Plantar heel pain refers to pain on the underside of your
foot near your heel, due to irritation of the ‘plantar fascia’.
The plantar fascia is a tough, supportive structure on the
underside of your foot.
You may have heard of the term ‘plantar fasciitis’ which means inflammation to the tissue of the underside of your foot. This term isn’t exactly correct, as the pain is typically not related to inflammation, rather it is caused by excessive work or stress on your foot. The relevance of this is that anti-inflammatory drugs are
typically ineffective for plantar heel pain.
What causes it?
Plantar heel pain is thought to occur when the tissue on the underside of your
foot becomes ‘overloaded’ – meaning that it has been asked to carry out more
activity than it is capable of. This could happen for many reason – two examples
are outlined below. It could be due to a big increase in activity (load), or it could
be due to a reduced capacity of your plantar fascia to tolerate stress (tissue
capacity).
What to look for?
Plantar heel pain will typically show the following signs:
Pain on the underside of your foot, closer to your heel
Pain first thing in the morning
Pain with prolonged walking or activity where you are
on your feet
Pain on palpation of the painful area
What can I do to help it?
As plantar heel pain comes from your foot being ‘overloaded’, management of
this condition should be looked at in terms of how we can reduce workload on
the foot and increase capacity of the foot. If we can reduce the workload on the
foot while improving it’s strength and function, this should result in less pain
throughout the day. Below are some possible treatment options to help manage
plantar heel pain:
Exercise – strengthening and stretching of your foot can help to relieve pain
and increase the capacity of your foot, allowing it to cope better with daily
activities
Taping – this can help to take the pressure away from the plantar
structures of your foot, making it easier to walk and undertake other
activities
Orthotics – a longer term option can be orthotics for your shoe to help
support the plantar and arches of your foot
Manual therapy and massage – this can help to alleviate immediate
symptoms
Activity modification – modifying activity (where possible) can be helpful in
allowing your foot to calm down and alleviate symptoms
If these symptoms sound familiar to you, come into Medowie Family & Sports
Physiotherapy. Kevin and Mike are both familiar with this condition and would be
happy to get you back on track.