Plantar Faciitis and Heel Pain!

Are you getting up in the morning with lots of heel pain? If so, you might be suffering from a condition called plantar fasciitis. The reason I said might, is because there are other conditions that can closely resemble plantar fasciitis, but are completely different. I will go over some of these conditions throughout this blog! So grab a beer and follow through!

Plantar Fascia

Plantar fasciitis can be felt usually within the first couple of steps from bed. As you move around it gets better, yet to “attack” again at the end of the day! It is due to inflammation/irritation of the fascia (the “blanket”) around the bottom of your foot. It could be due to faulty biomechanics of foot and your gait cycle (your walking). There are many types of treatments for plantar fasciitis with the main one being ORTHOTICS. Yes I said Orthotics! There has always been controversy surrounding the miss use of prescribing custom made Orthotics by doctors and practitioners for their financial benefits. That being said, I’ve had many success stories with the use of Orthotics for my patients.

In my opinion, there are other forms of treatments before Orthotics, which can be as beneficial. For example; you can stretch your calf muscles, use a golf ball in a sock and role the bottom of your foot on top of it, use low light laser therapy, Shockwave therapy, Active Release Technique (my favourite) and proper shoes with good support.

Golf ball for plantar fascia

With all these little advices I’m giving you; make sure you consult with your doctor since every case is different. Your heel pain could be the result of some systemic disease/disorder which is more important than heel pain.

One other disorder that very closely resembles Plantar Fasciitis is Fat Pad Syndrome. At the bottom of your heel, there are usually some “fat” which is used as a cushion every time you hit your heels to the ground. With degenerative joint disease, increase in age and worn out shoes, you can potentially loose these cushions used to absorb weight as you heel strike (hit your hill to the ground in walking). With such condition, a quick run to the drug store, looking for some heel gel/lift (should be soft) will do the trick!

Again don’t diagnose yourself and don’t get diagnosed by your neighbour!

Dr. Ali Masoumi
www.facebook.com/drmasoumi