Plantar Fasciitis is the most common cause of heel pain (5). If you have ever experienced pain in your heel it may have been Plantar Fasciitis.
What is Plantar Fasciitis?
Plantar fasciitis is the degenerative irritation of the plantar fascia, a long thick band of connective tissue running across the soles of your feet connecting your heel to the base of your toes (1-2, 5). It is a crucial part of your foot, helping support the arch of the foot, playing an important role in foot mechanics during movement and acting as a shock absorber to the high stresses and strains we place on our feet when walking, dancing, running, playing sports etc.
The cause of plantar fasciitis is multi-factoral. Due to the functions of the plantar fascia, the pressure placed on the foot can overuse, damage or tear the tissue. The body’s response to injury is inflammation, resulting in heel pain and stiffness.
Risk factors for Plantar Fasciitis
- Undertaking a new or increased activity
- Undertaking repetitive high impact activity (running/dancing/sports)
- Prolonged standing on hard surfaces (seen among certain professions such as nurses)
- Anatomy (flat feet or a high arch)
- Tight calf muscles
- Being overweight or Obese
- Age (plantar fasciitis is most common among people aged 40 to 60)
- Pregnancy
Symptoms of Plantar Fasciitis?
The most common symptom with plantar fasciitis is pain with the first few steps out of bed in the morning, or after a period of long rest (ie a car/train/plane ride) (2, 3). It normally eases after a few steps and typically only affects one foot (though it can occur in both).
The pain is located on the bottom of the foot close to the heel, and you can experience greater pain after (not during) exercise or an activity.
Some people with plantar fasciitis will have a heel spur, which can be caused by prolonged tension on the plantar fascia insertion (where the plantar fascia attaches to the heel) and is typically a symptom of plantar fasciitis not the cause. These heel spurs are normally painless and since they are not the cause of plantar fasciitis do not require removal (1, 5).
How can Spine help?
In our experience, plantar fasciitis is often not the underlying cause of pain and is often a site of compensation for a misalignment elsewhere in the body. These misalignments cause the foot to compensate by overstretching or taking additional stress which, over time, leads to initial inflammation, pain and degeneration of the plantar fascia. This has led to plantar fascia being called a degenerative process which highlights the importance of not ignoring and addressing the underlying cause.
Unfortunately in most cases the pain in the foot causes people to adapt how they walk to reduce the pain, which in turn places extra strain and stress on other parts of the body causing pain. Therefore ignoring, or masking the problem with supports and anti-inflammatories can cause injury to other parts of the body, most commonly knees, hips and back.
Our ABC Practitioners are experts in addressing misalignments in the body, allowing your body to function the way it was designed.
Speak to our team today if you are suffering from heel pain.
References
- Buchanan BK, Sina RE, Kushner D. Plantar Fasciitis. [Updated 2024 Jan 7]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK431073/#
- Ravindra P, Prakash C, Degenerative plantar fasciitis: A review of current concepts,The Foot, Vol 17 (1) 2007 pp 3-9, ISSN 0958-2592, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foot.2006.07.005
- Singh D, Angel J, Bentley G, Trevino SG. Fortnightly review. Plantar fasciitis. BMJ. 1997 Jul 19;315(7101):172-5. doi: 10.1136/bmj.315.7101.172. PMID: 9251550; PMCID: PMC2127118.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9251550/
- Clinton J. Daniels, Adam P. Morrell, Chiropractic management of pediatric plantar fasciitis: a case report, Journal of Chiropractic Medicine, Vol 11 (1), 2012, pp 58-63, ISSN 1556-3707, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcm.2011.06.009.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1556370711001635
Lemont H, Ammirati KM, Usen N. Plantar fasciitis: a degenerative process (fasciosis) without inflammation. J Am Podiatr Med Assoc. 2003 May-Jun;93(3):234-7. doi: 10.7547/87507315-93-3-234. PMID: 12756315.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12756315/
