Would Adult Stem Cells Help Plantar Fasciitis?

Adult stem cells in recent years have shown a bright future in the medical world. Examples of how adult stem cells have made a difference include restoring vision to a blind man, growing a human liver, and the potential to regrow fingers and toes.
Embryonic stem cells have a controversial past due to the nature of their procurement via the destruction of a fertilized human embryo. There has been successful research with somatic stem cells, also known as adult stem cells. The difference between embryonic and adult stem cells is that embryonic cells can transform into any type of cell, while adult cells can transform into a limited group of cells.
New plantar fasciitis research has used adult stem cells taken from bone marrow, fat, or amniotic material. the benefit of this treatment is that it not only soothes pain, but can regenerate damaged tissue. The procedure is considered outpatient and has no risks.
Besides plantar fasciitis, adult stem cells have been used to treat arthritis, tennis elbow, rotator cuff symptoms, Achilles tendonitis, and other conditions.
For those who suffer long periods of time with plantar fasciitis, or have recurring bouts, this may be a viable option for their condition. We'll watch and see what the future brings for this treatment option.
Reference: Inquistr
If you have heel pain, call our Newington, Kensington, or Middletown office to make an appointment.
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New Orleans Saints' Jimmy Graham Playing With Torn Plantar Fascia

New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham has a partially torn plantar fascia and is continuing to play despite the injury.
Graham played last week against the Buffalo Bills, scoring two touchdowns.
"He told me it's a pain issue and is heading over to test it early. Felt better Friday, but still a very painful issue. If he can play Saints will put him on pitch count," tweeted Jay Glazer.
Graham was injured in the fourth quarter in the October 13th game against the New England Patriots. He was limping and went to the sidelines to be taped. Graham played a few more snaps before leaving for the locker room.
The Saints had a bye week October 20th, but his injury continued throughout the week. Graham returned to practice that Friday, where he ran routes and practiced in a limited capacity.
Graham had been listed as questionable to play against the Bills and ended up being a game-time decision

after coaches watched him run and cut on the foot in a pregame workout. Graham caught three passes for 37 yards and two touchdowns in under 20 snaps.
"It's gonna hurt. But football hurts. That's just how it is," Graham said after the game. "It's just, 'How much pain can you endure?' And you know, I'm pretty good at that."
Graham and Saints coach Sean Payton say there is no serious risk of further injuring his foot if he continues to play. For Graham it will be a matter of pain management. As we've blogged about before, it is often better for the plantar fascia to tear completely, rather than it be a partial tear, as the pain is worse with a partial than a complete. Graham has not specified if his is completely torn.
"I mean, that's an oxymoron, right?," Graham said. "I've heard a couple different things by a couple different doctors. I've talked to a lot of people, and I'm not sure. I guess we'll see.
"You know me, it doesn't matter how I feel. I'm very competitive, and I want as many opportunities as I can get to help this team. But I'm gonna do what (Payton) asks me to do and what my body allows me to do, and I'm just gonna take it day by day."
In Graham's second touchdown, he had to make an adjustment to his trademark touchdown dance- dunking the ball over the goalpost. But Graham didn't let a silly injury stop him.
"I still dunked it. But I dunked off my right foot because I can do both," Graham said. "So this time I just jumped off the right foot and dunked with the left. There will never be a moment I won't dunk it."
Good for you, Jimmy Graham. Good for you.
References: ESPN
If you have heel pain, call our Newington, Kensington, or Middletown office to make an appointment.
Craig M. Kaufman, DPM
Connecticut Foot Care Centers
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Marcus Camby To Have Surgery

