Plantar Fasciitis and Heel Pain Treatment in Dakota Dunes

The plantar fascia is a thick band of tissue running along the bottom of your foot, from your heel to your toes. It works like a spring every time you take a step. When it gets overloaded and irritated where it attaches to the heel, you get plantar fasciitis.

Most people we see describe it the same way:

• A sharp, stabbing pain in the heel with the first steps out of bed
• Pain that eases once you get moving, then comes back after sitting or a long day on your feet
• Tenderness on the bottom or inside edge of the heel
• Pain that's worse on hard floors, in flat shoes, or after a run or a long shift

Plantar fasciitis is stubborn because you can't really rest your feet. You walk on them all day, so the tissue never gets a real break. Many people try new shoes, inserts, stretching, ice, and rest, and get some relief, but the pain keeps coming back.

In our experience, the heel is usually where it hurts, not always why it hurts. Tight calves, stiff ankles, weak hips, or the way your foot lands can keep putting extra load on the fascia. If those mechanics don't change, the tissue keeps getting irritated.

At FreeMVMT, we use an OmniWave focused shockwave device. It sends acoustic sound waves into the irritated tissue at the heel. That creates a controlled stimulus that is thought to prompt your body's own repair response, including better circulation and tissue rebuilding in the treated area.

In plain terms, shockwave is designed to wake up a healing process that has stalled. It isn't a drug, an injection, or surgery. Results vary from person to person, and we can't promise a specific outcome. What we can do is find what's driving your pain, build a plan around it, and measure whether it's working.

Plantar fasciitis is one of the conditions shockwave has been studied for most.

• In a multicenter randomized trial using focused shockwave, people with long-term heel pain who had three weekly sessions reported a bigger drop in heel pain at 12 weeks than people who had a placebo treatment [1].
• Randomized trials using radial shockwave have reported similar improvements compared with placebo, without serious side effects [2][3], and one followed patients out to two years [4].
• Reviews that pool many studies suggest shockwave may help reduce heel pain and improve function compared with placebo [5][6][7].
• The physical therapy guideline for heel pain notes that plantar fascia stretching combined with shockwave did better than shockwave alone [8]. That's why we pair treatment with simple home exercises.

Studies describe how groups of people responded. They can't predict exactly how your heel will respond.

1. Movement assessment. We talk through your history and look at how your foot, ankle, knee, and hip move. We use Kinetisense 3D motion analysis to measure your range of motion, so we have real numbers to compare against later.
2. OmniWave session. A typical focused shockwave session is quick. Most people feel pressure or mild discomfort while it's working, and we adjust the intensity to your comfort.
3. Your plan. Most plans involve several sessions spaced about a week apart. Along the way we'll give you a few movement changes to take load off the heel, so the improvement has a better chance of lasting.

Shockwave isn't right for everyone. It's generally not recommended during pregnancy, or for people with certain blood clotting conditions or a pacemaker. We'll go over your health history before we start.

Please see a physician first if your heel pain started after a fall or injury, if you can't put weight on your foot, if there's swelling, redness, warmth, or fever, if you have numbness or tingling in your foot, or if the pain is severe at night or at rest. Those can point to something other than plantar fasciitis.

FreeMVMT is at 330 Dakota Dunes Blvd Ste 400 in Dakota Dunes, SD, just off I-29. We see patients from Dakota Dunes, Sioux City, IA, South Sioux City, NE, North Sioux City, SD, and across the tri-state area. Whether you're a runner, a nurse on 12-hour shifts, or someone who just wants to walk the dog without wincing, we'd be glad to take a look.

Do I need a referral for plantar fasciitis treatment?
No. You don't need a referral for shockwave therapy at FreeMVMT. You can book directly.

Is shockwave therapy for plantar fasciitis covered by insurance?
No. Shockwave therapy at FreeMVMT is self-pay. We'll walk you through the cost and what to expect before you begin.

Does shockwave hurt on the heel?
Most patients feel pressure or mild discomfort during treatment. We adjust the intensity based on your comfort.

How many sessions will I need?
It depends on how long you've had the pain and what's driving it. Many plans involve several sessions spaced about a week apart.

If heel pain is running your mornings, let's find out what's behind it. Book an assessment or call 605-217-2100.

1. Gollwitzer H, Saxena A, DiDomenico LA, et al. (2015). Clinically relevant effectiveness of focused extracorporeal shock wave therapy in the treatment of chronic plantar fasciitis: a randomized, controlled multicenter study. J Bone Joint Surg Am 97(9):701-708. PubMed 25948515 · doi:10.2106/JBJS.M.01331
2. Gerdesmeyer L, Frey C, Vester J, et al. (2008). Radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy is safe and effective in the treatment of chronic recalcitrant plantar fasciitis: results of a confirmatory randomized placebo-controlled multicenter study. Am J Sports Med 36(11):2100-2109. PubMed 18832341 · doi:10.1177/0363546508324176
3. Ibrahim MI, Donatelli RA, Schmitz C, et al. (2010). Chronic plantar fasciitis treated with two sessions of radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy. Foot Ankle Int 31(5):391-397. PubMed 20460065 · doi:10.3113/FAI.2010.0391
4. Ibrahim MI, Donatelli RA, Hellman M, et al. (2017). Long-term results of radial extracorporeal shock wave treatment for chronic plantar fasciopathy: a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled trial with two years follow-up. J Orthop Res 35(7):1532-1538. PubMed 27567022 · doi:10.1002/jor.23403
5. Charles R, Fang L, Zhu R, Wang J. (2023). The effectiveness of shockwave therapy on patellar tendinopathy, Achilles tendinopathy, and plantar fasciitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Immunol 14:1193835. PubMed 37662911 · doi:10.3389/fimmu.2023.1193835
6. Tung WS, Daher M, Covarrubias O, et al. (2025). Extracorporeal shock wave therapy shows comparative results with other modalities for the management of plantar fasciitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Foot Ankle Surg 31(4):283-290. PubMed 39572278 · doi:10.1016/j.fas.2024.11.005
7. Zhao P, He Y, Li M, et al. (2025). Comparative efficacy and acceptability of different intensity levels of extracorporeal shock wave therapy in adults with plantar heel pain: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. PM R 17(12):1481-1493. PubMed 40709373 · doi:10.1002/pmrj.13417
8. Koc TA Jr, Bise CG, Neville C, et al. (2023). Heel Pain – Plantar Fasciitis: Revision 2023. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 53(12):CPG1-CPG39. PubMed 38037331 · doi:10.2519/jospt.2023.0303