What is Plantar Fasciitis

Causes of Plantar Fasciitis

Most likely, plantar fasciitis develops as the result of frequent little tears in the plantar fascia. The plantar fascia is the band of ligament that connects your toes to your heel bone. When you start walking, your plantar fascia stretches the moment your foot strikes the ground. If your plantar fascia becomes tensed by the way you walk or by frequent pressure, it can become inflamed and weak. This is the cause of pain when you stand or walk.

There are activities and conditions that may lead to plantar fasciitis. These include:
• Biomechanical factors – Things that affect how the feet work or biomechanical factors that include wrong pronation or wrong twisting of the foot, tight calf muscles, or tight tendons at the back of the heel which is called the Achilles tendons.

• Jobs that require an extended time of walking or standing especially on hard or uneven surfaces; or tedious, monotonous and tiresome activities.

• Being overweight that causes an additional stress on the feet when walking, or wearing poor-fitting shoes or footwear that does not cushion well.

• The normal aging process. Plantar fasciitis is most likely to happen to middle-aged people, or adults age 45 to 65.

• An injury to the foot.

Symptoms of Plantar Fasciitis

The most common symptom of plantar fasciitis is heel pain when you do the walking and when you get from a sitting position.
You can also have:
• Pain in feet and ankles after a prolonged standing.
• Pain and hardness in feet when you get up in the morning. Hardness and pain get worse from day to day.
• Painful feet at the beginning of walking or exercise that get better in the middle of the activity but come again when you finish the exercise.
• Pain that gets aggravated when climbing up stairs or going up a slope.
Arthritis, nerve problem, or tarsal tunnel syndrome are other conditions that have similar symptoms as plantar fasciitis have.

Prevention

Here are the things you can do to prevent plantar fasciitis or to avoid further damage once you already have it:

• Do stretching exercises that focus on the tendon at the back of your heel. Do it just like you are having a warm-up before doing a rigorous exercise. A medical practitioner specifically a chiropractor can give recommendations about a certain stretching program that you can continue at home.

• It is important to take care of your feet. You can do it by wearing shoes with heel cushion and good arch support. If your job obliges you to stand on uneven and hard surfaces, place a rubber mat that you can stand on to reduce the stress on your feet.

• As you establish a good exercise habit, wear shoes with cushion and slowly increase your exercise levels.

• Stay at an ideal weight essential for your height.

• Ask your boss about alternative ways to do the jobs to avoid heel pain, or make it worse if you already have it.

• Put on your cushioned shoes as soon as you get out of bed. Wearing slippers and going barefoot put stress on your feet.

• Do the running and other sports alternately. This will avoid heel pains.

• If the work that you do in your job caused heel pain, think of some alternative ways to do the job effectively to avoid heel pain or to worsen the pain if you already have it.

Chiropractic for Plantar Fasciitis

Your body’s musculoskeletal structure provides support, movement, and stability of the body. If one of these parts is not well, physical therapy can greatly help to alleviate the pain or completely cure the ailment. Chiropractors use spinal manipulation and other alternative treatments without medication or surgery. The main consideration is the proper alignment of the body’s musculoskeletal structure.

This approach is conventional and generally more effective than another kind of alternative treatment. The Journal of Chiropractic Medicine conducted a recent review of a patient with plantar fasciitis revealed marked improvement in her condition through chiropractic care.  The treatment may include manual procedures that include joint or spine manipulation, reflex techniques on soft tissues, proper exercise, and even the psycho-social aspects of patients.

Chiropractors at Beyond Wellness Chiropractic Center are committed to your optimum health and well-being. They take a time to focus on your symptoms so you can get out of pain fast. Customized chiropractic care is very important to us since we understand that each person is different, and every patient has a unique medical condition that is incomparable to others.

You can call Beyond Wellness, a top-rated chiropractor in Charlotte NC today and make an appointment.