White Rock Footcare | Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar Fasciitis

Your plantar fascia is a strand of connective tissue that spans from your heel to your toes.

When there is repeated overuse or stress on the plantar fascia, which can come due to excessive arch collapse, flat feet, or overpronation, there can be micro tears in the plantar fascia at the connection point with the heel.

Symptoms include:
Sharp pain at the heel/arch when first standing in the morning or standing after prolonged sitting. Arch and heel soreness with prolonged standing is also a common symptom.

Treatments:
Orthotics are the main form of treatment for plantar fasciitis. They help to support the arch and relieve stress from the plantar fascia so that you can go about your day-to-day business while your body repairs the damaged site. Please refer to the treatment suggestions below for a comprehensive list of additional treatment options.

You WILL recover faster if you follow these 6 treatment suggestions:

Calf Stretching
This is crucial because the tighter the calf muscle is, the more stress there will be on your plantar fascia. Stretch each calf muscle 3 times (3 sets), once a day, and hold the stretch for 30 seconds, no less. Switch and stretch the other calf.

Footwear 24/7
Wear quality shoes in and out of the house. If your shoes are over a year old you probably need new ones. People remain injured because they walk around in poor quality shoes or bare foot at home. Wearing quality shoes will help to take stress off your foot. Any shoe that has a firm sole (not slippers) will work. If it has arch support in it, even better. Tip: Birkenstock sandals have arch
support built into them, they’re great for at home.

Arch Support
Get a good pair of “off-the-shelf” (OTS) arch supports to wear in your shoes. OTS supports may be good enough for some, but custom orthotics are what many people end up with. Pros: they last longer, they are tailored to your body’s exact needs and shape, and they will almost always show you a quicker recovery time. Check you medical insurance before purchasing custom orthotics.

Ice Your Foot
When your heel is sore, ice it! Ice is a natural way to decrease your body’s inflammation, this means you are taking less pills to control pain. Never leave ice on for more than 10-15 minutes. Tip: freeze a water bottle and roll your foot on it.

Massage Your Feet
Roll a ball, foot massager, or even a can of soup on the bottom of your foot. This will keep the soft tissue on the bottom (plantar) of your foot loose. A few minutes on the injured foot/feet a day should help a lot. Tip: Do it before you get up in the morning.

Rest
You may not be able to stop work, but you can definitely hold off on any exercising for a few days to allow your foot to repair itself.

Your doctor may have other treatment suggestions to add to these.