Heel pain and the plantar fascia, what can you do?
Do you or someone you know experience heel pain? If you are interested in learning how you can manage your heel pain, contact one of our physiotherapists at Foundation Physiotherapy and Wellness or keep reading!
Heel pain can have a huge impact on your life! Although there are many possible causes of heel pain, one common is plantar fasciitis.
Plantar Fascia – What is it?
The plantar fascia is a dense connective tissue (sheet) with multiple layers extending from your heel to the metatarsals (balls of the feet). This inelastic band is important for increasing your foot arch as it helps lock the foot to help you walk effectively. It plays a protective function and is important for absorbing stresses and pressures on the soles of your feet.
Is it plantar fasciitis or plantar fasciosis?
Irritation or injury can lead to plantar fasciitis and plantar fasciosis.
Plantar Fasciitis is inflammation to the plantar fascia, caused by repetitive strains and micro-tearing of the plantar fascia OR from falling/jumping from a height. This can result in pain, heat, or swelling in the heel or along the arch of the foot.
Plantar Fasciosis is chronic heel pain resulting from deterioration of the plantar fascia, typically associated with repetitive stresses to the plantar fascia over time. The fascia becomes weaker, more injury prone, and likely to become inflamed. This can result in months to years of heel pain.
Overall the primary causes of both is overload to the plantar fascia, such as from prolonged walking or running. Factors that may make you more likely to overload or irritate your plantar fascia are:
- Stiff feet
- Weak calf muscles
- Inappropriate or unsupportive shoes
- Flat feet (pes planus) or high arches (pes cavus)
- Jobs that requires a lot of standing
- Sudden increase in activity level (walking, running, etc.)
- Increased body weight
Signs and symptoms of plantar fasciitis
- Local point of tenderness along the inside of the heel
- Pain on the first steps in the morning
- Heel pain after a period of inactivity or with prolonged standing or walking
Can either be treated? Will physiotherapy help?
Fortunately, most cases can be successfully treated with conservative care and YES physiotherapy is an excellent way to decrease plantar fascia associated pain.
With a thorough clinical examination your foundation physiotherapist can deduce whether plantar fasciitis is the culprit of your heel pain. From there sessions involve education on the plantar fascia, manual therapy and mobilizations, soft tissue massage, and ankle stretches to help decrease the pain and improve function. Finally, a unique exercise program tailored to your lifestyle and occupation is developed.
Other treatment techniques can involve footwear modification education and/or assessing for orthotic, both of which can be done at the clinic.
Moving forward with heel pain relief
A huge part of physical therapy is education on self-management to get you back on your feet (pun intended) and doing things as independently as possible again with minimal pain and optimal function.
Many times if the underlying problems are not addressed the symptoms can return. Book an appointment with our physical therapists today to find out how you can reclaim your feet!
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