Ever stepped out of bed in the morning only to hop back in because you felt a sharp pain in the bottom of your foot? Arch pain or heel pain can signal a condition called plantar fascitis and can keep you off your feet for months at a time. It's hard to treat, slow to heal and hurts like heck with every step. The best way to deal with this condition is to prevent it.
You're a candidate for plantar fascitis if you walk or stand for a living. Or if you're a jogger, or player of any sport that involves regular, sustained running. Especially if you rarely stretch afterwards. Years of wearing flip-flops or going barefoot can do it, too. You're even more at risk if either or both of your feet pronate.
What is pronation? Normally when you put weight on your feet - standing, walking, running - your arches flatten out. If you pronate, your arches flatten too much. They actually collapse. Have you've been told you have flat feet?
You may be a pronator. Do this test: Stand barefoot and have a friend try to place two fingers under your arch. It should be easy. If not, you probably pronate. Doyour feet turn out? If you look at the soles of your shoes, is there more wear on the outsides of your heels? If so, you probably pronate.
What to do? First, you must wear supportive shoes. On the job, it's not enough to wear shoes with cushioned insoles. You need shoes that support your arch. Once you've endured the pain of plantar fascitis, you'll gladly forego fashion for support.
If all else fails, consider orthotics. Orthotics are shoe inserts made of a variety of materials some flexible, some not, and are designed to fit and support your foot. Debilitating, chronic foot pain usually calls for a custom orthotic made by a podiatrist.
Physiologically speaking, plantar fascitis is inflammation of the connective tissue, or fascia, on the bottom of your foot. This fascia connects your heel with the ball of your foot. Constantly over-stretching it results in inflammation and pain. If it is ignored long enough, it can cause something called a heel spur.
Bone is dynamic. It is constantly changing and renewing itself. It changes in response to stress, mechanical stress. When the fascia is constantly tugging on the bone at the insertion point, the bone responds by adding more bone at that spot to relieve the tension. It's as if it were trying to give the fascia some slack. It's how a heel spur forms. But if you take care of it, when the plantar fasciitis heals, the bone spur is a non-issue.
Being on your feet 8-10 hours a day is an athletic event. Make a practice of stretching achilles and calf muscles throughout the day, and, of course, after each run, hike, ride or game. To stretch your achilles, find a curb, step, or rung of a chair that's 3"to 4" high.
Keeping your heel on the ground, place the ball of your foot (not your toes) on the curb. Bend the knee and lean forward until you feel a stretch just above your heel bone. Hold for 10 seconds.Next straighten your knee until you feel the stretch higher in your calf. Hold 10 seconds. Switch to the other leg.
A tight achilles and calf will pull up on your heel bone thereby stretching that fascia. Wearing high heeled shoes will shorten the achilles, so stretch after you take those shoes off. When you're driving or biking, make sure you push the pedals with your whole foot, not just your toes. Bending your toes up will stretch the fascia.
Here's an exercise to strengthen your arch to prevent pronation - toe curls. Sit down, take your shoes off, and curl your toes under as hard as you can and as many times as you can. In the beginning, you might get a cramp. Just walk around and try the curls again.
If you are right now suffering plantar fascitis pain, stay off your feet, ice and wait patiently. When the pain lessens take some of the steps I've outlined above to prevent it from ever happening again.
