Does pain in the bottom of your foot keep you from being active? Is the pain worse in the mornings or after you have been sitting for a while? You may be suffering from plantar fasciitis.
Plantar fasciitis is due to damage of the plantar fascia, which is a strong band of connective tissue on the bottom of your feet.
The plantar fascia supports the arches of your feet and spreads your weight evenly through your feet. This helps you stand, walk, and run without difficulty.
Plantar fasciitis has several causes, including: prolonged standing, walking or running on hard surfaces, being overweight, foot or ankle injuries, high or low arches in your feet, and wearing unsupportive shoes, to name a few. If there is misalignment of the bones in your feet, this can add to the stresses on the plantar fascia.
Symptoms of plantar fasciitis are pain in the bottom of the foot. The pain may be at the heel or in the bottom of the arch. The pain is typically worse in the mornings or when getting up after prolonged sitting. Left untreated, plantar fasciitis can lead to heel spurs, which are a deposit of calcium on the bottom of your heel. If this occurs, your pain may worsen.
Common treatments for plantar fasciitis are rest, ice, compression, stretches, painkillers, and orthotic shoe inserts. However, because a common cause of plantar fasciitis is misalignments of the bones in the feet, chiropractic adjustments of the feet are effective in correcting the underlying cause of the pain. Other effective treatments include laser therapy and shockwave therapy. Laser therapy helps to decrease the pain and it helps to accelerate the healing process. Shockwave therapy helps to break up scar tissue, increases blood flow to the damaged tissues, and also helps accelerate healing.
If you suffer from plantar fasciitis, it is important to decrease your immediate pain. However, you must also correct the underlying cause to achieve long-term relief.
