Plantar Fasciitis
Plantar Fasciitis is one of the most common conditions of heel pain. Middle aged men and women are most susceptible to this condition, however, a person of any age can get it. What is plantar fasciitis? First, let’s look at the plantar fascia itself. The plantar fascia is a thick ligamentous tissue that runs between your calcaneous (heel bone) and your toes and stretches with every step. This tissue acts like a rubber band and every time weight is applied to your foot it stretches and contracts. This being said, the fascia can easily be irritated or even develop small tears and become inflamed, resulting in moderate to sever pain. Most often excessive running, jumping or other activities of this sort will result in this condition. Plantar fasciitis is also common with individuals that are overweight. Usually the person will experience the worst pain in the morning especially with the first few steps out of bed. Pain from this condition is most often described as a burning, stabbing or aching pain in the heel of the foot.
Plantar Fasciitis is often times easily treated with corrective exercises and modalities; however in extreme cases surgery is required. Some of these exercises are as simple as laying a wash cloth on the floor and using your toes to scrunch up the wash cloth or freezing a water bottle and rolling your foot on top of it using as much pressure as you can tolerate. Cross friction massage is also used to the underlying plantar fascia. Stretching is very important in the treatment of this condition, particularly the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles. Modalities used are therapeutic ultrasound, ionto or phonophoreses, electrical stimulation and cold packs. If symptoms persist, please contact us here at Therapy1One for further consultation and treatment with any of our skilled physical therapists
James A. Cutchin, LPTA
www.therapy1one.com
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