What is it?
Plantar fasciitis is the most common cause of heel pain in adults and has been documented since ancient times. It is a painful condition of the plantar fascia which is a long ligament that’s role is to pretty much support the arch of the foot. The pain is most often near where it attaches to the the bottom of the heel bone. The classic symptom of plantar fasciitis is that it is most painful after rest. This can be especially bad when getting out of bed in the morning after a nights rest.
How to manage it?
There are lots of myths and bad advice being given online as well as snake oil being sold for plantar fasciitis. There is no one magic cure, but rather a suite of treatments that should be aimed at it simultaneously. As the condition is due to too much load on the plantar fascia, so obviously the best way to treat it is to reduce that load. You do that by lots of calf muscle stretching, wearing good foot supports and if you can, loose weight. Night splints can be helpful to stretch the calf muscles and the plantar fascia. Activity levels (eg at work or sport) may need to be reduced in the short term and then gradually increased, It is that simple. If you get that right, it will generally go away. If it doesn’t, then do more of it and then also add in some heat packs, anti-inflammatories and other physical therapies to help it heal. However, it is still crucial that the load is reduced. Once it starts to get better then add in some strengthening exercises.
That it!:
1. Reduce the load
2. Get some pain relief
3. Strengthen the arch muscles
When to see the doctor?
If none of that helps, then its time to see the doctor for more aggressive therapies such a proper foot orthotics, shock wave therapy or even surgery in the most resistant cases.