Stepping on a LEGO Every Morning? Plantar Fasciitis and MLS Laser Therapy
By Dr. Ronald Vaught | MLS Laser Therapy | Beyond Health and Wellness, Oak Forest, IL
You swing your legs out of bed, put your foot on the floor, and... YEOWCH! It feels like you just stepped on your grandkid's LEGO, barefoot, in the dark. You hobble to the coffee pot, and after ten minutes or so it eases up. Then you sit through a long meeting, stand up, and wait for it... wait for it... there it is again.
My Friends, that's the calling card of plantar fasciitis, and you have plenty of company. About 1 in 10 people will deal with it at some point, and it sends roughly a million Americans to the doctor every year. It's the most common cause of heel pain in adults, and it loves women between 40 and 60.
WHAT IS IT, REALLY?
The plantar fascia is a thick band of tissue running from your heel bone to the base of your toes. Think of it as the bowstring that holds up your arch. Every step you take, it stretches and springs back.
Here's the part most people never hear: the "-itis" in plantar fasciitis means inflammation, but research shows this is mostly a degenerative problem. The tissue gets overloaded, develops tiny tears, and doesn't heal properly. Some experts prefer the term "plantar fasciosis." Why does that matter? Because if the problem is a tissue that won't heal, the answer isn't to shut down your body's healing response. The answer is to help it heal.
Common culprits:
Tight calves and Achilles tendons
Extra body weight (every pound counts when your feet carry you all day)
Standing on hard floors for hours (nurses, teachers, factory and retail folks, I see you)
Worn-out shoes or going barefoot on tile and hardwood
Ramping up walking or running too fast
SO... ABOUT THAT CORTISONE SHOT
Many people with heel pain get offered a cortisone injection. It sounds quick and easy. Do me a favor and look at the numbers first.
In 2017, the Cochrane Collaboration (the gold standard for reviewing medical research) pooled 39 trials with nearly 2,500 adults. What did they find? At one month, steroid shots gave a small reduction in heel pain, so small it fell below what researchers consider a meaningful change. From one to six months? No meaningful difference compared with placebo or no treatment. The American Academy of Family Physicians sums it up as "at best, short-term relief."
And there's a price tag beyond your copay:
Plantar fascia rupture: estimated in about 2.4% of patients who get multiple injections. That's the bowstring snapping, my friends.
Fat pad atrophy: steroids can thin the natural cushion under your heel. Lose that padding and you may have traded one heel problem for a permanent one.
Remember, cortisone works by suppressing your body's repair response. For a tissue that's struggling to heal in the first place, do I really need to explain?
(As always, talk with your provider before stopping or changing any treatment.)
ENTER MLS LASER THERAPY
MLS laser is a dual-wavelength therapy laser. One wavelength goes to work on pain and swelling, the other stimulates healing at the cellular level. The light boosts energy production inside your cells (your mitochondria get a jump start), improves circulation to the area, and helps the tissue actually repair rather than just numbing it.
What does the research say? A 2022 meta-analysis in BMJ Open looked at 18 randomized trials of laser therapy (photobiomodulation) for lower-leg tendon problems, and 11 of those were in plantar fasciitis. Patients treated with properly dosed laser had meaningfully less pain right after treatment, and the benefit held up 4 to 12 weeks later, with no adverse events reported. The researchers note that the trials were mostly small and more large studies are needed, which is fair. But compare that track record with a shot that fades in a month and can thin your heel pad. Shazzzzamm!
What a typical plan looks like at our office:
6 sessions for a newer, acute flare
12 or 24 sessions for chronic heel pain that's been hanging around for months
Sessions are quick and painless; most patients describe a gentle warmth, and there's no downtime
We also pair laser with what I call the "make it stick" add-ons: an anti-inflammatory eating plan, evidence-based supplementation, and specific foot and calf exercises so you're not back in six months.
A PATIENT STORY
A woman in her 40s came to see us after years of heel pain. She'd done everything she was told: physical therapy, the cortisone shots, the whole routine. Now the word "surgery" was coming up. Before anyone came at her foot with a scalpel, she wanted to try something different, and she asked about laser therapy.
Her case was very chronic, so we didn't mess around. We started her on a 12-session MLS laser package. We added calf stretches and foot exercises, put her on an anti-inflammatory diet, and gave her SPMs (specialized pro-resolving mediators, the compounds your body uses to switch inflammation off instead of just covering it up). The result was an immense improvement. She's now signing up for a second package, convinced she'll be done with that heel pain for good.
That's what happens when you stop chasing the symptom and start helping the tissue heal.
WHAT YOU CAN DO STARTING TODAY
Stretch before your first step. Before getting out of bed, pull your toes back toward your shin for 30 seconds, three times. Your fascia tightens overnight; give it a warm-up.
Stretch your calves daily. Lean into a wall with the sore leg straight behind you, heel down. Hold 30 seconds, repeat a few times, twice a day.
Roll it out. Roll your arch over a frozen water bottle for 5 to 10 minutes after a long day.
Ditch the flip-flops and bare feet on hard floors. Supportive shoes, even around the house.
Eat to calm the fire. Load up on vegetables, quality protein, and omega-3-rich fish; cut back on sugar and processed foods.
Check your magnesium and vitamin D. Both matter for muscle and tissue health, and most people are low. Test first and dose with a practitioner.
Don't wait a year. The longer this hangs around, the more stubborn it gets.
READY TO TAKE THE FIRST STEP (PUN INTENDED)?
If you're in Oak Forest, Tinley Park, Orland Park, Midlothian, Crestwood, or anywhere in the south suburbs and you're tired of dreading your morning walk to the coffee pot, let's talk about whether MLS laser is a fit for you.
Call (708) 907-0700 or learn more about MLS Laser Therapy.
Stay healthy, My Friends!
Beyond Health and Wellness, 15000 S Cicero Ave, Suite 100, Oak Forest, IL 60452
This article is for general education and isn't a substitute for a personal medical evaluation.
Sources: Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, "Injected corticosteroids for treating plantar heel pain in adults" (2017); American Family Physician, "Plantar Fasciitis" (2019); BMJ Open, "Low-level laser therapy for lower extremity tendinopathy and plantar fasciitis: systematic review and meta-analysis" (2022).
