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What’s Plantar Fasciitis?
Plantar Fasciitis is an overuse injury caused by micro trauma to the Plantar Fascia – a tendinous attachment
beneath the foot. 10% of the population will have plantar fasciitis at any given time.
What causes Plantar Fasciitis to flare up?
Plantar Fascia pain is caused by micro tearing of the tendon at the heel – this is known as a tendinopathy.
A tendinopathy is an irritation to the the tendon that becomes damaged, but doesn’t have time to heal before
it suffers more irritation.
People at risk of Plantar Fasciitis tend to be on their feet a lot:
- school teachers
- runners (third most common running injury)
- nurses
- hospitality workers
- high body mass (50% risk increase)
Hormonal change in middle age can also weaken the collagen structure of the tendon – which increases the risk
of tendinopathies like plantar fasciitis.
Footwear contributes a lot to plantar fasciitis. Many studies have shown rapid improvement in studies, just by
inserting a $20 silicon heel pad into your shoes.
What Plantar Fasciitis feels like?
- Pain with the first few steps after rest (typically the morning)
- Pain with increased physical exercise
- Pain with prolonged standing
Plantar Fasciitis is usually noticeable on the first few steps after rest or being seated. The pain is frequently described as “like walking on broken glass” – especially in the morning.
Left untreated, plantar fasciitis has been associated with heel spurs, a calcified growth in the heel which is excruciatingly painful to walk on.
Plantar Fasciitis treatment – are massages good for plantar fasciitis?
- Expert plantar fasciitis massage can immediately reduce plantar fasciitis pain by reducing muscular tension in the calves which are causing tension in the plantar fascia tendon.
- Rubbing the plantar fascia itself is of limited value, however releasing the muscle tension in the lower leg will usually have an immediate impact on pain reduction.
- A remedial massage therapist can show you how to keep your calves from becoming tight again after your plantar fasciitis massage.
- Performing simple modified calf raises has been PROVEN to change the pain generating chemical makeup in the reactive tendon. Without going into biochemistry too deeply, these exercises help make the collagen of the tendon more stable and able to withstand load – while immediately reducing pain
- Over the counter heal inserts have been shown to de-load the plantar fascia and resolve pain in early plantar fasciitis.
Long standing Plantar Fasciitis (12months or longer) – particularly where excess weight is a contributing factor – will require orthotics to made by a podiatrist.
Reduce Your Plantar Fasiciitis at Home!
What shouldn’t I do for Plantar Fasciitis?
- Don’t get cortisone injections. Cortisone may provide temporary relief but has been proven to weaken the collagen of the tendon more – creating a CHRONIC problem.
- Don’t ignore the symptoms – it can take up to 2 years for the condition to resolve on its own – if you work on your feet or are a high body mass individual – plantar fasciitis may never ease without clinical intervention.
Who should you see for plantar fasciitis?
The sooner you act on heel pain caused by plantar fasciitis, the easier it is to resolve. The first person you should see is a Remedial Massage Therapist for Expert Plantar Fasciitis Massage. Changing the muscle tension in the lower leg, learning the best stretches to keep the lower leg muscles loose, finding the best exercise to improve the angry reactive tendon causing the pain and learning about a heel pad will make a long painful journey much, much shorter.
Get back on your feet again!
https://www.ouh.nhs.uk/patient-guide/leaflets/files/49007Pfasciitis.pdf
https://sma.org.au/resources-advice/injury-fact-sheets/plantar-fasciitis/
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/plantar-fasciitis/symptoms-causes/syc-20354846
https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-q-and-a-treating-plantar-fasciitis/
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/foot-problems-heel-pain
https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/plantar-fasciitis
https://www.abc.net.au/radio/hobart/programs/saturdays/air:-medical-matters—plantar-fasciitis/11126060
https://www.nytimes.com/guides/well/activity/treat-plantar-fasciitis
https://www.latrobe.edu.au/news/articles/2019/release/heel-pain-to-jab-or-not-to-jab
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8133876/
https://www.omt-deutschland.de/files/public/Downloads/Fraser%20et%20al.,%202018%20-%20Does%20manual%20therapy%20improve%20pain%20and%20function%20in%20patients%20with%20plantar%20fasciitis%20-%20systematic%20review.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6917457/
https://www.rmj.org.pk/fulltext/27-1441121466.pdf
https://www.lumhs.edu.pk/jlumhs/Vol15No03/pdfs/08.pdf
https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.453.3495&rep=rep1&type=pdf
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