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Podiatry/Chiropody.
Plantar Fasciitis and Other
forms of Heel Pain.
Ask any athlete, what kind of pain
will prevent them from training? And the answer will probably be
heel pain.
Heel Pain affects 2 million people in
the United States every year and many of them go on to have all
kinds of treatment from some Physiotherapy to full blown Foot
Surgery.
Let’s look at the cause of Heel Pain.
Heel Pain or Plantar Fasciitis the
name most commonly associated with Heel Pain is caused by
micro tears of the Plantar Fascia on the base of the foot.
The Plantar Fascia is the long
fibrous ligament made up of bands of tissue and runs from the heel
bone to the toes. Inflammation develops when tears occur in the
tissue.
The common symptoms from Plantar
Fasciitis is burning, stabbing, or aching pain in the heel.
Most sufferers will be able to feel
it in the morning because the fascia ligament tightens up during the
night while we sleep. However, when we climb out of bed and place
pressure on the ligament it becomes taut and pain is particular
acute. Pain usually decrease when the tissues warm up, but may
easily return after long periods of standing or physical weight
bearing, or after long periods of sitting down.
In most cases Surgery is not
required.
Conservative treatments are usually all that is required.
Causes of Plantar Fasciitis.
Most common is an
over load of physical activity or exercise. Athletes are prone to
Plantar
fasciitis and commonly suffer from it. Arthritis is another
common cause. Certain types of arthritis can cause inflammation to
develop in the tendons resulting in plantar fasciitis.
Wearing incorrect
footwear with inadequate support or cushioning can be a strong
causative factor. While walking or exercising in improper shoes,
weight distribution becomes impaired and significantly stress can be
added to the plantar fascia ligament.
Plantar Fasciitis
is influenced by the mechanics of the foot.
Having conditions
such as flat feet, high arches, pronation or having an abnormal
gait, the fascia tissue becomes overworked or stretched abnormally,
resulting in tears and inflammation.
Each of the
factors mentioned are contributory risk factors that can lead to
plantar fasciitis.
At Prestwich Foot
Clinic our Podiatrists work closely with the Physiotherapists,
together combating Heel Pain.
The Podiatrists
concentrate on the provision of the Orthotic Insole Service.
They perform a
full biomechanical assessment with a video gait analysis.
This enables our
specialist in orthotic insoles to understand thoroughly the causes
and treat the heel pain accordingly.
Working together
with the Physiotherapists we provide hands on Pain relief therapy
and an exercise regime to prevent further occurrences of the pain.
Our specialist
orthotic service, provide tailor made insoles that cushion and
protect the feet from further injury and trauma to the heel tissues.
All in all a total
one shop package for sufferers of Heel Pain, and any other sports
related Foot Problems. |
