Plantar Fasciitis - Common Symptoms of Plantar Fasciitis

Most frequent symptoms of plantar fasciitis are a strong burning (as if someone is holding a match to the bottom of your foot) or sharp pain in the arch of the foot, usually close to the heel. You may also experience pain behind your toes, and sometimes across the bottom of your foot.

Plantar fasciitis sufferers most frequently report pain after short periods of rest and can be the most painful when you awake in the morning but the pain may start to subside as your feet warm up. The most common and sure sign of plantar fasciitis is painful feet in the morning. If you catch yourself frequently saying to yourself in the morning, "My feet are killing me", there is significant possibility that you suffer from plantar fasciitis.

If you are on your feet for an extended period of time than you are accustomed to, or walk or run on different terrain than you normally would, you may entice a bout of plantar fasciitis. Plantar fasciitis pain will flare up and be at its worst usually the day after these rare occurrences.

Below is a list of common conditions that sometimes get categorized as plantar fasciitis:

• The pain of bursitis is only experienced quite far back on the heel. 
• If at night, you experience radiating, burning pain, numbness and tingling, the root cause is more likely to be something other than plantar fasciitis. 
• Tarsal tunnel syndrome in particular causes diffuse symptoms all over the bottom of the foot. 
• You experience extreme pain in your foot the longer you are on your feet, then you may very well have a stress fracture and you should seek immediate medical help. 
• Your heel bone maybe bruised from a sudden blow or impact of your heel to a solid force and can quite often feel like plantar fasciitis. 
• A condition called "fat pad syndrome" involves wasting away of the softness on the bottom of the heel.

Similar symptoms of plantar fasciitis can be also confused with the following conditions:

• A tumor in the heel bone would cause a deeper, duller pain than plantar fasciitis, and of course other signs of failing health as things get worse. 
• A disease called Paget's disease also causes foot pain - but is associated with bowed shin bones, a hunchback, and headaches. 
• Calcaneal apophysitis (Sever's disease) occurs only in adolescents and is limited to the back of the heel, where plantar fasciitis never goes.

Plantar fasciitis is as just as stubborn as all the other repetitive strain injuries. Once it sets in, it's not uncommon to have a recovery time as much as 2 years. The secret to success in beating and treating any injury is to avoid poor medical advice and to try to work around a limb of the body that we depend and rely on so much. Most health professionals do not believe that the condition is inherently slow-healing, just awkward to treat. Be sure to check out this great plantar fasciitis resource, especially if you are suffering from foot pain and want a step-by-step program to beat it.

Plantar Fasciitis - Can Also Cause Inflammation of the Heel

Plantar fasciitis is a painful intolerable inflammation of the heel wherein a person develops severe pain from the toes to the arch of the heel. It is a very common injury of the runners and also people who are prone to a lot of physical exercises like walking, running and heightened durations of standing frequently suffer from this kind of swelling.

There are many potent causes of plantar fasciitis like an anomaly in the structure of a person's feet, which can make him more vulnerable to such inflammations. Moreover, due to a deformity in the biochemical composition of the feet of a person like weak calf muscles he may develop ligaments which can cause agonizing pain in his heels. The sudden start of arthritis is also a major cause of Plantar fasciitis.

The other relevant reason for plantar fasciitis is wearing poorly structured shoes, which fail to provide an important buffer to your heels resulting in such afflictions. These kinds of shoes lead to an imbalanced exertion of pressure on the wearer's arch and ball of the feet.

Excessive weight gain during a short period of time can also lead to the suffering of plantar fasciitis. There are many kinds of effective plantar fasciitis exercises, which can be very effectual in relieving your foot pain, if done properly. To get rid of the foot pain in Plantar fasciitis, immediately consult a suitable podiatrist who can thoroughly diagnose your condition and recommend effective medications.

There is an array of reliable plantar fasciitis exercises that can be done on the advice of your podiatrist along with application of ice to the swelled area for a minimum duration of 10-15 minutes at least three times a day to get rid of the throbbing pain.

The use of NSAID's Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen can also help in lessening of piercing pain. Moreover, your doctor will also suggest some plantar fasciitis stretches, which can make you feel the foot pain lesser and recuperate from this agonizing affliction. The best way to get relief yourself from plantar fasciitis is to refrain from any kind of physical activity that puts a lot of pressure on your feet.

Plantar fasciitis, although may seem like a minor problem initially, but, it leads to a lot of discomfort by depriving a person of any kind of movement and making him feel helpless. There is a lot of information available on the internet these days for treatments from this disease which can help save millions of your hard-earned dollars spent in advanced medical cures. 

To learn how to completely eliminate your plantar fasciitis for good, without taking any anti-inflammatories or expensive trips to your doctor - all from the comfort of home, check out the internet's #1 resource for plantar fasciitis treatment.

What is Plantar Fasciitis? - What is That Heel Pain?

Plantar fasciitis is that pain in the bottom of your foot usually felt around your heel. That pain especially hurts first thing in the morning when you try to get out of bed and stand on your feet, or after sitting for awhile.

The meaning of the name Plantar fasciitis is: "Plantar" means the bottom of the foot, "fascia" is a type of connective tissue, and "itis" means "inflammation". You can see in the picture the plantar fascia band as it runs along the foot. The plantar fascia band runs from your heel to the toes. Plantar Fasciitis is caused by wounding the tough plantar fascia band on the bottom of your foot.

