How is a plantar fibroma treated?
Treating a plantar fibroma is almost always focused on relieving your symptoms. The most common treatments include:
- Over-the-counter medicines to reduce pain.
- Orthotics (inserts for your shoes).
- Stretching.
- Verapamil (a cream you put on the bottom of your foot).
- Cortisone injections.
People rarely need surgery to remove a plantar fibroma.
What medications/treatments are used?
Over-the-counter NSAIDs like aspirin or ibuprofen are typically all you’ll need to reduce the pain caused by a plantar fibroma. NSAIDs will also reduce inflammation around the fibroma, which could reduce the pressure it puts on your foot. You can take them as needed to reduce pain, but talk to your provider before starting, stopping or changing any regular use of medications. You shouldn’t take NSAIDs for longer than 10 days in a row without your provider’s approval.
Your provider might prescribe verapamil, a cream you apply to the bottom of your foot. Verapamil is usually used to manage blood pressure, but as a topical cream it can reduce inflammation and shrink the fibroma.
Complications/side effects of the treatment
NSAIDs can have serious side effects, including:
- Bleeding.
- Ulcers.
- Stomach pain.
- Bowel complications.
How to take care of myself/manage my symptoms?
If wearing shoes makes you uncomfortable, orthotics — removable inserts — can relieve pressure and pain. You can buy generic, over-the-counter orthotics, or they can be custom-made for your feet. You may also need to wear different, more supportive shoes.
Your provider might recommend you stretch your foot, ankle and calf. This can relieve tension and pressure on your plantar fascia and lessen the severity of your plantar fibroma symptoms.
How soon after treatment will I feel better?
A combination of NSAIDs and changing your footwear should relieve your symptoms almost right away. In general, increasing your foot’s flexibility and wearing the right kind of shoes will reduce the symptoms of a plantar fibroma and prevent additional issues from developing.
NSAIDs should reduce your pain within a few hours of taking them. Orthotics will relieve pressure, but might take longer to make a noticeable difference. Stretching is a longer-term solution that you should work into your regular routine.
Plantar fibroma surgery
It’s very rare to need surgery to remove (excise) a plantar fibroma, but it is an option if your symptoms don’t clear up or aren’t manageable with more conservative treatments. Talk to your healthcare provider if you feel like the pain or discomfort from a plantar fibroma is affecting your quality of life.
Your surgeon will explain how much of your foot’s tissues they’ll remove. There are a few techniques they can use for a plantar fibroma surgery:
- Local excision: Only the plantar fibroma itself is removed.
- Wide excision: The plant fibroma and an area between 2 and 3 millimeters — less than one-tenth of an inch — around it is removed.
- Plantar fasciectomy: The entire plantar fascia ligament is removed. This is extremely rare, in addition to how rarely people need plantar fibroma surgery in the first place.
- Percutaneous fasciectomy: Similar to a full plantar fasciectomy. Your provider will use an ultrasound to guide them and remove only a portion of your plantar fascia near your heel.
Which type of surgery you will need depends on the severity of your symptoms, the size and exact location the plantar fibroma, and whether or not you’ve developed past plantar fibromas.
Recovery from surgery depends on which type of surgery you need. It can be anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, or as long as it takes for your plantar fascia and incision to heal fully. Your provider or surgeon will provide you with a customized recovery timeline based on your surgery.
