About 1 in 10 people will suffer from plantar fasciitis at any point in their lifetime, making this a very common condition. The main symptom of plantar fasciitis is pain, commonly felt about 4 cm (1.5 inch) forward from the heel. Plantar fasciitis is a painful inflammatory condition causing heel pain and in some cases heel spurs.
The pain usually eases when resting the foot, but is often at its worst first thing in the morning or after long periods where no weight is placed on the foot. Gentle exercise may ease the pain a little, but a long walk will aggravate the pain.
People especially at risk getting plantar fasciitis are the ones that do a lot of walking, running, standing, etc. In addition, people who have recently started exercising on a different surface, like running on the road instead of a track, also have a greater risk of the condition. Some people find that a poor arch support or a sudden increase in weight can bring on the symptoms.
Often though, there is no apparent cause, especially in older people. A common, incorrect, belief is that the pain is due to a bony growth or ‘spur’ coming from the heel bone (calcaneum). Many people have a bony spur of the heel bone but not everyone gets plantar fasciitis.
There is no specific treatment that appears to stand out as the best. A combination of different treatments does help though. At Milton Chiropractic Clinic Cambridge the treatment plan for people suffering from plantar fasciitis will be as follows:
TREATMENT PLAN
Rest the foot as much as possible
We will scan the soles of your feet, using a state of the art TOG Gaitscan. If the scan indicates that your arches have dropped and they contribute to your pain, we will subscribe custom-made orthotics. These speed up recovery remarkably by supporting all of the three arches of the foot, thereby decreasing the tension on the plantar fascia and thus quickening the healing process.
Our custom-made orthotics are individually made to accommodate for your feet and support your arches. In addition, we can modify them with a full heel cushion or heel spur pad, so they are even more comfortable to walk on.
We use cross friction to stimulate blood supply to the plantar fascia to promote tissue heeling and we use gentle stretching exercises of the Achilles tendon and plantar fascia to help ease the symptoms.
Plantar fasciitis can be a very painful condition which has a great impact on someone’s life. Some of our patient’s couldn’t even walk to the end of the garden anymore! Thanks to our programme and their effort, they have their lives back again.
ORTHOTICS
At Milton Chiropractic Clinic we take a holistic approach. We look at the body as being an interconnected system of specialized parts. The support structure which holds everything together is made up of bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Your feet are the foundation of your body, and if your feet are not properly supported, it can give you problems anywhere from your ankles up to your neck.
THE FEET – ENGINEERING MASTERPIECES
We take our feet for granted but each foot is an engineering masterpiece. The foot is made up of 26 bones, 33 joints and more than 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments. Biomechanical problems affecting the feet can increase stresses within the foot structures and the surrounding soft tissues, creating localized pain in the foot, ankle and also problems in the lower limbs, knees, hips and back. Correction of poor foot biomechanics with custom-made Orthotics can improve and prevent many types of symptoms such as:
- Forefoot Pain
- Plantar Fasciitis (pain at the sole of your feet)
- Policeman’s Heel (Heel Spur)
- Ankle Pain
- Shin Pain
- Knee Pain
The aim of a custom-made Insole is to correct dysfunctional biomechanics and therefore:
- Reduce pain
- Provide support
- Prevent or halt the development of foot deformity
- Provide better positioningRelieve pressure on a certain area of the foot
- Improve the overall biomechanical function of the foot
- Improve pelvic alignment
- Reduce lower limb torsion and knee stress
