications
Sometimes, addressing your modifiable risk factors is enough to break the cycle. If you're carrying extra weight, even losing 10 pounds can reduce your plantar fasciitis risk by 30%. That's not about achieving some perfect number on the scale—it's about reducing the pressure on your plantar fascia.
If you're standing on hard floors all day, anti-fatigue mats can make a measurable difference. Replace worn running shoes (anything over 300-500 miles needs to go). Add arch support to your everyday footwear—those cute flats might look great, but they're contributing to your heel pain.
Activity modification matters too. If you've suddenly increased your walking or running, scale it back and rebuild gradually. Follow the 10% rule—don't increase your mileage by more than 10% per week. Your plantar fascia needs time to adapt to new demands. If you're completely sedentary, start with low-impact activities like swimming or cycling before jumping into high-impact exercise.
For some patients, these lifestyle modifications result in 30-40% improvement within 2-4 weeks. For others, they're not enough on their own—but they create the foundation for other treatments to work effectively.
Level 2: At-Home Care
The 60-second morning stretch sequence I mentioned earlier can make a real difference. Remember: 20 seconds on your mid-back, 20 seconds on your hip flexors, 20 seconds on your calves—all before your feet hit the floor. You're releasing tension along the entire kinetic chain before that first painful step.
For plantar fascia-specific stretching, try this: While sitting, pull your toes toward your shin and hold for 10 seconds. Repeat 10 times, three times daily. Research shows this towel stretch is more effective than Achilles stretching alone because it targets the fascia directly.
Ice massage can provide temporary relief. Keep a frozen water bottle under your desk and roll your foot on it for 15 minutes after activity. The cold reduces inflammation, and the massage effect helps release tension. But here's the reality check: if at-home care was going to fix your plantar fasciitis, it would have already worked. You're not doing anything wrong—you just need professional intervention to break the cycle.
Timeline-wise, consistent stretching takes 4-6 weeks before you notice significant benefits. Many patients see 50-60% improvement with dedicated at-home care. But stretching and ice manage symptoms—they don't restart the stalled healing response. For that, you need treatments that address the tissue breakdown itself.
Level 3: Conservative In-Office Treatment
Custom orthotics are one of the most effective ways to address the biomechanical risk factors driving your plantar fasciitis. These aren't generic drugstore inserts—they're precisely crafted to YOUR foot structure and YOUR specific mechanical issues.
Think of them like eyeglasses for your feet. While you're wearing them, they compensate for your biomechanical risk factors. They don't cure the underlying condition, but they remove the mechanical stress preventing healing.
If you overpronate because of flat feet, custom orthotics control that excessive inward rolling. If you have high arches creating poor shock absorption, orthotics provide the cushioning your rigid foot structure lacks. If you have limited ankle dorsiflexion forcing compensatory movements, orthotics redistribute pressure to take strain off your plantar fascia.
About 70-75% of patients see significant improvement with custom orthotics within 6-12 weeks. You'll need 2-4 weeks to adapt to wearing them, but once you do, they fundamentally change how your foot functions. Cost is $700 for your first pair, $350 for additional pairs.
When I developed plantar fasciitis myself, I started with a cortisone injection to control the immediate inflammation. It gave me the pain relief I needed to stay active while other treatments did the real healing work. But here's what you need to understand: cortisone reduces inflammation temporarily, but it doesn't provide the materials your body needs to actually repair the tissue. It's a tool for breaking the pain cycle—not a cure.
About 60-70% of patients get relief lasting 4-12 weeks from cortisone injections. We can repeat them if needed, but we typically limit injections to prevent tendon weakening over time.
Physical therapy targets the specific risk factors contributing to YOUR plantar fasciitis. If you have weak foot muscles, we'll strengthen them. If your ankle flexibility is limited, we'll work on that. If your kinetic chain is causing compensatory movements, we'll address those movement patterns. It's personalized care based on your individual risk factors.
Overall, conservative in-office treatment helps 70-80% of patients achieve significant improvement over 8-12 weeks. That's why we always start here before considering more advanced options.
Level 4: Advanced Regenerative Medicine - The Third Option
Here's where things get exciting. In most medical offices, doctors think in terms of medicate or operate. If conservative care doesn't work, the next step is surgery. But what if there's a third option that most doctors never mentioned?
Regenerative medicine sits right between conservative care and surgery—treatments that actually restart your body's stalled healing process.
Shockwave Therapy
Think of shockwave therapy like aerating a lawn. By creating small channels in compacted soil, you allow nutrients to penetrate more deeply. Similarly, shockwave therapy creates pathways for healing factors to reach damaged tissue, breaking up scar tissue and triggering the release of growth factors.
I used shockwave therapy to treat my own plantar fasciitis. This treatment uses sound waves to stimulate the area, increase blood flow, and promote healing.
Sessions last 10-15 minutes, once weekly for three weeks. You'll feel a tapping sensation as the pressure waves are delivered. There's mild discomfort—about 4-5 out of 10—but it's very tolerable.
More than 82% of patients find their pain resolved after the full treatment course. That's why I often say shockwave therapy almost makes surgery obsolete. You'll begin noticing improvement within 2-4 weeks, with continued improvement over 3-6 months. Cost is $300 per session or $750 for a package of three.
PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma) Therapy
PRP is liquid gold for healing. We concentrate growth factors from your own blood and inject them precisely into the damaged plantar fascia. Unlike cortisone which just reduces inflammation, PRP gives your body biological instructions to rebuild tissue.
The procedure is straightforward. We draw a small amount of blood from your arm, process it in a centrifuge to concentrate the platelets, then inject the concentrated plasma directly into your plantar fascia using ultrasound guidance for precision. You might have some soreness for a day or two afterward, but that's normal—it's your body's healing response activating.
About 70-80% of patients with chronic plantar fasciitis see significant improvement with PRP. Timeline is similar to shockwave—initial improvement within 2-4 weeks, full benefit over 3-6 months. Cost is $850 per treatment.
Combined PRP + Shockwave
This is where we get the best results for stubborn cases. It's like planting seeds in a garden. PRP provides the seeds—the growth factors that tell your body to repair damaged tissue. Shockwave therapy prepares the soil and creates optimal conditions for those growth factors to work. Together, they create a powerful healing environment that can succeed where other treatments have failed.
We typically inject PRP first, then begin shockwave treatments within a few days. The shockwave sessions (once weekly for three weeks) repeatedly stimulate those growth factors, maximizing their healing effect. Success rates with this combined approach reach 85-95% for achieving significant improvement.
The recovery is minimal. You can continue daily activities throughout treatment. We ask you to avoid high-impact exercise for a few days after the PRP injection, but walking and normal activity are usually fine. Most patients begin noticing improvement within 2-4 weeks, with continued progress over the following 3-6 months.
Results aren't immediate—this isn't like cortisone that works in days. Regenerative treatments work by stimulating your body's natural healing processes. But the benefit tends to be more lasting because you're actually repairing the tissue, not just masking symptoms.
Level 5: Surgery - When Necessary
Look, I know that foot surgery sounds scary. But 95% of plantar fasciitis cases resolve without surgery. For the 5% who truly need it, endoscopic plantar fasciotomy is a straightforward procedure with excellent outcomes.
We only consider surgery after genuinely exhausting all other options—lifestyle modifications, stretching protocols, custom orthotics, injections, physical therapy, and regenerative medicine. If you've tried everything for 8-12 months and you're still dealing with significant pain that interferes with daily activities, surgery might be your best option.
The procedure involves releasing part of the plantar fascia to reduce tension. It's typically done endoscopically with small incisions, which means faster recovery and less post-surgical pain.
Recovery timeline looks like this: Week 1, you're walking in a surgical boot, weight-bearing allowed. Weeks 2-6, you'll gradually increase activity and transition to regular shoes around week 6. Months 2-3, you'll return to normal activities. Month 4 and beyond, you're fully recovered including sports and high-impact activities.