Hartford native Marcus Camby was waived by the Houston Rockets Monday afternoon and will have

surgery this week on his torn plantar fascia.
Camby's agent, Rick Kaplan, said the center may return in a coaching or scouting capacity while he is recuperating from the left foot plantar fascia surgery, which will sideline him for up to three months.
The injury has been bothering him since last season with the New York Knicks, and Camby regrets not taking care of the injury sooner. Kaplan said Camby, 39, hopes to continue his NBA career after the surgery. Camby is the second oldest player in the NBA, behind Lakers point guard Steve Nash.
"He definitely has a thirst to play," Kaplan said.
"I understand the situation," Camby told KRIV-TV in Houston. "They need healthy guys. Once I get healthy, you can expect to see me again."
Camby, a former Defensive Player of the Year in 2006-07, has been in the NBA for 18 years and was signed to the Houston Rockets in the offseason to provide depth and insurance for a team that has Dwight Howard and Omer Asik. The team may check in with Camby later in the season before they have to finalize playoff eligibility on March 1st.
Camby has a guaranteed contract worth $1.4 million and does not plan on retiring any time soon.
"You'll still see me around the organization," Camby said. "I have a great deal of respect for the organization and Coach [Kevin] McHale.
"It's tough. I'm going to try hard to get back out there on the basketball court as quickly as possible. They have been great down here in Houston, and you haven't seen the last of me being down here."
Camby averaged 1.8 points and 3.3 rebounds last season for the Knicks. During his career, he averaged 9.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.
References: CBS Sports, ESPN, and Yahoo Sports
If you have heel pain, call our Newington, Kensington, or Middletown office to make an appointment.
Craig M. Kaufman, DPM
Connecticut Foot Care Centers
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Tennis Champ Shahar Peer Out With Injury

Israeli tennis star Shahar Peer had just returned to the top 100 after struggling for months with form and

confidence. She will now be out the rest of the season with a foot injury.
Peer had a partial tear of the plantar fascia.
Peer had an MRI in Ningbo China where she was playing the WTA $125K Challenge several weeks ago which revealed the injury. The 26 year old won her first round match at the Ningbo tournament but after experiencing pain in her foot she went for the test.
Peer posted on her Facebook page: "As a result of the tear, Shahar decided, based on advice from several doctors, to retire from the rest of the tournament. The decision about her care, as well as future tournaments and the rest of the season, will be made in the upcoming few days with her doctors."
Peer was ranked as high as no. 11 and was just one win away from becoming the first Israeli to break into the world's top 10 a few years ago.
Reference: Tennis World USA
If you have heel pain, call our Newington, Kensington, or Middletown office to make an appointment.
Craig M. Kaufman, DPM
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Colts Rookie Werner Out 4-6 Weeks With Injury

The Indianapolis Colts were pleased with their impressive 2012 NFL Draft Class, hoping they would bring their team to Super Bowl glory.
Last week, the Colts lost a 2013 Draft Class member, on top of the two from 2012 they had already lost to injuries.
Coach Chuck Pagano told the media last Monday that first-round selection Bjorn Werner will miss four to six weeks after sustaining a torn plantar fascia in his right foot in last Sunday's 37-3 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. He joins Vick Ballard and Dwayne Allen on the injury list.
The German-born rookie outside linebacker was picked 24th overall in the 2013 Draft from Florida State University where he earned All-American recognition and has been used mainly in nickle packages. So far in the season he has four tackles, one-half sack, and one quarterback pressure as a pass-rushing specialist behind starter Erik Walden.
Carl Johnson, who was acquired from the San Francisco 49ers before the start of the season will fill Werner's place.
Pagano said of Werner, "He was getting comfortable. You could see the confidence level rising. He was playing faster. It's a shame it happened, but it's part of the game."
References: ESPN and NFL.
If you have heel pain, call our Newington, Kensington, or Middletown office to make an appointment.
Craig M. Kaufman, DPM
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Logan Forsythe Still Dealing With Plantar Fasciitis

