Looks like there's some interest in plantar fasciitis.
PF is a common cause of heel pain but not all heel pain are from PF. Other causes include loss of fat pad, calcaneal stress fracture, nerve compression. When in doubt, see a specialist.
Anyone can get PF, but more common in repetitive strain ie. prolonged running or jumping, poor arch support, people with flat feet, gait change
So how to manage acute inflammation stage
1) rest but that does not mean not moving. Avoid long hours of stationary postition like prolonged standing and sitting. Walking is actually good as it is a form of light stretching. Icing helps.
2) lots of stretching. calf stretch and plantar arch stretches. rollers over the arch. Active calf strengthening should be reserved for chronic and preventive stages.
3) If one has massage gun, a low intensity application is helpful.
4) if still bad, see doc for anti-inflammatory painkillers like arcoxia, kefentech patches. Sports physician or orthopods can give steroid injections which calm the inflammation, platelet rich plasma injections to speed heeling or shockwave therapy, a form of sound therapy that can be seen as upgraded version of massage gun for painrelief and speeding up healing.
Chronic cases
1) limit running before point of pain occurence, avoid trail runs as uneven terrain increases stress on the arch. Run on more shock absorbent terrain like stadium tracks. Or simply switch to another form of cardio meanwhile like swimming. Sometimes PF can result from gait changes like heel strike to midfoot or toestrike due to additional impact on the fascia. So stick to heel strike then.
2) regular stretches. Good to stretch the feet first thing using a towel in the morning, or after 1 hour of stationary position. calf strengthening like single calf raise on staircases.
3) footwear changes - thick cushion, heel drop should be high (preferably 2.5-4cm) as this takes the pressure off the fascia. For runners, they may want to switch to shoes like asics nimbus or hoka bondi if the current shoes do not offer enough heel support.
4)night splints that do the work of continous stretching during sleep also helps
5)sports taping may help to realign traction forces.
6)surgery like gastrocnemius recession is hardly needed in modern context when other modalities like shock wave therapies are quite effective.
Hope this helps.
PF is a common cause of heel pain but not all heel pain are from PF. Other causes include loss of fat pad, calcaneal stress fracture, nerve compression. When in doubt, see a specialist.
Anyone can get PF, but more common in repetitive strain ie. prolonged running or jumping, poor arch support, people with flat feet, gait change
So how to manage acute inflammation stage
1) rest but that does not mean not moving. Avoid long hours of stationary postition like prolonged standing and sitting. Walking is actually good as it is a form of light stretching. Icing helps.
2) lots of stretching. calf stretch and plantar arch stretches. rollers over the arch. Active calf strengthening should be reserved for chronic and preventive stages.
3) If one has massage gun, a low intensity application is helpful.
4) if still bad, see doc for anti-inflammatory painkillers like arcoxia, kefentech patches. Sports physician or orthopods can give steroid injections which calm the inflammation, platelet rich plasma injections to speed heeling or shockwave therapy, a form of sound therapy that can be seen as upgraded version of massage gun for painrelief and speeding up healing.
Chronic cases
1) limit running before point of pain occurence, avoid trail runs as uneven terrain increases stress on the arch. Run on more shock absorbent terrain like stadium tracks. Or simply switch to another form of cardio meanwhile like swimming. Sometimes PF can result from gait changes like heel strike to midfoot or toestrike due to additional impact on the fascia. So stick to heel strike then.
2) regular stretches. Good to stretch the feet first thing using a towel in the morning, or after 1 hour of stationary position. calf strengthening like single calf raise on staircases.
3) footwear changes - thick cushion, heel drop should be high (preferably 2.5-4cm) as this takes the pressure off the fascia. For runners, they may want to switch to shoes like asics nimbus or hoka bondi if the current shoes do not offer enough heel support.
4)night splints that do the work of continous stretching during sleep also helps
5)sports taping may help to realign traction forces.
6)surgery like gastrocnemius recession is hardly needed in modern context when other modalities like shock wave therapies are quite effective.
Hope this helps.
