Your Heel Pain may not be just any Pain, meet Plantar Fasciitis

Your foot can be troubled with a special problem known as Plantar Fasciitis; the pain at the bottom of your foot is not just any normal pain. Understand what the underlying cause is for them.

The Plantar Fascia runs across the bottom of your foot and goes on to connect your heel bone to your middle foot bones and supports the arch of your foot and also acts as a shock absorber in your foot. Plantar Fasciitis involves pain and inflammation of a thick band of tissue and is one of the most common causes for heel pain. It is believed that repeated small injuries to the fascia with or even without inflammation is the cause of Plantar Fasciitis. The injury is commonly found near to where the Plantar Fascia attaches to the heel bone. Found particularly in among runners, people who are overweight, women who are pregnant and those who wear shoes without any adequate support.

The Effect of Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar Fasciitis as you can understand affects the foot, but how does it turn the normal into the abnormal?

Foot Pain

The pain which is associated with Plantar Fasciitis is often most acute when you are walking and this pain improves within 5-10 minutes only again to reappear later. The pain gets worse during the push-off or propulsive phase of gait. It is also possible that your Plantar Fascia would tear causing you a lot of pain, along with swelling in affected areas. People also experience a burning pain along the insides of the foot while walking.

Quality of Life

Decreased quality of life is a significant effect of Plantar Fasciitis and with progression the pain associated with it may begin to interfere with your daily activities. Some people complain that they are unable to walk long distances when the symptoms arise. For athletes it is most distressing as they cannot pursue their passion and their career. It is advised that a prolong period of inactivity is needed for recovery.

Ankle, Knee, Hip, and Back Pain

Plantar Fasciitis can affect another part of the body, including the ankle, knee, hip and back. This is a side effect that is common in runner and hikers. The pain that is associated with Plantar Fasciitis causes a person to walk on his or her toes or even alter running gait and stride. This gait alterations in turn causes further damage to the foot, inducing problems in a healthy foot or lead to ankle, knee, hip and back pain.

Is it Common?

Plantar Fasciitis is common and is found in around 1 in 10 people who will get the disease at some time in their life. Unfortunately this is most common in people who are in the ages of 40 to 60 years, but it can occur at any age. It is twice as common in women as it is in men and of course quite common among athletes.

The pain is believed to ease with time, but the fascia tissue much like the ligament tissue is very slow to heal. A combination of different therapies may help you. Apart from this you could rest your foot, put on proper footwear, and ask your physiotherapists to teach you exercises that would ease the pain and heal your tissue.

Read more articles on Plantar Fasciitis