Plantar Fasciitis
Plantar fasciitis is a common condition that affects the section of soft tissue on the bottom (plantar surface) of the foot. It is considered a stress irritation to the sheath (plantar fascia) of elastic (connective) tissues running nearly the entire length of the foot. These connective tissues provide the primary support for the undersurface of your foot.
If the three arches of your foot drop too far or collapse (through time and stress), the plantar fascia becomes abnormally pulled and stretched out. This pulling can lead to inflammation and pain in your heel, your arch, and even in your forefoot. The level of discomfort can range from mild to severe. In severe pain cases, a burning sensation can be felt going across the bottom of the foot, and walking would be very painful and difficult. For some the pain is felt every time they stand up.
By the age of 20, nearly 80% of us has some kind of foot problem, and by age forty almost all of us do.
The most common cause of plantar fasciitis is excessive pronation, which is considered the most common of all foot problems. In excessive pronation, some of the bones of the foot drop to a less stable position due to a structural weakening and misalignment of the foot arches and bones of the foot. The arches themselves may be unnaturally stretched causing a flattening of the feet. This results in abnormal stress on the entire foot, which leads to abnormal biomechanical stress on the ankle, knees, hip, sacroiliac, and spine.
From the time you learn to walk, your feet assume three crucial functions: they support your body whenever you stand, walk, or run; they assist you in achieving movement from one place to another; and they help protect your bones and soft tissues from damaging shock stress as you move. Being overweight, having minor structural defects in the feet, or injuries — all of these factors can contribute to additional foot and body stress. So even though one-quarter of all the bones in your body are in your feet, having to perform these three strenuous tasks day after day can (and often does) lead to some type of foot and/or body problem. It’s not too surprising to learn, therefore, that by the age of twenty, nearly 80% of us have some kind of foot problem, and by age forty almost everyone does.
If plantar fasciitis or excessive pronation aren’t treated, they can lead to progressive development of foot malfunction and discomfort. Your feet can become “tired and achy” or you may experience burning pains. Your walking may begin to feel “clumsy” as you try to move your foot in a way that avoids further pain. Left untreated for a long time can result in the formation of a heel spur. Heel spurs are small deposits of bone-like calcium on the heel bone (calcaneus), usually on or near the bottom of the foot where the long tendons of the arches (plantar fascia) insert into the bone.
Some experts believe that a spur is the body’s attempt to strengthen its foundation. Being overweight, having abnormal foot biomechanics, or running regularly on hard surfaces can cause excessive stress on the foot, which may lead to the production of a spur. Other authorities contend that spurs are a normal part of the aging process: some studies have shown that calcaneal spurs are more frequently found in people after age 50. The best data currently available projects that between 11% and 16% of the population have heel spurs. It is also interesting to note that spurs occur almost twice as often in adult females as they do in adult males.
Foot pain means that you should make an appointment to be evaluated in our office right away. But most problems of the feet are symptom-free (painless). Even if your feet don’t hurt, the structural imbalance and weakening of your foundation can have a serious impact on the rest of your body. If you are currently having pain in your knees, hips, low back or neck, the reason may be because you have excessive pronation. Your feet may not be properly supporting the rest of your skeleton. The abnormal stress will work its way up into the rest of your of your body.
If you are having pain in your ankles, knees, hips, back or neck, contact our office to discover if your feet could be a contributing factor.
We follow a very effective treatment strategy based on the letters ASR. They stand for:
- A – Adjust (whole-body adjustment techniques)
- S – Support (spinal pelvic stabilizers and other joint supports)
- R – Rehabilitate (targeted exercise therapy/physical rehab)
10 comments
Hello
I have pain in my both foot. it start every morning after i wake up. if i rest for a while and then stand it start again. any sugestion please help. my email address is farhan.soz@gmail.com
First things first… it would be best for you to call our office and schedule a time to see me. I would be happy to see you and perform an introductory exam. After I examine you, I should know what the problem is and then I’ll be able to let you know if I can help. We’ll take it from there. Okay? If your problem is simple plantar fascitis, there are several natural things we offer that can help fairly quickly. Foot/ankle adjustments, massage therapy, laser therapy, orthotics, and more. To know for sure, I’ll need to perform an exam. Just give us a call at your earliest convenience and we’ll figure a good time for your exam.
