Plantar fascitis-heel spur

Here is a condition that I have seen quite a lot of over the years. It was known as policeman’s foot because the police used to have to stand all day in their cheap, stiff government issued shoes without any arch support and suffer from plantar fascitis. Let’s look at what it is and how to fix it.

There is a tissue along the bottom of the foot that goes from the heel to the ball of the foot called the plantar fascia. ‘Itis’ means inflammation, thus this is an inflammatory condition of the plantar fascia-plantar fascitis. When this occurs the pain is generally felt at the front of the heel of the foot and is classically most painful in the mornings when the person first gets out of bed. It is also known as heel spur because after time if the problem is not addressed the body starts laying down bone to strengthen the area where it’s getting constantly pulled. The body is a smart machine so it doesn’t want the fascia constantly straining therefore at the front of the heel where the fascia attaches it starts producing bone. When x-rayed the bone is fashioned into a spur shape.

You can look on the internet and find any number of products that promise to help this condition from orthotics to heel cups. However, if the problem is exacerbated from tight calves for example, putting a heel cup in your shoe may help the problem but will not get at the cause. A heel cup is only keeping the calf in a shortened position so that it doesn’t strain. We must address the causes of the problem just like any other.
Here are a few tips to help your plantar fascitis:

• The calves are commonly tight in plantar fascitis so it is imperative to stretch these. You need to stretch both calf muscles, the soleus and the gastrocnemius

• Also you want to stretch the front of the shin because this is another important aspect of keeping a balance of the lower leg muscles.

• Another excellent thing to do is some self massage on the bottom of the foot to release the fascia. There are wonderful releasing techniques that are very powerful and help enormously.

• You can roll your foot over the old style glass coke bottles (even better is to cool the bottle in the freezer and then do it to give the foot some additional ice therapy).

• You need to walk with your feet always pointing forward not outwards like a duck.

• As pain permits, you need to start introducing calf raises. Remember to keep the pressure between the first and second toes, not rolling out to the outside of the foot( for more on this see my ankle rehab section)

• Do not allow your weight to fall inward onto your arches, keep your weight on your soles of your feet using your muscles as opposed to just allowing your weight to compress your arch. This will strain the already overstrained fascia.

• Stretch before bed and when you get up in the morning as an absolute minimum. Ideally you want to be stretching several times a day though.

These are just a few guidelines, if you would like to know more about the exercises and releasing techniques in greater depth please feel free to email me at http://boquetespa.com and I will send you the complete version to help your plantar fascitis. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose.