Do I often recommend endoscopic surgery for plantar fascia problems in runners? Well, that is a great question and that is what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.
Today, I am at the International Foot and Ankle Foundation meeting in Seattle, Washington and today I was moderating one of the sessions, but I was also giving a lecture on runner’s heel pain and specifically when heel pain is not plantar fasciitis in runners. And at the end of that session, one of the most well-known podiatrists in the world, a guy named Guido LaPorta asked me a specific question.
He said, “What percentage of runners do you recommend have endoscopic plantar fascia release surgery for chronic plantar fasciitis? “ Well, that is a great question and my answer to him was really simple, I said , “0% in the last 10 years or so.”
The answer also included why and I thought I would share that with you today and the first one I said, most of the runners I see, they have done lots of research and they figured out that the plantar fascia really functions as the largest ligament in their foot and they often ask me whether or not it is reasonable to be concerned that they could have issues with instability in the foot after you cut this large ligament in your foot.
The short answer is yes, you could, and when I had a normal practice that catered to normal patients, not all runners, things were different. I was often concerned that patients would have instability developed after releasing part of the plantar fascia. So, that is reason number one.
Reason number two, well, the first thing is that it may take like a full year for you to actually be symptom-free and if you are a runner and you really want to get back to running, or at least not running without pain for a full year, would be a big problem.
The third one is that the goal is always about running. And in that sense, doing surgery on the plantar fascia or on your foot at all is always high risk because anything less than running and getting back to running in a way that you are running well, well, that in my view would be a failure.
So, that was my answer to Dr. LaPorta at the conference today and hopefully that gives you a little more insight into whether or not it might be a good idea if somebody has recommended surgery to you for chronic plantar fasciitis and you are a runner.
If you haven’t checked it out, I have redone, and it may not be up yet. I’m honestly not sure if you are going to hear it depending upon when this is posted, but I have got an entirely new runner’s heel pain masterclass. So, if you’ve got problems like plantar fasciitis, and you are even thinking about surgery, you should check that out. You can get it at www.docontherun.com/runnersheelpainmasterclass.
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