Plantar fasciitis is an inflammation of the plantar fascia, the tissue on the sole of the foot. It is often caused by overuse of the plantar fascia or arch tendon of the foot. The two ends of the tendon attach at the bottom of the toes and at the front of the heel bone by means of fascia, a strong fibrous membrane. The plantar tendon keeps the arch of the foot from flattening completely when the foot carries weight, providing cushioning and shock absorption when you’re walking, running or standing. This tendon also allows you to point your toes.
Causes of the plantar fascia are made by leg movement that creates a pull on the Plantar tendon. Walking or running up or down hills, climbing stairs, walking or running on your toes which also includes wearing high heels, or dorsiflexing (pointing your toes up as your heel comes down with each stride) all pull the plantar tendon.
Plantar fasciitis can also be caused by heel striking, which is usually a result of over-striding. If you reach forward with your legs with each stride, you’re very likely to land on your heels. Landing in this way can create a lot of force on your heels. Tight calves and an inflexible Achilles tendon can also pull the plantar tendon and weaken the attachment of the fascia to the bone. I know days, when I don’t stretch or warm up my calves properly my plantar fasciitis, starts to bother me. If the plantar tendon is stretched beyond what the fascia is capable of holding, the fascia forms micro-tears and begins to pull away from the bone, causing inflammation.
Other causes of PF are wearing old, worn-out running shoes or ones that lack arch support, and overpronation (when your feet roll inward too much.)
When the plantar tendon is constantly over-stretched, the body begins to add calcium where the attachment between the tendon and the heel bone takes place. Over time, enough calcium is added to build more bone mass in that particular spot, creating a heel spur that can be even more painful than plantar fasciitis.
Have you ever had that pain at the bottom of your foot? Feel like there is a little ball you keep stepping on? Wake up and put your feet on the ground and the pain drops you to your knees?? An uncomfortable tight feeling by your heel? Welcome to Plantar fasciitis! Good thing is, you can treat it and heal it, and prevent it from coming back.
- Check your running form. Many runners tense up their body while running, lower legs being one of them. Make sure your lower legs are relaxed, including glutes and calves.
- Learn to make a mid-foot strike. The body has a natural form of hitting heel first, but that causes more overall problems when running, such as shin splints. Try to train your feet to hit mid-foot, this keeps your Plantar tendon relaxed and reduces the impact to your heels.
- Don’t move forward with your legs. Apply gravity by letting your upper body lead and your legs follow. Throughout your runs, lean slightly from the ankles, keep your stride short, and land with your feet directly under your center of mass. (Another tip to good form running.)
- If you are having pain while running, decrease your distance until the pain subsides, I personally don’t think you need to stop running completely but don’t try to run your usual as it can make pain worse. Just lessen the amount of time running.
- Having the proper shoes for your foot type is crucial. If you run in shoes that don’t support your foot type (overpronation, underpronation..) it can hurt your performance.
- Having tight, inflexible an Achilles tendon and calf muscles can cause stress on your plantar fascia.
- Stand facing a wall an arm’s length away. Keeping your lower legs and ankles completely relaxed, lean into the wall by putting your hands on the wall directly in front of your shoulders and lowering yourself toward the wall.
- Stand on a curb facing away from the street. Rest the middle of the affected foot on the edge of the curb with your heel extending out beyond the curb. Keep the healthy foot completely on the sidewalk for stability. Slowly lower your heel enough to give your Achilles tendon and calf muscle a good stretch.
- Perform a self-massage by freezing a bottle of water, or a cold can and roll it under the arch of your foot and gently roll can back and forth from heel to the arch. Repeat for two to five minutes. A cold bottle/can is effective since cold aids in decreasing inflammation and swelling. You can also use a tennis ball
- dorsiflex the affected foot (point your toes toward your knee) as often as you can remember to do so. This stretches your calf and Achilles tendon and will ease foot tenderness. You can do this stretch throughout the day while sitting.
- A stretch I LOVE to do, and is very effective is sitting on the floor on my knees, and resting my glutes on the heel of my feet. You can feel an immediate stretch on your plantar fascia. I usually do this for 30 seconds before and after running.
- Scrunch towels, or pick up marbles, balls with your toes(also a great stretch for shin splint pain).
- Get a deep tissue massage, or roll on a foot ball to break up the scar tissue.
- Soak your heel in a bowl of ice water (five to 10 minutes) twice daily until the pain subsides. It’s like a mini ice bath for your foot, yes ice baths are painful for 2 minutes but man…..do they help!!! I LOVE ice baths, after the first few minutes of course! lol
- KT TAPE!!!!! yes KT Tape has an application for this! I’ve used it before and it helped. Check it out:
- Using ice to roll on (bottle of water, or frozen dixie cup) is very soothing, similar to the “mini ice bath” but you are getting a massage at the same time.
