The condition: Melinda Schupil was going about doing her errands and being active when she started to feel pain in her heel. When the pain didn’t go away after a month, she went to see her podiatrist at New Milford Orthopedics, Dr. Thomas Guglielmo. As Melinda describes it, “I wasn’t able to walk, shop, or do anything.”
The treatment: Dr. Guglielmo felt it was best to approach Melinda’s case with conservative modalities. “Plantar fasciitis is the most common cause of heel pain in adults today. A conservative approach of stretching, ice, anti-inflammatory medications, and arch supports is the mainstay of treatment, though there are also numerous other nonsurgical modalities that we use at New Milford Orthopedics for the more difficult recalcitrant cases.” In Melinda’s case the first step was a cortisone shot, which unfortunately only provided a day or two of relief. Off-the-shelf inserts were tried next in an attempt to correctly position and cushion Melinda’s foot in her shoes. Lastly, custom orthotics were placed in her shoes, but these only provided marginal improvement. Melinda recalls, “Both Dr. Guglielmo and I were trying to avoid surgery and I truly appreciated that he didn’t rush me into the operating room.” Dr. Guglielmo ultimately performed outpatient surgery for a plantar fascial release. “Fewer than 10% of the individuals with plantar fasciitis require surgery and I only consider it when all other treatment options have failed to provide long-standing substantial relief.”
The result: Within a few weeks of the surgery, Melinda was pain free. After a few more weeks of at-home stretching exercises, Melinda was completely healed. “Once we exhausted the nonsurgical options, I recognized that I needed surgery. Am I glad we did it! Now I have no pain at all. I’m so pleased.” Melinda is back to doing everything she wants. “I’m walking up to four miles a day!” she states proudly. Says Dr. Guglielmo. “We care deeply about our patients, and seeing people like Melinda get back to living a full and active life is what we are here for.”
