What is Plantar Fasciitis?
What is Plantar Fasciitis?
Plantar fasciitis is a common cause of heel pain. It involves inflammation and micro-trauma to a thick band of the facia that runs across the bottom of your foot and connects your heel bone to your toes.
Plantar fasciitis causes pain that can occur with your first few steps in the morning; but as you get up and move, the pain normally decreases.
This issue is common in runners, people who wear shoes with inadequate support, who stand or walk a lot for work, or people with certain foot mechanics/shapes may be more susceptible to plantar fasciitis.
What are the symptoms of Plantar Fasciitis?
Typically causes a pain on the bottom of your foot near the heel. Often it will be worse first thing in the morning, after long periods of standing or walking or after exercising.
Causes
Plantar fascia acts like a shock-absorbing bowstring, supporting the arch of your foot. If tension and stress on that bowstring become too great, small tears can arise in the fascia. Repetitive stretching and tearing can cause the fascia to become irritated or inflamed.
Complications
Ignoring this condition may result in chronic heel pain that hinders your regular activities. It could change the way you walk to minimize pain and that might lead to foot, knee, hip or back issues as a secondary complication.
Treatment
Consult with a physiotherapist to first diagnose accurately if it is in fact the plantar fasciitis giving you your pain. Then the physiotherapist may offer a number of options as a solution such as stretching, strengthening, manual therapy, general pain relief advice, and possibly shockwave therapy to aid in the healing process – which we are fortunate enough to have access to in our clinic, (not many clinics have a shockwave machine).
Call Burrard Physiotherapy to speak to one of our staff if you believe you are dealing with this condition, we can help! 1-604-684-1640