Dear Dr.Ken I live in North New Jersey and have received the diagnosis that I have plantar fascitis.. Is it right to use a handheld ultrasound device and gel to help treat this diagnosis. Please do you have an office in New Jersey or can you recommend me another doctor like your self closer to my home?? I do nt wish to take Advil and or Naproxin and wish more natural methods.Please respond..What do you do with Laser therapy in this area of plantar fascitis?? Please respond Thanx Anna809@cs.com
Dr Ken Please respond soon I am wearing an orthontic but find it hard on the bottom of my heel…….maybe I need a soft support instead of a hard support orthontic for plantasr fascitis?? Please answer.Anna809@cs.com A
ll the best in your practice in this medicine…..
Anna – it’s great that you want to pursue natural therapy to help your plantar fascitis problem. If your problem is simple plantar fascitis, there are several natural things I would recommend that can help fairly quickly. Foot/ankle adjustments, massage therapy, laser therapy, orthotics, and more. Laser therapy and/or ultrasound can also be helpful in the beginning phase of care (when things are inflamed and painful). I favor the laser because of its photobiologic effects. See http://spectrumwellness.net/laser-therapy-techniques/ for more details on our Laser technique. But for long term improvement, you have to address the biomechanical problem of your foot, with chiropractic adjustments of the foot and using spinal pelvic stabilizers for the feet. For more information on extremity adjustments see http://spectrumwellness.net/our-chiropractic-techniques/. For information on our FootLevelers spinal pelvic stabilizers see http://spectrumwellness.net/foot-levelers/. Anna, if I were in your position, I would call around your area and interview the doctors or their assistants and find out if they treat extremities (the feet in your case) and if they use FootLevelers spinal pelvic stabilizers.
dear doctor my daughter is 13 yrs old and every time she walk she feels this excruciating pain in the back and front heel of her foot and tell me it feels like the arch part of her foot is tearing is this serious or nothing big she very skinny she 102 but looks as she is 89 pounds is she overweight or is this something serious she get these symptoms every time she walk after 20 mins she finally start to feel the pain should i take her to doctor, work out more, change her shoes or just disregard the situation
That sounds serious and could become even worse if nothing is done. Plantar fasciitis left untreated can result in a heel spur. I would suggest that you make an appointment for your daughter as soon as possible. There may be a natural and simple solution to her problem. If you are in our area give us a call. If not, try to find a chiropractor in your area who works with Footlevelers custom spinal pelvic stabilizers. Feel free to give me a call if you have any other questions.
Anna – Thanks for your kind wishes. In regards to orthotics, I always recommend a flexible orthotic, because the foot is flexible. If your restrict the motion of the foot with a rigid orthotic, the joints above the foot become hyper-mobile. This means that the bones of your ankle, knee, hips, and even spine can be negatively impacted by rigid orthotics. By all means, your orthotics should be comfortable to use. The typical break-in time to get accommodated to a new pair of orthotics is 2-4 weeks. If you are still having pain after that time, you should be re-evaluated by your doctor. If you are thinking of trying something new, give us a call and schedule an appointment. I would be happy to meet with you and discuss other options.
hello,
iv had plantar fascitis for 8 months now my doctors appointment is in july this year over the pat 8 months i have pikt up a few civillian tricks that has helped me alot with it and i am not a doctor so my ideas arent medically proven but i have gone back to running, camping, shooting, working, bike riding etc…
1 big thing iv changed that has helped me is my footwear i whent from thin/flat but soft walking “lonsdale” brand shoes to a pair of high-top nike trainers £65 from footlocker but they feel amazing when im walking, also dont buy the £5 gel heel cushoins because they made mine worse as they where putting extra pressure on my heels when i was walking.
email me at peachy92@hotmail.com and tell me that u whant sum advice on how iv done it and ill tell u all i know.
Jason – I’m glad you had success with the Nike high-tops. The athletic shoes I recommend are a “motion control” shoe by New Balance. You can read more about them in this post… http://spectrumwellness.net/we-all-need-good-support-and-balance/
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