When  it  comes  to  conditions  that make  doctors  throw  up their hands  and  wonder what to  do, I think heel pain  ranks  right at the top.  First,  there the  usual  referral  to  a  physical  therapist,  which gets  the  doctor off the hook.  Then  comes  physical therapy,  corrective  insoles,  expensive  shoes,  pain pills,  and  more  powerful  pain  pills.  When  all  this fails, another referral  is usually made to a surgeon, who  will  generally  perform  a  surgery  that treats the  symptoms.  There  may  or  may  not  be  relief. Some may feel  a bit better,  and some may be permanently worse.

Most heel  pain  is  ascribed  to  heel  spurs,  arthritis,  fascitis,  or some other inflammatory process. Indeed,  there  usually  is  inflammation,  often  arthritis,  and  frequently  spurs  that can  be  seen  on  an x-ray. But all these are symptoms of an underlying problem that has never been resolved.

Once the  underlying process  goes  unresolved for weeks  or  months,  the  body  takes  secondary steps  as  best  it can  to  keep  the heel  and  walking ability as  functional  as  possible.  These  steps  result calcium  deposits  in  the  form  of arthritis,  spurs, and  more.  If the  underlying  cause  of the problem can  be  resolved,  the  painful  heel  (plantar fascia and muscles),  and even  the Achilles  tendon  simply stop hurting-with no further treatment needed whether the spur is still there or not.

The Cause

Most heel problems begin with an injury to the heel, foot,  ankle, Achilles, or some combination of these. The injury does  not heal  properly and scars form  on  the tissues.  The scars  build  up  and  cause pain as they press on nerves in the area and eventually retard the foot from  moving properly.  Muscle fibers  become  entrapped  within  their sheaths  or within  scar tissues.  The  problem  is  now  chronic and painful on every step.   

The Cure

The  only thing that will  resolve most of these problems is to  break  down  the  entrapping  and scarring  tissues that have resulted from  an  injury. This  is done with deep pressure applied to the foot and  heel  while  the  foot  is  mobilized  and  moved through  its  range  of motion.  In  other  words,  the therapist finds  the  scar area,  holds  very deep  and painful  pressure, and  instructs the patient to  move his or her foot through the range of motion that involves the scarred area.

This  action  breaks  the muscles  and  fascia free from  the  scar materials  and  calcium  cement.  It  is painful  and  often requires  6 to  12 treatments.  But the  treatments  become  easier  over  time  and  results  are  usually  quick. As  the body  breaks  itself free  from  the  entrapping  and  irritating  scars  and calcium  buildup,  range  of motion  in the  foot and heel  quickly improves.  Blood flows to the area and helps remove debris from the joint. Over time even the  calcium  spurs,  which  are  usually a  soft paste, are  resolved  and  disappear.  They  were never the cause of the problem to begin with.

To find  out more  and  to  locate  someone  who can  provide  this  treatment,  go  to  www.activereleasetechnique.com. Hopefully you can find someone near you who has  been trained in this remarkable technique.  Once you  discover how  powerful this  therapy  is,  and  how  tiny scars  were the cause of the problem all  along,  it will  dawn  on  you that in most cases surgery is  useless.

Treat the Cause or Suffer

Best  of all,  the  same  type  of problem  occurs and  can  be  easily  corrected  in  other joints,  such as  wrists,  elbows,  shoulders,  neck,  and  so  on. The average  number of treatments  needed  is  from  two to  a  dozen  treatments.  The  treatment  costs  from less  than  $100  to  close  to  $1,000.  Whatever  the cost,  it is  worth ten times  the price.  The treatment period  is  usually  less  than  three  months  and  most people  show  improvement  after  the  first  few treatments.

The  alternative is  lengthy suffering. It  is  not unusual  for heel  and  other joint problems  to  linger for months,  years,  or even for life.  All  during  this time  you  cannot do  the  things  you  enjoy,  you  are in  chronic  pain,  you  may  suffer from  side  effects from  pain  medications,  and you  may  even  be  seriously  injured  by  surgery.  All  the  while your  injury cries  out for proper treatment.

The  type  of doctors  who  learn  this  technique are  mostly  chiropractors.  However,  some  osteopaths,  medical  physicians,  medical massage therapists, and  physical  therapists also  know  this  therapy.  I  have  been  quoted  often as  saying,  "How  can  anyone  make  it through  life without fl skilled  chiropractor?"  In  this  case,  if you are  fortunate  enough  to  find  a  great  chiropractor who  also  knows  Active  Release  Technique,  hang on  to  him  or  her with  all  your  strength.  They  are absolutely  in disposable                                                  

So  when   it  comes  to  chronic  joint  pain,  remember,  not  one  doctor  in   1,000  really  knows what  is  causing  the  problem-no  matter  how famous  or expensive  they  are,  or  how   "world-renowned"  their  clinic  is.  Unless  there  is  an  obvious cause  (like  a  broken  bone),  almost  all  other joint problems  that  become  chronic  involve  injured, damaged,  entrapped,  stuck,  "glued,"  or  scarred tissues  like  muscles,  tendons,  ligaments,  and  bone ends.
Nothing  but  freeing  up  these  tissues  will ever result in  a cure.  So treat the real  cause  of joint pain.  And  always  save  surgery  as  the  treatment  of last resort.

 HEALTH  ALERT    Dr. Bruce West M.D.  May 2006, Volume 23,  Issue 5

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