Plantar fasciitis is an unpleasantly painful foot condition that makes it hard to move and exercise the way you’d like to, due to excruciating heel or arch of foot pain. Here is some information to help you deal with it, if you’re unfortunate enough to get it.
Gripping hard in shoes that are too big, walking for a long time on a camber, or wearing flip flops, sandals or sliders that mean you grip hard with your feet, can all lead to this problem. So, do your best to avoid those things, or if you did one of those things, have a few days off your feet, and wear cushioned shoes such as trainers when you’re up and about, if you notice your feet feel a bit tight and sore, and you’ll hopefully steer clear of this uncomfortable issue.
People in the health industry argue about whether this is an inflammatory condition, or whether conversely it’s not that at all, it’s actually the result of weak feet muscles and fallen arches. It doesn’t really matter too much what causes it – it’s sore and here is a way to tackle it!
Plantar fasciitis can take 4-6 months to get better. It is a self-limiting condition, which means that it gets better itself over time. Manual therapy provided by Viv at Move Well can help ease symptoms BUT this condition almost always takes time to resolve. I would rather be honest than promise a miracle cure that will leave you disappointed! Persevere with the rehabilitation below to speed up the healing process.
- Wear cushioned shoes whenever you can, even at home, to take the pressure off your painful heels or foot. Wear shoes that gently envelop and support your heel. If your heel slips around in your shoe you’re likely to feel more pain. Avoid flip flops/shoes with no support, and high heels. If you need to wear dress shoes for work or for an occasion you can buy over the counter comfort gel inserts to put in your shoes to take the pressure off the heel or foot arch.
- Circle your ankles and pull your toes up to shins on waking and regularly throughout the day, ideally hourly – set an alarm on your PC or phone?
- Take regular breaks from sitting at work, walk around and go up and down stairs to stretch your calves.
- In the morning and evening:
- 500ml water bottle (curved) – in freezer – roll it along your foot for 10 mins. Or: put your foot on an ice pack/bag of peas.
- Tennis or golf or child’s rubber ball, roll your foot on it for about 2 mins (with care, don’t put full body weight onto the foot at the same time as it will hurt)
- Walk regularly. Even a 10 minute walk will help gently loosen things off – wearing footwear as per advice in no.1. If you are not in agonising pain, or once pain begins to reduce, spend some time each day at home walking in bare feet as this will allow the feet and calf tissues and joints to really stretch out and lose tension, which can help to decrease pain.
- Keep your back supported when you sit in the evening. Put your feet up on a stool or similar – it will prevent your calves shortening and tightening, which makes the plantar fasciitis worse.
- If in a lot of pain, do less high-intensity running and cycling, which can tighten the structures causing inflammation of the plantar fascia. You could do these, or other sports involving heavy leg usage, at a lower intensity of 80% effort, and for shorter distances/time periods, to avoid over-tightening your calf and hamstring muscles which then pull on the plantar fascia and increase the pain. You won’t damage the plantar fascia by doing intense exercise with your lower limbs, but doing exercise using the legs and feet at high intensity is more likely to mean you stay in pain for longer with the condition. A bit of easing off in the short term is likely to lead to you healing from this painful condition more quickly.
- Some people find that a night splint that holds the foot in extension (the opposite of pointing your toes) is helpful but this can vary. If you’re at your wit’s end, this is worth a try.
Feel free to book an appointment if things aren’t resolving or you’d like some help to speed up the healing process.