Plantar Fasciitis Information

Plantar fasciitis, as you may already know, is a painful inflammation of the plantar fascia, a band of tough fibers running along the bottom of the foot between the heel and the toes. It is a very common cause of heel pain that can be treated at home if you are careful and use the right equipment and wear the best shoes for plantar fasciitis.

Plantar fasciitis is known by many common names including flip-flop disease, tennis heel, policeman’s heel, joggers heel and several less complimentary terms. It’s usually caused by wearing unhealthy or unsupportive shoes, spending large amounts of time on your feet, running or walking long distance without stretching your feet first or just being overweight.

Plantar Fasciitis symptoms include:

• Feeling pain when placing pressure on the arch near the heel
• Intense heel pain when you first get out of bed because the plantar fascia has tightened up overnight. (This can be prevented by wearing plantar fasciitis night splints.)
• You feel pain stretching the plantar fascia (here you’ll find plantar exercises to keep the plantar fascia flexible.)
• Worsening of pain as the day progresses if you stay on your feet.
• If you also suffer from pronation (the tendency of the foot to lean to one side or the other as you walk), you may feel pain around the outside edges of your heel. (A sure sign of pronation is if your shoe heel tends to wear more on one side rather than evenly.)

• Sprinting
• Running
• Jumping

• soccer
• basketball
• football
• baseball
• lacrosse
• tennis
• hockey

However almost every sport has the capacity to injure the plantar fascia.

Non-sports related causes include:

• Tight calf muscles that can over stretch the plantar fascia
• Flat feet or, surprisingly, over-high foot arches
• Being overweight causes excessive impact stress on your feet (this is the fastest growing cause of plantar fasciitis)
• Overpronation
• Wearing shoes that offer little arch support
• Wearing very high heels for long times
• Wearing someone elses shoes
• Wearing shoes with heels that are overly worn

How to treat plantar fasciitis:

• Start with a rest and recovery period of at least a week (use cold on the bottom of your foot for 20 minute periods then heat for longer periods – alternate)
• Begin stretching the plantar fascia with these plantar exercises
• Wear a plantar fasciitis night splint to prevent that excruciating morning heel pain
• Put plantar fasciitis inserts into all your existing shoes and boots and slippers
• Wear plantar heel cups where inserts are impractical
• Buy plantar fasciitis shoes with cork foot-beds to cushion, support and help heal your foot
• STOP WEARING FLIP-FLOPS AND GOING BAREFOOT!!!

If you’re looking for a quick start on healing your plantar fasciitis, check out the plantar fasciitis kit.

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