What is Plantar Fasciitis & How to Prevent It

What is Plantar Fasciitis? It is the fascial chain on the bottom of the foot. It extends from the toes to the heel. When someone is prescribed with Plantar Fasciitis they generally have pain in the heel area. This can be extremely painful. It can last for just a few steps in the morning to more chronic and debilitating pain. Below we will discuss a few common reasons people get Plantar Fasciitis and some ways to help prevent and heal from it.

How Do You Get Plantar Fasciitis?

As the name suggests, Plantar Fasciitis, involves inflammation of the fascia in the foot and primarily the heel area. This type of inflammation is generally caused by small tares in the thin tissues. The tissue then becomes irritated and painful. Often it is not the result of one event, making it difficult to diagnose what caused the pain. Tares such as these can be brought on by several things such as over stretching by athletes, being overweight, and standing for long periods of time. Other causes of Plantar Fasciitis is the weight distribution on the foot. If a person stands flatfooted or has a high arch could result in the pain of Plantar Fasciitis.

How to Prevent Plantar Fasciitis?

Having any type of pain in your feet can be scary and debilitating. In addition, it can cause other misalignments and complications by overcompensating for the pain that is experienced. Naturally we want to avoid this whenever possible. If your pain lasts for several days, is getting worse or caused by an incident, it is important to seek medical attention as soon as possible. If you are an athlete that puts a lot of pressure on your feet or stretch regularly it would be wise to also ice and rest your muscles to reduce inflammation of the fascia in your feet. Likewise, if you are in a profession that requires you to be on your feet for long periods of time it would be good to take short breaks to rest your feet. This may not be possible though and in this case it would be best to consult with a doctor or physical therapist to get the proper shoes or inserts for your shoes to help absorb the impact your body weight has on the fascia in your feet.
Taking these simple steps can make a huge difference in preventing heel pain. Even though many causes of Plantar Fasciitis are not known, there are ways to help prevent it and heal from the pain. The facia in the foot is designed to help cushion the body weight especially when are running and being active. For many reasons, a person’s fascia may be compromised, so it is important to be aware of the impact of a given activity on our feet and joints and take the necessary precautions both before and after the activity to avoid pain and injury.

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