About 97% of patients experience significant pain relief after surgery. Most return to regular shoes within 7 days. The reality is that most patients who have surgery wish they'd done it sooner. But we only get there after genuinely exhausting all other options.
Either way, I need to see you. Whether we end up treating this conservatively with orthotics and stretching, or you decide you want the advanced regenerative approach, or you just want periodic pain management—all of those are valid choices. My job is to give you the information you need to make the best decision for your life and goals.
[If this sounds like your situation, contact us for an immediate appointment. Call 713-785-7881 or request an appointment online.]
What to Expect When You Come In
When you come in, I'll start by asking about your symptoms—when they started, what makes them better or worse, what you've already tried. This conversation tells me a lot. If your pain is worst in the morning and improves as you walk around, that's classic plantar fasciitis. If it gets worse as the day goes on, that might point to a different issue.
Then we'll examine your foot structure. I'm looking at whether you have high arches or flat feet, checking the alignment of your ankle and heel, and testing your ankle flexibility. That dorsiflexion test—where I ask you to pull your toes toward your shin—tells me if limited ankle mobility might be driving your heel pain. I'll watch you walk across the room so I can see if you're overpronating or if your gait shows compensatory patterns. I'll also check for tightness in your calf muscles and Achilles tendon, since we know four out of five people with plantar fasciitis have tight Achilles pulling on the fascia.
We're not just diagnosing plantar fasciitis—we're figuring out WHY you developed it. Is it limited ankle flexibility creating that 23-times-higher risk? Overpronation from flat feet? Tight calf muscles affecting your kinetic chain? A sudden weight gain or activity increase that overloaded your plantar fascia before it could adapt? Your specific risk factor profile determines your treatment approach.
If it seems like your risk factors are primarily modifiable—wrong shoes, recent weight gain, sudden activity increase—we'll start with lifestyle modifications and at-home care. But if we realize the source is biomechanical—limited dorsiflexion, structural overpronation, kinetic chain issues—then custom orthotics become essential. For patients who've been dealing with this for months and conservative care hasn't worked, we'll talk about regenerative options like shockwave therapy or PRP.
Either way, I need to see you. Whether we end up treating this conservatively with orthotics and stretching, or you decide you want the advanced regenerative approach, or you just want periodic pain management—all of those are valid choices. My job is to give you the information you need to make the best decision for your life and goals.
Most patients see improvement within 2-4 weeks of starting treatment, with continued progress over 3-6 months. About 70-80% achieve significant relief with conservative or regenerative care. The 5% who need surgery typically have excellent outcomes. But none of them get better without intervention. The sooner we identify your specific risk factors, the faster we can create a treatment plan that actually works for you.
Prevention: Managing Your Risk Factors Long-Term
Plantar fasciitis has a frustrating tendency to recur if you don't address the underlying risk factors. Here's how to keep it from coming back.
Continue addressing the modifiable factors we identified. Maintain a healthy weight—remember, every pound matters because it translates to four pounds of pressure on your feet. Wear supportive shoes consistently. If you're a runner, replace your shoes every 300-500 miles. Those worn-out shoes lose their cushioning long before they look worn out. Keep up your stretching routine, especially if limited dorsiflexion was part of your problem. And if custom orthotics were part of your successful treatment, keep wearing them. They're compensating for the biomechanical risk factors that contributed to your plantar fasciitis in the first place.
Activity management is crucial for prevention. Don't go from zero to hero. If you're training for a race or increasing your activity level, follow the 10% rule—increase your mileage by no more than 10% per week. Your plantar fascia needs gradual adaptation, not sudden overload.
Listen to your body. If you start feeling familiar heel soreness creeping back, don't ignore it. Early intervention is much easier than treating chronic, recurrent plantar fasciitis. A few days of rest, ice, and stretching can prevent a full-blown flare-up. Catching it early means you can often manage it with at-home care instead of needing to restart professional treatment.
If you have multiple non-modifiable risk factors—you're between 40 and 60 years old, you have high arches or flat feet, you have a genetic predisposition—consider periodic check-ins with your podiatrist to make sure your biomechanics stay optimized. An annual evaluation can catch small problems before they become big ones.
