| Description:
When your first few steps out of bed in the morning cause severe pain in the heel of your foot, you may have plantar fasciitis (fashee-EYE-tiss). It's an overuse injury affecting the sole or flexor surface (plantar) of the foot. A diagnosis of plantar fasciitis means you have inflamed the tough, fibrous band of tissue (fascia) connecting your heel bone to the base of your toes.
You're more likely to get the condition if you're a woman, if you're overweight, or if you have a job that requires a lot of walking or standing on hard surfaces. You're also at risk if you walk or run for exercise, especially if you have tight calf muscles that limit how far you can flex your ankles. People with very flat feet or very high arches are also more prone to plantar fasciitis.
The condition starts gradually with mild pain at the heel bone often referred to as a stone bruise. You're more likely to feel it after (not during) exercise. The pain classically occurs again after arising from a midday lunch break.
If you don't treat plantar fasciitis, it may become a chronic condition. You may not be able to keep up your level of activity and you may also develop symptoms of foot, knee, hip and back problems because of the way plantar fasciitis changes the way you walk.
Problems it causes:
The primary symptom of Metatarsalgia is pain at one or more of the metatarsal heads. Diffuse forefoot pain and mid foot pain are often present in athletes with combinations of high-impact inflammatory conditions.
- Pain typically is aggravated during the mid stance and propulsion phases of walking or running.
- A history of gradual chronic onset is more common than acute presentation. Chronic symptoms may be of gradual onset over 6 months.
- Morton neuroma (inter-digital neuroma) produces symptoms of Metatarsalgia due to irritation and inflammation of the digital nerve located in the web space between the metatarsal heads. Patients with Morton neuroma may complain of toe numbness, in addition to pain in the forefoot. The term Morton neuroma is a misnomer because no neuroma truly exists. Rather, the lesion results from a mechanical entrapment neuropathy.
- Pain and tenderness are experienced on the plantar surface of the metatarsal head, which often is accompanied by the development of a callus formation (plantar keratosis).
What Causes It:
- Lack of arch support
- Elongation of the arch
- Increasing age
- Sudden weight increase
- Sudden increase in activity level
- Standing for long periods
- Running with lack of support
- Non supportive shoes
How to help the pain:
Rest is the first treatment for plantar fasciitis. Try to keep weight off your foot until the inflammation goes away. You can also apply ice to the sore area for 20 minutes three or four times a day to relieve your symptoms. Often a doctor will prescribe nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication such as ibuprofen. A program of home exercises to stretch your Achilles tendon and plantar fascia are the mainstay of treating the condition and lessening the chance of recurrence.
People with Plantar Fasciitis should never go bare foot even around the house. When a person with this condition gets out of the bed in the morning the first few steps are very painful. This is because the Plantar Fascia is stretched with out proper support while stepping barefoot out of bed. This aggravation each morning will reduce or eliminate any chance of healing.
It is highly recommended that a person steps out of bed straight into shoes, sandals, or slippers with adequate support so the fascia tissue is not strained. If a person experiences pain out of bed in the morning then there is not enough support in the arch. Once a person is ready for their every day shoes or work shoes it is important they have equal or more support in the arch. Following are shoes and orthotics that have in most cases supported the arch enough to reduce or eliminate the pain of Plantar Fasciitis. |