Will my plantar fascia heal after a deep accidental cut?

by Larisa Tait
(Melbourne, Australia)

Hi,

I stepped on something very sharp in the ocean and was then told by a doctor in Thailand that I'd severed a tendon.

Once I reached the hospital, I decided I didn't want surgery in Thailand and requested only stitches. This being because I could move all toes, point and flex (to a point) without two much difficulty.

The doctor's report says that the plantar fascia was cut.

Will the fascia heal well given that I had no prior problems in the feet?

I get a few pains in it but it is feeling better with each day. I can not really weight bare and I get a numb and strained feeling when I try to flex completely.

Do you think it will heal completely?

Thanks,
Larisa

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Joshua Answers:

Hi Larisa.

Well, it's better than stepping on a shark, I imagine...

So let's see here. You got a big cut. Am I correctly thinking that there was a cut into the skin approx 2-4 inches wide, and however deep?

It's a good sign that you can bend your toes, curl your foot, etc. If the tendon (meaning, muscle connects to tendon connects to bone) was severed, you would be completely unable to do -something-, depending on what exactly was severed.

Experiement, and make sure you can put pressure against each toe and resist it, and different spots in your foot just to make sure everything is working and connected.

The planar fascia is often called tendon, because it's relatively thick connective tissue.

If this is SEVERED, this could cause future problem. If it's partially severed, that's not so bad.

Things -will- heal, it's just a matter of how well and if anything ends up different.

I predict that because of how scar tissue pulls everything together, you may have future Plantar Fasciitis dynamic and symptoms, but you can do a little bit of work and keep your structure healthy.

1. If I knew more about what exactly had been cut in the foot I could give you more than that general answer, but it's likely that general answer will do the job regardless.

2. Ice dip your foot as it is healing, as described on the How To Reduce Inflammation page.

This will help you experience less pain, and have your body interact/respond to less pain. This is a GOOD thing.

3. Before you get out of bed, EVERY morning, wiggle your toes and rub your foot for a minute to get it warmed up and flexible before you go throwing all your weight onto a cold, potentially fragile web of scar tissue.

More questions, more answers.