- FOAM ROLL!!! yes, the foam roller is awesome for this too!!!! put the foam roller against the wall, and put your toes against it until you feel the PF stretch, hold it for as long as needed. You can also use the foam roller on your calves. If the muscle from your leg is relaxed, it will ease the pain on your foot. Use the roller on both calves to relieve the tension.
I hope there was something useful here for you, from experience the foam rolling and of course KT TAPE has helped overcome this pain. I sometimes wear arch support socks to help ease the pain while running. But when I do the stretches before and after I run, I am able to avoid having my plantar fasciitis act up!!
Reasons why www. dtfottwear.com can help prevent this pain and is preventative footwear and inserts.
COMBINATION OF GREAT FOOTWEAR AND GREAT HEAT MODABLE CUSTOMIZED INSERTS IS THE WINNING COMBINATION!
Let this video explain what a therapeutic design or construction is all about dealing with footwear. Therapeutic/Orthotic consider an extra depth construction.
We are a therapeutic line, and the explanation between a conventional comfort line and our’s found in the video below
Now let’s talk, in more detail, about the ten reasons what makes Therapeutic footwear so much superior to a Comfort Shoe:
1) The strongest mid-support in the shoe business. No bilateral movement view the video above for illustrations and a midsection depth that gives you support and the maximum room in the footwear world. One of many reasons why therapeutic is considered extra depth
2) The strongest heel counter in the business that helps create no bi-lateral movement and the tallest heel counter in the footwear world. A reason whey therapeutic footwear considered extra depth
3) A taller toe box to create more wiggle room and space for your toes a reason why considered an extra depth footwear
4)Extended bottoms to give you the fullest width and support than any other shoe line anywhere
5) A lightweight shoe for less wear and tear on your feet but with all that great added support
6) all removable arch support to put a more advanced support system or a customized inserts
7) Women’s styles having a 3 to 1 combination last for better fit and support for your heel
8) Fuller forefront in the construction of the footwear to create more comfort and room for that maximum support and comfort and a reason why considered extra depth footwear
9) Deeper heel counter to build more balance and support to the heel section of the foot and other reason why consider an extra depth footwear
10) Leather lining that creates more flexibility and breathability to the foot
We have 4A (Slender width for Ladies) 2A (Narrow width for Ladies), B ( Medium width for Ladies and Narrow width for Men), D (Medium width for Men and Wide width for Ladies), 2E, 3E, 4E, 5E, 6E, 7E, 9E, 10E, 14E widths in Men’s and Ladies styles
We carry up to 20 in Men’s styles, and 15 in Ladies dealing in lengths
We have 5 to 6 lengths, in selected styles for Men and 4 to 5 in Women’s length
Some additional information and explanation of this type of footwear for all the Ladies out there:
ATTENTION LADIES, HERE IS MORE INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR NEEDS:
We have all those wide widths that are needed but with our 32 new styles of women’s footwear that we will be offering a 4A (Slender) 2A (Narrow) B (Medium) D (Wide) 3E Extra Wide) 5E Extra Extra Wide, 7E Full Extra Wide 10E Extra Full Wide, 14E (Superior Extra Wide Width) widths for you ladies- that is unheard that is offered by one website.
Why having this 3 to 1 combination last is so important in creating that perfect fit for all our ladies. What does 3 to 1 combination mean? The heel counter is 3 times narrow than the ball width of the shoe. Okay, big deal? Well, this is a critical factor because a women heel structure is a great deal narrow than a Men’s and if we made all our Ladies footwear as the same last of a Men’s style- the ladies heels would slipping all day long or have a terrible fit!
Having these 1 to 3 Customized Heat Moldable Inserts ( that is Free and remember that the shoe has to have a removable footbed for these inserts to work. Not all AA widths have this, but we’ll state, on our descriptions if you can receive 1 to 3 pair of these inserts FREE- up to a $240.00 value) will make that perfect fit, comfort and support experience out of this world — especially for those NARROW FEET!.
If you know someone (Ladies) that needs sandals, casual footwear, athletic footwear in a 4A (slender width) or AA (Narrow) width- let them know we have then and a great selection as well.
All new Slender (4A) and Narrow (AA) widths for ladies- look out we will have a ton for you to choose. New Dress Boots, up to 14 inches in shaft height, for women, Dress boots and new dress styles for Men as well. All Weather Footwear and Boots for both Men and Women. Some new dressy footwear for Men and women.
All our new and old styles are therapeutic/comfort that has the best fit and support in the shoe world.
It’s nice being called the “King Of Widths”, again 4A to 14E widths, on the internet, and all found at www.dtfootweear.com
Ron Heinlein | President/Founder | Cell # 909–215–1622
Designer Therapeutic Footwear Co.
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