What You Need to Know About Plantar Fasciitis Treatment
After going through my own foot injury, I discovered the benefits of using a stiffer orthotic to help my foot heal during rehabilitation.
What is the Plantar Fascia
Plantar Fascia is a thick dense, fibrous band that runs along the bottom of your foot. It has three bands, on the sole comprised on the outside and inside and middle of the foot. It starts at your heel and inserts onto the balls of your feet.
What Does It Do:
It helps with to absorb shock from the ground when you run or walk.It helps to stabilize the foot from when your foot lands on the ground to when it pushes off. Plantar Fasciitis is one of the most common foot injuries.
Factors Leading to Plantar Fascia Injuries:
Pronation. Pronation is when forces placed on the foot fall inwards.This can arise from hip weaknesses, ankle weakness, hamstring weakness and tightness also tight calf muscles.
Imbalances in the body lead to abnormalities in gait, which alters how the foot functions, leading to injury.
Pronation tends to happen mostly in people with flat feet. Their feet undergo more movement due to hypermobility, thus leading to more strain on the band. The foot muscles get fatigued and weakened, then the plantar fascia gets injured. However, pronation can also happen to those with high arches. Their pronation origin may not be from the foot but up the chain or lack of flexibility and can still tax the foot intrinsics.
Foot Weakness : This is very important and foot strengthening should be implemented into any plantar fasciitis rehabilitation. The calf and the foot muscles have to be strengthened in order to withstand kiad demands during walking or running. This can be the most difficult part. Depending on form, calf strengthening exercises can cause further irritation or pain. I know exercises to help the foot and calf get stronger without irritating the plantar fascia injury.
Lack of Flexibility: Stretching the calf muscles and hamstrings are important. Stretching also makes the plantar fascia feel better momentarily. You should hold the calf stretches with the knee straight bent for 1 minute.
Shockwave treatment does work well. It promotes healing to the tissue by sending pulses to the tissue. My philosophy is that it needs to be combined with the proper strength training program in order to effectively work. If the underlying issue is not addressed the pain will return.
My philosophy combines strengthening in a progression, stretching, rest, modalities, footwear changes and orthotics.
This is the airplane . Focus on activating the foot muscles and do not allow the ankle to roll inwards. The standing leg lengthens and strengthens the hamstring , the lifted leg helps strengthen hips and hamstring. Try holding for 20 seconds and do a few times.