The plantar fascia is a relatively inflexible, strong, fibrous band on the bottom of the foot. It helps maintain the complex arch system of the foot, it helps to absorb shock, plays a role in one's balance and in the various phases of gait. The plantar fascia transmits your weight across the bottom of the foot with each step you take. At the moment the heel of the trailing leg begins to lift off the ground, the plantar fascia endures tension that is approximately two times body weight. This moment of maximum tension is increased if there is lack of flexibility in the calf muscles. Plantar Fasciitis will usually be close to the heel but it might happen anywhere along the band. If the plantar fascia band gets bruised or stretched, the inflammation causes the pain. It can also get partially detached from the heel and a calcium deposit can form - a heel spur.

Plantar fasciitis can also be known as a heel spur although they are not strictly the same. A heel spur is a bony growth that occurs at the attachment of the plantar fascia to the heel bone (calcaneus). A heel spur can be present on a foot with no symptoms at all. A painful heel does not always have a heel spur present. Heal spur and painful heal does not necessarily go together.

Plantar fasciitis is traditionally thought to be an inflammatory condition. This is now believed to be inaccurate due to sometimes absence of inflammatory cells within the fascia. The cause of pain and dysfunction is now thought to be degeneration of the collagen fibers close to the attachment of the plantar fascia band to the heel bone (calcaneus). Plantar fasciitis is more common in middle-aged people. It also occurs in younger people who spend time on their feet a lot, like athletes or soldiers. It can happen in one foot or both feet. Plantar fasciitis or heel spurs are common in sports which involve running, dancing or jumping. Runners with feet that overpronate (feet rolling in or flattening) are particularly at risk as the biomechanics of the foot causes additional stretching of the plantar fascia band.

Want to know more? use our website to find out more about the symptoms - How it feels? the causes - Why? the treatment - What can I do? and self Care - What can I do to help myself?

Plantar Fasciitis Treatment and Care

There are many different methods of plantar fasciitis treatment but there is no one treatment that works for everyone. Different treatments help different people. Patients need to be active in their treatment. Experimenting with several different treatments is often necessary before finding those that help.

Here are the most common plantar fasciitis treatment methods:

1. Rest until the pain goes away. It can be very difficult to rest the foot as most people will be on their feet during the day for work. By walking on the painful foot you are continually aggravating the injury and increasing inflammation. Rest as much as possible and stop any unnecessary activities which place additional stress on the fascia.

2. Gait analysis will determine if you overpronate or oversupinate. An expert may perform a test of the way you stand and walk to see if you step in a way that put more stress on the plantar fascia.

3. Cold therapy, like applying ice, to help reduce pain and inflammation. Cold therapy can be applied regularly until symptoms have resolved. Some patients prefer to roll their foot over an iced cold drink can or bottle taken out of the freezer.

4. Physical therapy Exercises, Stretching and other physical therapy measures may be used to help provide relief.

5. Exercise the feet muscles to make them stronger. One good exercise is grabbing and lifting up a towel or marbles using your toes. You can do the same exercise without a towel as though you are grasping something with the toes of each foot. Another good exercise is walking as tall as you can on your toes and ball of your feet.

6. Stretching the plantar fascia and the calf muscles several times a day is an important part of treatment and prevention. There are many stretching exercises for the plantar fascia and the calf muscles that you can find. Simply reducing pain and inflammation alone is unlikely to result in long term recovery. The plantar fascia tightens up making the origin at the heel more susceptible to stress.

7. Plantar fasciitis taping technique can help the foot get the rest it needs by supporting the plantar fascia. Taping supports the foot, placing stressed muscles and tendons in a physiologically restful state.Tape is applied in strips across the plantar fascia taking the stress off the fascia. By restricting the foot movement and flexibility the tape keeps the fascia from damage.

8. Plantar fasciitis night splint is worn overnight and gently stretches the calf muscles and plantar fascia preventing it from tightening up overnight.

9. Orthotics or inserts that your doctor may prescribe. Off-the-shelf or custom-fitted arch supports (orthotics) to help distribute pressure to your feet more evenly. Arch Support provides a slight lift to the arch helping to support the plantar fascia. There are also over-the-counter orthotics that may be used for arch support and cushioning the heel. Heel cradles and heel cups provide extra comfort, cushion the heel, and reduce the amount of shock and shear forces placed during everyday activities.

10. Anti-inflammatory or Pain medication that a clinician may recommend. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug such as ibuprofen can reduce swelling and relieve pain. However, these medications have many possible side effects and it is important to weigh the potential risks and benefits.

11. Lose weight as much as you can. Extra pounds put extra stress on your plantar fascia.

12. Extracorporeal shock wave therapy is a procedure when sound waves are directed at the area of heel pain to stimulate healing. It is usually used for chronic plantar fasciitis that has not responded to more conservative treatments. This procedure may cause bruises, swelling, pain, numbness or tingling, and has not been shown to be consistently effective.

13. Corticosteroid injection into the tender area may provide relief in severe cases. Medications of this class reduce inflammation powerfully. Corticosteroid injections can provide short-term relief from the pain caused by plantar fasciitis. Symptom relief from corticosteroid injection lasts for 3 to 6 weeks, but often the effect wears off and symptoms come back.

14. Surgery to release the plantar fascia from its attachment may be necessary. Surgery is rarely required for people with plantar fasciitis. It would only be recommended if all other treatments fail and the person had persistent symptoms for at least 6 to 12 months.

Want to know more? use our website to find out more about the symptoms - How it feels? the causes - Why? the treatment - What can I do? and self Care - What can I do to help myself?