Plantar Fasciitis

What is Plantar Fasciitis?

Inflammation of the arch tendon or plantar fascia of the foot is called Plantar Fasciitis. This injury is caused by overuse and begins as heel pain that radiates out towards the foot. This injury is also known as a heel spur although heel spur and plantar fasciitis are not exactly the same. A heel spur is a bony growth that occurs at the attachment of the plantar fascia to the heel bone (calcaneus).

Repeated pulling of the plantar fascia can cause a heel spur on a foot with no symptoms at all and a painful heel can have no heel spur present. The Plantar Fascia tendon is a broad, thick band of tissue that runs from under the heel to the front of the foot. Sometimes the rupture can occur at the origin of the arch ligament and result in inflammation and pain.

What are the symptoms of plantar fasciitis

• Pain under the heel and usually on the inside, at the origin of the attachment of the fascia.
• Pain along the outside border of the heel may also be a sign, this can be caused by the offloading the painful side of the heel by walking on the outside of the foot and by the high impact of landing on the outside caused by high arched feet.
• Pain is usually worse first thing in the morning. After a few minutes it eases as the foot gets warmed up, but can get worse again during the day especially if walking a lot.

Heel spur and Plantar fasciitis are common in sports which involve running, dancing or jumping. Runners whose feet excessively pronate (feet rolling in or flattening) are particularly at risk as the biomechanics of the foot pronating causes additional stretching of the plantar fascia.

What causes Plantar fasciitis?

Very tight calf muscles are the predominant cause of plantar fasciitis. The repetitive over stretching of the plantar fascia caused by tight calf muscles leads to inflammation and thickening of the tendon. As the fascia thickens it loses flexibility and strength.

Other causes include high arch or low arch feet (pes cavus / planus) and other biomechanical abnormalities which should be assessed by a podiatrist / physiotherapist / biomechanist.

Useful Products:

• ColdOne Plantar Fasciitis Wrap - Apply ice or cold therapy to help reduce pain and inflammation.
• Plantar Fasciitis Night Splint - Gently stretches the calf and plantar fascia whilst sleeping.

Please visit the Virtual Sports Injury Clinic for more information on how to treat Plantar Fasciitis and other causes of foot pain.