What is Plantar Fasciitis?

The plantar fascia is a tight ligament that stretches along the bottom of the foot from the heel bone to the ball of the foot. Plantar fasciitis occurs when this connective tissue inflames and small fibres begin to tear away from the heel bone.

Symptoms

- severe pain on the bottom of the heel after rest (rising from bed or sitting)
- pulling your ‘toes towards your nose’ exacerbates the symptoms
- firm pressure with the thumb elicits a deep tender spot, often over the medial tubercle of the calcaneus (heel bone)

What Causes it?

- abnormal motion of the foot called excessive pronation or supination
- a shortened Achilles tendon/ calf muscle
- traumatic injury
- excessive, prolonged pressure through the foot (obesity, heavy lifting)
- long, rigid and elevated arches
- changes in shoes, activity level, terrain

Treatment Options

Orthotics - the most effective, permanent way to treat and to avoid re-injury

Stretching - decreases the likelihood of recurrence.

Shoes - the correct choice of shoes can be effective treatment for padding and protecting heel

Rest

Anti-inflammatory medicine -cortisone injection or oral anti inflammatory medication to relieve symptoms, but may not address source of problem

Physical Therapy - Ultra sound/ Electrical Stimulation/ Paraffin/Deep Heat/Whirlpool

Giving your injured foot a hand!

Give your foot a rest. Fasciitis is, after all, an overuse injury. If you’ve just started to get a tender spot, you may get over it in a few weeks. If you’ve had pain for a while, don’t expect an overnight recovery. It can take 6 weeks or longer to get better.
Cut down or cut out running and extended walking to rest the foot, or try other forms of exercise. Simply varying your workout with a less foot-dependent sport (e.g. swimming or cycling) might be all you need in the early stages of fasciitis.

Non-steriodal anti-inflammatory (e.g. acetominophen or aspirin) can help reduce inflammation thereby decreasing pain. Massage the painful area with ice. This is another good way to reduce inflammation. Once or twice a day for no more
than 20 minutes at a time should be sufficient. Stretch your calf muscles. Crazy as it sounds, this works! The calf muscles/Achilles tendon complex runs from the bottom
of the heel to the back of your knee. A tight heel cord pulls the heel bone up and back, stressing the fascia. A relaxed tendon and calf muscles puts less strain on the injury.
Wear shoes with a moderate heel height. We recommend a heel height of 1/2" to 3/4". A lower heel height tightens the Achilles tendon and causes more pull on the plantar fascia. This will help handle the symptoms but will not fix the problem.

What is an Orthotic?

An orthotic is a custom made device that controls the amount of excessive pronation and supination that a foot goes through when walking, running or cycling. Runners will often say they are a pronator or a supinator. All people naturally pronate and supinate but excessive movement either way can be problematic.

(For more information, follow link to Orthotics, Types of Orthotics)

What is pronation and supination?

In simple term pronation is the flattening out of the arch when the foot strikes the ground. Normally, the foot will pronate to absorb shock when the heel hits the ground, and to assist in balance during mid-stance.

Supination is the opposite motion of pronation. It allows the foot to be a more stable, rigid structure for when we push off on our next step. The foot naturally supinates during the toe-off stage (when the heel first lift off the ground until the end of the step) to provide more leverage and to help ‘roll’ off the toes.