What is Plantar Fasciitis?

Plantar Fasciitis is a painful condition caused by overuse of the plantar fascia or arch tendon of the foot. The Plantar Fascia is a broad, thick band of tissue that runs from under the heel to the front of the foot.

Plantar fasciitis can be confused with a heel spur.  A heel spur is a bony growth that occurs at the attachment of the plantar fascia to the heel bone (calcaneus). A heel spur can be present (through repetitive pulling of the plantar fascia) on a foot with no symptoms at all and a painful heel does not always have a heel spur present.

Plantar fasciitis is traditionally thought to be an inflammatory condition. This is now believed to be incorrect due to the absence of inflammatory cells within the fascia. The cause of pain and dysfunction is now thought to be degeneration of the collagen fibres close to the attachment to the calcaneus (heel bone).

What are the Signs and Symptoms?

• Heel pain, under the heel and usually on the inside, at the origin of the attachment of the fascia.
• Pain when pressing on the inside of the heel and sometimes along the arch
• Pain is usually worse first thing in the morning as the fascia tightens up overnight. After a few minutes it eases as the foot gets warmed up
• As the condition becomes more severe the pain can get worse throughout the day if activity continues.
• Stretching the plantar fascia may be painful.
• Sometimes there may also be pain along the outside border of the heel. This may occur due to the offloading the painful side of the heel by walking on the outside border of the foot. It may also be associated with the high impact of landing on the outside of the heel if you have high arched feet.

Plantar fasciitis or heel spurs are common in sports which involve running, dancing or jumping. Runners who overpronate (falling arches). are particularly at risk as the biomechanics of the foot pronating causes additional stretching of the plantar fascia.

What Causes Plantar Fasciitis?

The most common cause of plantar fasciitis is very tight calf muscles which leads to prolonged and / or high velocity pronation of the foot. This in turn produces repetitive over-stretching of the plantar fascia leading to possible inflammation and thickening of the tendon. As the fascia thickens it looses flexibility and strength.

Overpronation causes stress to the foot, ankle, knee, hips, and lower back.  It causes the foot to flatten, which stresses the fascia.

Excessive walking in footwear which does not provide adequate arch support has been attributed to plantar fasciitis. In addition, overweight individuals are more at risk of developing the condition due to the excess weight impacting on the foot.

What can YOU do?

• Apply ice or cryotherapy to help reduce pain and inflammation. Cold therapy can be applied regularly until symptoms have resolved.
• Get your arches checked by a licensed professional to see if they overpronate.
• Stretch the plantar fascia is an important part of treatment and prevention. Simply reducing pain and inflammation alone is unlikely to result in long term recovery. The plantar fascia tightens up making the origin at the heel more susceptible to stress.
• A night splint is an excellent product which is worn overnight and gently stretches the calf muscles and plantar fascia preventing it from tightening up overnight.

What WE can do:

• Perform an anlysis of your feet and ankles to find the severity of overpronation contributing to plantar fascitis.
• Adjust and manipulate the joints of the foot to reduce pain, increase mobility and restore the foot's normal movement pattern.
• Help you get custom, comfortable orthotics, designed for your feet to help in preventing arch drop and worsening of the condition.
• KinesioTape the foot and arch to allow proper mobility while keeping optimal support to the area.
• Apply sports soft tissue release to reduce the tension in the plantar fascia and also stretch the calf muscles.
• Specialized exercise program to strengthen weakness and correct complicating imbalances.
• Ultrasound therapy to help increase cell healing and speed up recovery time.
• X-ray if neccessary to rule out other causes of the foot pain. 
• Enpower you to overcome your condition, and create a healthier, happier you :)