Melanie: Plantar Fasciitis ? Why Does This Common Foot Pain Need Multi ...

Plantar fasciitis is the name of the condition which causes you to dread taking the first step out of bed in the morning because of the intense heel pain you experience. Or you may have pain in the ball of the foot directly behind the toes, of in the arch of the foot. If this is you, then you probably want to know how to cure it. And part of the cure is knowing why you got it in the first place.

Strictly speaking plantar fasciitis is foot pain caused by the swelling in the wide plantar fascia ligament which runs underneath the arch of the foot, joining the heel bone to the toes. This ligament stretches and relaxes back with every step. When young and supple, the plantar fascia copes well with excessive stress. But over time, the accumulation of excessive stress damages it, causing minute rips to form. The sites of these small tears become inflamed as they continue to be stressed, ultimately leading to severe foot pain at the site of the rips.

The plantar fascia gets stressed through repeated continuous use of the foot in a less than perfect way. So, if you run 10 miles everyday in shoes which do not provide adequate arch support, then, as your foot strikes the ground, it will roll in to an excessive degree. This is called over pronation. And whilst pronation to some extent is a natural part of the movement of the foot, over pronation is not. It stretches and adds a slight twist into the plantar fascia tendon. When young, the supple tendon copes with this misuse but, with age, it becomes more rigid and less able to cope with the excessive stress. Tears occur in the tendon at the sites of most stress, leading to inflammation and then pain.

Because of the change in the adaptability of the plantar fascia over time, people who are middle aged or over are most likely to suffer with the condition. Similarly, anyone who over pronates or follows an intensive exercise routine, such as an athlete, is likely to get the condition. And anyone who is overweight for any reason at all (and that includes pregnancy) will also put undue stress on the plantar fascia at the point of the foot arch, making them susceptible to plantar fasciitis too. The condition significantly improves following weight loss, which explains why women often experience a total cure from their plantar fasciitis once they give birth.

Because the original cause of the plantar tendon stress arises from a variety of different sources, the extent and severity of the symptoms felt by individual sufferers also varies. This means that different plantar fasciitis treatments work to a greater or lesser extent for different people. If you suffer from it you have to try a range of treatments for plantar fasciitis if you want an effective cure for plantar fasciitis .

Susan Owen-Thursfield -
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