Plantar Fasciitis
What is plantar fasciitis?
Do you have pain in your heel when you stand up for the first time in the morning? Does it feel like a knife or a pin sticking into the bottom of your foot? Then you may have plantar fasciitis. The pain feels like a knife or a pin sticking into the bottom of the foot. After you've been standing for a while, the pain becomes more like a dull ache. If you sit down for any length of time, the sharp pain will come back when you stand up again.
What is the plantar fascia?
The plantar fascia is a band of tissue, much like a ligament, on the bottom of your foot. It works like a rope and pulley between the heel and the ball of your foot to form the arch of your foot. If the band is short, you'll have a high arch, and if it's long, you'll have a low arch, what some people call flat feet. A pad of fat in your heel covers the plantar fascia to help absorb the shock of walking.
The older you get, the plantar fascia becomes more like a rope that doesn't stretch very well. The fat pad on the heel also becomes thinner and can't absorb as much of the shock caused by walking. The extra shock damages the plantar fascia. Damage to the plantar fascia may cause it to swell, tear or bruise. You may notice a bruise on your heel or swelling in your heel.
Treatment
If you have either flat feet or a high arch, we will provide you with the correct type of orthotics for your specific foot type.
We will also look at your lifestyle as part of our Lifestyle Management programme. If you are overweight, losing weight can help lessen your heel pain. If your job involves standing on a hard floor or standing in one spot for long periods, we will help you with ergonomics in your workplace.
We will advise you on the most appropriate exercises to help reduce the pain of plantar fasciitis. We can also suggest other treatments, such as wearing splints on your foot at night, taping your foot or having injections of corticosteroids (anti-inflammatory medicines) into the plantar fascia. In a few cases, surgery is needed. We will help you decide which treatment is best for you.
Chiropody Treatment