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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: