Heel pains can be triggered by different causes. One common cause for heel pains among adults is Plantar Fasciitis. If you feel stabbing pain in the morning when getting out of bed, then you may have Plantar Fasciitis. Plantar Fasciitis occurs when there is inflammation in the plantar fascia, a thick, weblike ligament that connects your heel to the front of your foot.
Our plantar fascia ligaments experience wear and tear in our daily activities. But too much pressure on our feet can tear these ligaments. When our plantar fascia gets inflamed, it can cause heel pain which is called plantar fasciitis.
If you are experiencing pain in the bottom of your heel, read on as the professionals from Watsonia Podiatry provide the symptoms, causes and proper treatments for plantar fasciitis.
What are its symptoms?
Most people complain of pain at the bottom of their heels. Most of the time, it can affect only one foot, but there are cases where it can also affect both feet.
Plantar Fasciitis is usually worse in the morning when getting out of bed. You can also feel it if you’ve been sitting for awhile and you stand back up. But the pain will start to diminish after 15 to 30 minutes then it may come and go throughout the day. The pain can also erupt when you are doing a prolonged activity, due to increased irritation or inflammation.
What causes Plantar Fasciitis?
There are some known factors include age, weight, pregnancy, the kind of activity you engage in, structural foot problems, tight Achilles tendons, or even the type of shoes you wear.
Plantar Fasciitis often occurs in elderly adults. Those who are at the highest risk for developing plantar fasciitis are men and women between the ages of 40 and 70 and who are active. But between the two sexes, plantar fasciitis is more common in women than men to some degree.
Pregnant women are also prone to experiencing bouts of plantar fasciitis, particularly during late pregnancy, because of the weight gain experienced during pregnancy.
Moreover, if someone is overweight or obese, the tendency of developing plantar fasciitis is also greater. Because of the heavy weight, there is an increased pressure in the plantar fascia ligaments, especially when you were previously slim but suddenly gained a lot of weight.
Athletes are also more likely to develop plantar fascia problems, especially those long-distance runners. Overuse is the most common cause of plantar fasciitis among athletes. An increase in weight-bearing activities, especially those involving running, causes microtrauma to the plantar fascia.
Those people with jobs which require them to stand for longer hours or use their feet more often are also prone to plantar fasciitis. These include those who work in factories, in constructions, salespersons at malls, or those restaurant servers. Your plantar fascia receives more pressure when you’re constantly on your feet and when you’re carrying something heavy while on your feet.
Individuals with structural foot problems, or those with low arches or flat feet, or high arches are at greater risk for developing plantar fasciitis.
People with tight calves can pull their plantar fascias and can make their feet have a premature heel rise. Those tendons which are attached to your calf muscles also known as Achilles tendons can also cause a strain to the plantar fascia.
Even the type of shoes you wear can increase the risk of you getting plantar fasciitis because shoes with soft soles and poor arch support can increase the pressure on the plantar fascia. On the other hand, wearing good footwear can lessen the pressure and thus, avoiding tearing of the plantar fascia ligaments and its inflammation.
How can Plantar Fasciitis be treated?
Most people who experience it resort to home treatments like rest, icing, and using braces and anti-inflammatory. However, if the pain does not go away after doing all these, it would be best to consult a medical professional to help you properly diagnose your condition and help you ease the pain as plantar fasciitis is a self-limiting condition. Moreover, early recognition and treatment usually lead to a shorter period of treatment as well as increased probability of success to treat this condition.
When you decide to go to your doctor, be sure to take note of a few important things to properly narrate your condition to your doctor, and in order for your doctor to accurately assess your condition. These details include the time when you started to feel the pain, the degree of pain, the things you tried to ease the pain, and the kind of activities you do on a daily basis. There are little details but are very important for correct diagnosis and for your doctor to provide a proper treatment to your condition.
If you experience heel pains in the morning when getting out of bed, it is important to talk to a professional. You can pay a visit to the experts at Watsonia Podiatry for early diagnosis and treatment.
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