Old update notifications

Pre-2010 updates to the plantar fasciitis tutorial

This is a listing of updates made to the plantar fasciitis tutorial prior to 2010. They are provided for historical interest only, and as a “paper trail” demonstrating how the documents have been maintained. All newer updates are listed in the tutorial itself. Note: most of the links to specific locations within the plantar fasciitis tutorial will not work, as they are from obsolete editions.

Friday, September 25, 2009 — The world of plantar fasciitis science moves slowly. However, here’s an interesting addition: “A new therapy: Intracorporeal pneumatic shock therapy (IPST).”

Wednesday, July 1, 2009 — Major bibliography update. The SaveYourself.ca bibliography has long been the largest of its kind. It contains an incredible amount of surprisingly readable information about musculoskeletal health science, and it is now possible for visitors to search and sort the bibliography with powerful new features. For instance, every source about plantar fasciitis referenced in this tutorial can now easily be displayed in a single search, with a variety of options.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009 — The visual design of the site was upgraded over the past several days. Although this is not an update to the content of this tutorial, it is nevertheless a significant upgrade for all of them — like publishing new editions of books with better typesetting and layout. The new design is even cleaner and reader-friendly; it now looks that good in most web browsers; and pages load as much as 50% faster. Many under-the-hood improvements will make it much easier for me to improve tutorial content. The tutorials are now well-oiled machines of digital publishing goodness, vastly superior to the low-production values of most eBooks. More information about the upgrade is published on the front page.

Thursday, February 26, 2009 — Science update for the section “Fancy ultrasound: Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (ESWT).” You can also read the new information for free in the article, The ESWT Saga Continues.

Monday, November 17, 2008 — Minor addition of item to the list of “Don’t bother with …” treatments.

Thursday, August 14, 2008 — Today I made numerous minor corrections, and significantly upgraded and expanded the section “Several conditions that might get confused with plantar fasciitis” while I was researching possible causes of unusual heel pain in one of my patients. I learned some peculiar things about “fat pad syndrome,” which turns out to be almost completely unstudied and unexplained — another odd little musculoskeletal mystery.

Saturday, July 26, 2008 — Minor improvements to icing and contrasting prescriptions, and added a case study story.

Sunday, June 1, 2008 — Added a couple references and made a number of minor clarifications and corrections based on reader feedback. Thanks, everyone!

Thursday, March 13, 2008 — Started upgrading the footnoting method today, with minor content improvements as well. Until now, the plantar fasciitis tutorial was the only major article left on SaveYourself.ca that didn’t use “dynamic” citations that link to the bibliography. It’s taken literally years to implement that system, and this is the final tutorial to upgrade! At long last! It won’t mean much to anyone else, but it’s quite a milestone for me.

Saturday, January 19, 2008 — Added the section “Super ultrasound: Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (ESWT).”

Sunday, December 23, 2007 — Added the section “Ultrasound and “Sonic Relief™” are options … with strong caveats.” I review the Sonic Relief™ product for plantar fasciitis, and reveal some interesting statements from the company’s medical officer. Note that this tutorial has now been upgraded three weekends in a row! And it was good before that!

Saturday, December 15, 2007 — Added the section “Using technology to confirm a plantar fasciitis diagnosis,” and updated evidence about night splints in the “Know your stretches” section. All of this new material is summarized for free in the short article, Thickened plantar fascia — really thick!

Saturday, December 8, 2007 — Revised and expanded the introductory sections, and upgraded the sections about massaging and trigger points to be more thorough. Added reference to recent research evidence that the plantar fascia is thicker in plantar fasciitis patients.

Sunday, August 26, 2007 — Upgraded the orthotics section (see “Get some arch support”) with two new footnotes and some more detail and clarity.