Plantar Fasciitis

Overview of Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis (commonly known as plantar fasciosis, plantar fasciopathy, jogger's heel, heel spur syndrome or ایڑی کا درد) is the inflammation of thick tissue at the bottom of your foot, connecting the heel bone to your toes. It is the most common cause of heel pain and makes a walk difficult.

Mostly runners, overweight people, and those who wear unsupportive shoes plantar fasciitis.

Doctors Treating Plantar Fasciitis

207 Doctors Available

Signs and Symptoms of Plantar Fasciitis

Heel pain at the bottom of the foot is considered to be the main symptom of plantar fasciitis.

Plantar fasciitis heel pain can worsen when you:

  • Stands for a long time
  • Do vigorous exercise, but happens after exercise, not during it
  • Take a few steps in the morning

 

 

Types of Plantar Fasciitis

Causes of Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis occurs when the foot heel is under stress. It generates heel pain and the pain is increased during:

  • Sports activities, such as running, dancing, and aerobics
  • Wearing  high arches shoes or having stiff sole shoes
  • Middle-aged or the older population
  • Overweight/Obesity
  • Pregnancy
  • Jobs that demand standing and walking for a long time, for example, factory workers, teachers, etc.
Happniness

Risk Factors of Plantar Fasciitis

Studies reveal the fact that fascia supports the muscles. It also provides support to the arch of your foot. The overly stretched condition can lead to tiny tears on its surface. Such a condition leads to pain and inflammation.

Here are some risk factors of plantar fasciitis:

  • Obesity
  • Gender, especially female
  • Age from 40 to 60
  • Unusual walk
  • High arches
  • Flat feet
  • Tight Achilles tendons
  • Standing for hours
  • Wearing thin soles shoes
  • High-heeled shoes

Health Complications Due to Plantar Fasciitis

People who leave the plantar fasciitis untreated may experience chronic heel pain that can interfere with their daily life activities. Sudden change in the position of your foot can cause pain in the back, hip, and knee.

Happniness

Prevention

To prevent the trigger condition of plantar fasciitis, here are some effective tips:

  • Buy yourself supportive shoes
  • Stretch your arches
  • Maintain a healthy weight
  • Think about other sport
  • Avoid the use of worn-out athletic shoes
  • Low-impact exercise
Happniness

Diagnosis

Plantar fasciitis diagnosis depends upon your clinical history and physical assessment. During diagnosis, the healthcare provider will check for regions of delicacy in your foot. The area of pain can be used to detect the root cause of plantar fasciitis. It can be identified through different imaging tests like MRI, and X-rays.

Treatment of Plantar Fasciitis | When to Consult a Doctor

People who suffer from plantar fasciitis may recover in several months with home remedies, physiotherapy, pain reliever drugs, or surgical procedures in case of chronic conditions.

Here is how these treatments work:

Pain Reliever Drugs

Pain relievers such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) and naproxen sodium (Aleve) help to reduce the pain and inflammation caused by plantar fasciitis. 

(Note: Make sure to only take medication as recommended by your medical practitioner)

Physiotherapies for Plantar Fasciitis

Physiotherapy is one of the effective treatments for plantar fasciitis. These therapies include:

  • Physical Therapy: A physiotherapist may recommend to patients a series of exercises for stretching and strengthening the lower leg muscles.
  • Night Splints: It is a plaster that helps maintain the level of the foot at 90 degrees effectively so that patients can easily stretch their feet.
  • Orthotics. The physiotherapist also recommends off-the-shelf or custom-fitted arch supports used for maintaining the pressure on the patient's foot properly. 

Surgical Treatment

Surgical procedures are recommended when other physical therapies, medications, or home remedies don’t work.

  • Injections: Steroid injection is used for temporary pain relief. Platelet-rich plasma extracted from a patient's blood can also be injected for tissue healing. 
  • Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy: This technique is to be given for chronic plantar fasciitis when it does not respond to other mild treatments. In this, sound waves are hit at the affected area of the heel in order to heal the condition.
  • Surgery: When other treatments have failed and the patient feels severe pain, then surgery is the last option recommended to the patient. 

Plantar Fasciitis Home Remedies

Following are some of the home remedies that can help you with plantar fasciitis:

  1. For 15 minutes, apply an ice pack on the affected area of pain twice or thrice times a day. It helps reduce inflammation and pain.
  2. Essential oils are beneficial for the treatment of plantar fasciitis at home such as lavender essential oil, lemongrass essential oil, eucalyptus oil, rose essential oil. These oils become a reduction in inflammation and pain. It's not only you apply these essential oils at the bottom of the foot to reduce the pain but also inhale it in the form of steam by mixing with hot water.
  3. Another amazing remedy is to stabilize your foot with tape for pain relief.