Pain In the Heel

In my podiatry practice, I see many patients that complain about heel pain. They usually say that the pain feels like sharp stab or deep ache in the middle of the heel or along the arch.  They complain about hobbling first thing in the morning when they get out of bed.  There is actually a name for this condition, it is called plantar fasciitis.

So What Causes Plantar Fasciitis?

  

Plantar fasciitis is caused by a drastic or sudden increases in mileage, poor foot structure, or inappropriate running shoes, which can overload the plantar fascia, the connective tissue that runs from the heel to the base of the toes. Even though the plantar fascia may look like a series of fat rubber bands, it is not, it is made of collagen, a rigid protein that's not very stretchy.  The pain occurs when the plantar fascia tugs on point of its insertion on the heel bone (the calcaneus).   Taking that first step in the morning, can causes sudden strain on the the plantar fascia.  can recur after long spells of sitting, but it tends to fade during activity, once the area is warmed up. The stress of overuse, overpronation, or overused shoes can rip tiny tears in it, causing pain and inflammation, a.k.a. plantar fasciitis.

Prevention and treatment of plantar fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis can be a nagging problem, which gets worse and more difficult to treat the longer it's present. To prevent plantar fasciitis if you are a runner, you should run on soft surfaces, keep mileage increases to less than 10 percent per week, and visit a specialty running shop to make sure you're wearing the proper shoes for your foot type and gait. It's also important to stretch the plantar fascia and Achilles tendon.

At the first sign of soreness, you should use this mnemonic Rest Ice (roll a frozen bottle of water under your foot) Compression and Elevate.    Also you should massage the plantar fascia by rolling a golf ball under your foot .   You need to decrease the area of inflammation at the area of insertion of the plantar  fascia on the heel bone, any sort of anti-inflammatory medicine will work (Advil, Motrin, Alleve, to name a few).  The last and most important step is you need to stretch the plantar fascia.  I have attach a great video on a stretch exercise that will help

And remember plantar fascitiis is a chronic condition that takes time to heel.