If the worst pain of your day is the first thirty seconds after you get out of bed, this page is about you. One-on-one care with a Doctor of Physical Therapy, plus shockwave therapy on site for the stubborn cases.
Sharp heel pain that is worst in your first steps of the morning, eases as you warm up, and returns after sitting is the classic pattern of plantar fasciitis. It is the most common cause of heel pain in adults, and most cases respond to the right loading program — not rest.
You do not need a referral to be seen. Call 228-471-5047.
The plantar fascia is a thick band of connective tissue running from your heel bone to the base of your toes. It works like a tension cable that supports your arch every time you take a step.
The name “fasciitis” implies inflammation, and that turns out to be misleading. Tissue studies of long-standing cases show degenerative change in the collagen rather than an active inflammatory process, which is why clinicians increasingly use the term plantar fasciopathy. That distinction matters for treatment: a degenerative, overloaded tissue needs to be progressively loaded so it remodels. Anti-inflammatories and rest may quiet symptoms for a while, but they do not change the tissue, which is why so many people get relief for two weeks and then find the pain right back where it was.
Overnight your foot sits in a relaxed, toes-pointed position and the fascia shortens slightly. Your first steps stretch it abruptly under full body weight. The same thing happens after a long meeting or a drive — the tissue settles, then gets loaded cold. That specific pattern is one of the most useful diagnostic clues we have, and it is the first thing we ask about.
About heel spurs: if an X-ray showed a spur, that is not necessarily your pain generator. Spurs are common in people with no heel pain at all, and plenty of people with severe plantar heel pain have no spur. Treating the spur is rarely the answer; restoring the tissue's capacity is.
Clinical practice guidelines for heel pain support a combination of loading, manual therapy, taping or orthoses, and patient education. Here is how that looks in the clinic.
The centerpiece. Heavy, slow calf and plantar fascia loading — typically heel raises performed with the toes extended over a rolled towel — builds tissue capacity. This is the part that changes the tissue rather than masking the symptom. It is also the part most people are never taught.
Hands-on work to the calf complex, ankle joint and plantar surface to restore dorsiflexion and reduce protective tone. Mobility gains here directly reduce the load your fascia absorbs per step.
For the calf and intrinsic foot musculature when trigger points and tone are driving symptoms. Dr. Baskin is certified in dry needling (Cert DN). Often the fastest route to short-term relief that lets you tolerate the loading program.
Extracorporeal shockwave therapy has the strongest evidence in plantar heel pain that has not responded to a good loading program — the recalcitrant cases that have dragged on for months. We have it on site, which is uncommon in this area.
Low-dye taping and appropriate arch support can reduce strain quickly while the tissue rebuilds. We fit and test this rather than sending you to guess in a drugstore aisle.
Not “stay off it.” A specific plan for your work hours, your steps, your shoes, and how to progress back to walking or running without re-flaring it.
Most people with plantar fasciitis have already tried several things before they call us. Usually the ingredients were right and the dosing was wrong.
Time off reduces pain because it reduces load. The moment normal load returns, so does the pain, because tissue capacity never went up. Deloading is a starting point, not a treatment.
A ten-second calf stretch against a wall does not load a degenerative tissue. The stretching that helps in the research is specific, sustained, and paired with strengthening.
Plantar heel pain is usually measured in weeks to months, not days. Patients who know that up front stick with the program. Patients promised a quick fix quit at week three — right before the change happens.
Loading has to be progressed based on how the tissue responds week to week. That requires the same clinician watching you each visit. At GT PT, that is Dr. Baskin every time.
Your evaluation is a full hour with Dr. Baskin. We take a detailed history of when the pain started and what changed in your load. We measure ankle dorsiflexion, test calf and foot strength, palpate to localize the tissue precisely, screen your hip and knee mechanics, and watch you walk. We also screen for the things that mimic plantar fasciitis and need a different plan — a calcaneal stress fracture, fat pad irritation, tarsal tunnel or nerve entrapment, or a systemic inflammatory cause. If your exam points to one of those, you get referred appropriately rather than handed a heel-raise program.
Assuming it is plantar fasciopathy, treatment starts that same visit. You leave with your loading program, taping if it helps you, footwear guidance, and a realistic timeline — including what the first two weeks should feel like so you know whether you are on track.
A note for shipyard and trades workers: we see a lot of heel pain out of Ingalls and the trades, where ten hours on concrete in steel-toe boots is the job. Standing is not negotiable for you, so the program has to be built around that reality. That is a conversation, not a handout. If your heel pain came from work, see our workers' compensation page.
We verify your benefits before your first visit, so you know your coverage and any out-of-pocket cost up front — no surprise bills.
Accepted. No referral needed to begin care; your plan of care is certified by a physician or nurse practitioner within 30 days.
Most major plans accepted, including BlueCross BlueShield and United Healthcare. Some plans require a referral for coverage — we check first.
Accepted. We handle the documentation and communicate with your adjuster and employer.
Transparent self-pay rates for patients without coverage or with a high deductible. Ask when you call.
Straight answers. If yours isn't here, call — we'll tell you honestly whether physical therapy is the right next step.
One clinic in Pascagoula, serving all of Jackson County. Every condition below is treated one-on-one by Dr. Austin Baskin, PT, DPT.
Call and describe your heel pain. We will tell you what it likely is, what the plan would look like, and roughly how long it should take.
228-471-5047Mon–Fri 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM · 1408 Ingalls Ave, Pascagoula, MS 39567