We've said it again and again: plantar fasciitis just does not "disappear", nor does it "magically" get better on
its own. Those who suffer from plantar fasciitis will often suffer for years, try many therapies and treatments, and after finding the one that works best for their particular case, it will go away.
So these athletes who think they can ignore their plantar fasciitis and it will just go away are living in a fantasy land.
San Diego Padres infielder Logan Forsythe was hit with a nasty bout of plantar fasciitis during spring training and it kept him out of the lineup until the second week of June. He revealed last month that it has returned.
"The doctors told me earlier that it doesn't return, but it did," Forsythe told reporters while discussing the injury that has kept him in limited play.
OK, so we don't know what podiatrist you saw, Logan, but no podiatrist would ever tell you that plantar fasciitis would never return. It can return if you failed to keep up with icing, stretching, or wearing your orthotics. Sometimes years will go by before it returns, sometimes months.
At the time of the press conference, Forsythe had not played since September 3rd, and his only activity in those eight games was four pinch-hitting appearances, including a game-winning hit against Atlanta and an inning at shortstop against Philadelphia.
He plans to play as many games as possible to the end of the season, however.
"Logan is playable," said Padres manager Bud Black. "He wants to finish strong. But he's had a bit of a rough go at it."
"I want to finish the season with the guys," Forsythe said. "I want to play, I'm trying to play. This is something totally unexpected. I guess we'll talk about what to do when the season ends."
Forsythe said the pain in his foot started to return after the All-Star break and has progressively gotten worse since then, but it's not as bad as it was in the spring.
The infielder did have an MRI of his right foot. "There's not a tear," he said.
"Surgery is an option, but the doctors are hesitant and there's not guarantee given the history of my feet," Forsythe said.
Before suffering with plantar fasciitis, Forsythe had fractures in both feet to the sesamoid bones. He had surgery, during his junior year of college and in spring 2012 to remove the bones. He believes there is a connection between the problems with his sesamoid bones and plantar fasciitis.
"This is a tough injury," Forsythe said. "Kyle Banks (who suffered plantar fasciitis at the end of the 2009 seasons) and I have talked about it. It's not as bad now as it was earlier, but the plantar fasciitis is bothering me. It is very limiting."
Forsythe said the pain in his feet is worse when he is on his feet for an extended period of time.
"I can hit. I can run. I can play in the field. But the longer I'm out there, the more it hurts," he said.
This season Forsythe is hitting .216 with five home runs and 17 RBIs in 208 at-bats.
Reference: UT San Diego
If you have heel pain, call our Newington, Kensington, or Middletown office to make an appointment.
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Buffalo Bills Byrd Battling Plantar Fasciitis

Buffalo Bills safety Jairus Byrd started the third week of practice on the injury list again, with the same injury
designation.
Byrd has been battling plantar fasciitis for several weeks now, having been listed as doubtful before the first two games and later changed to inactive.
"Same thing Mario [Williams] had, it's called plantar fasciitis," Byrd said when his injury was revealed. "It's just a little foot condition. We'll see how it goes."
Byrd shouldn't be so flippant about plantar fasciitis being "a little foot condition". He apparently hasn't been keeping up with other athletes and their plantar fasciitis sagas. I'm sure Albert Pujols feels the plantar fasciitis he has been suffering from for seven years is just a little foot condition.
It has been tough for reporters to gauge Byrd's progress as the number of practices available to them has been limited. During practice the players stretch and then break up into positional groups and defensive backs coach Donnie Henderson leads his players in a light-intensity walk through. Last Wednesday Byrd was the scout team running back at one point.
Other than that, it is difficult to tell how much Byrd has participated in practice.
Bills head coach Doug Marrone said Wednesday that he believes Byrd is approaching a return to the field.
"I think every day there is progress," Marrone said. "It's just a matter of time now until when it gets to that point where he's going to be able to go out there. I think we're getting closer and closer."
"I need to be good to go before I step out there," Byrd told reporters. "Once my body allows me to be out there and be at 100 percent ready to play, I'll go."
Byrd has been to see foot specialist Dr. Robert Anderson in North Carolina, the same doctor Williams visited at the start of training camp. Anderson confirmed the plantar fasciitis diagnosis and said it would be difficult to play through.
References: ESPN and ESPN.
If you have heel pain, call our Newington, Kensington, or Middletown office to make an appointment.
Craig M. Kaufman, DPM
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