Plantar Fasciitis Explained Plantar fasciitis is a painful condition within the foot which
causes stabbing, burning pain in the heel area. Many times, people who
suffer from plantar fasciitis feel the most pain early in the morning,
or after any activity that involves running or jogging.
The pain that is felt with plantar fasciitis is due to swelling of a
tissue which connects the heel bone to the toes. This tissue, which is
called the plantar fascia, is found on the bottom of your foot.
Overnight, or during periods of inactivity such as time spent at a desk
job, the plantar fascia tissue tightens up, causing pain when a person
stands up and mobilizes. This pain is generally reduced as the person
moves around.
Signs of Plantar Fasciitis
- Plantar fasciitis can occur in both feet at the same time, but generally occurs only in one foot.
- Sharp pains in middle of bottom of heel. The pain will feel like stabbing.
- Worst
pain is felt when stepping after lengthy immobility, including after sleep, as well as when stretching the bottom of the foot by
tip-toeing or climbing.
- Pain is felt after exercise, but rarely during exercise, unless bottom of foot is being stretched.
- A small amount of swelling in the heel.
Causes of Plantar Fasciitis
The pain and inflammation experienced with plantar fasciitis is caused
by repetitive tearing of the plantar fascia tissue. Some things which
can cause or contribute to this tearing include:
- Weight gain
- Overdoing physical activities, particularly running and climbing.
- Chronic conditions such as arthritis and diabetes have been shown to increase risks of plantar fasciitis.
- Walking incorrectly or having an abnormally shaped foot.
- Wearing shoes without the proper support.
Some
people are more at risk than others for developing plantar fasciitis.
As mentioned above, those with diabetes and arthritis are at risk.
Athletes, people who are flat-footed, people who are overweight, and
pregnant women are all at higher risk than others. Your job also
contributes to your risk factor. If you are a waitress, for example,
who is on her feet almost her entire shift, you can be more at risk for
plantar fasciitis.
Medical Care for Plantar Fasciitis
If you experience any of the signs listed above for plantar fasciitis
you should seek corrective action as plantar fasciitis can become more
severe as time goes buy. Conditions which cause poor circulation can
be very dangerous to your feet, and issues with the feet can be
severely complicated by these conditions.
If you believe that you may have plantar fasciitis, you should not
ignore the condition and hope it will go away. Although plantar
fasciitis in itself is not generally a very serious condition, if left
untreated, it can develop into problems with mobility and issues with
other parts of the body.
Treating Plantar Fasciitis
Treatments for this condition range from minimal home therapy to
surgical procedures. Some of the most common treatment recommendations
for plantar fasciitis include:
- Wearing a Night Splint at night to hold the fascia in a stretched position.
- Supports inside your shoe to provide better pressure distribution. See our Heel Seats
- Physical therapy and morning stretches if Heel Seats and Night Splints are not eliminating all of the pain.
Preventing Plantar Fasciitis
Although plantar fasciitis is not a life-threatening condition, it can
be annoying and troublesome, particularly if it causes you to restrict
your level of motion. Therefore, you will want to take preventative
measures to keep this condition from developing. Some preventative measures include:
- Stretching legs, ankles, and feet prior to stepping out of bed in the morning.
- Wear shoes which provide proper support, and try not to wear high heels.
- If participating in sports, always warm up.
- Keep in shape and at a healthy weight.
In regards to shoes, heel "cushions" and arch supports for plantar fasciitis
and/or heel spur treatment:
(1) Shoes:
Expensive shoes are not the answer for treating plantar fasciitis
and/or heel spurs. It's all about the insert in your shoe. Many
customers we talk to have spent hundreds of dollars on expensive shoes
looking for relief when they could have bought a $50 pair of shoes and
purchased a quality after market insert which would make it as good, if
not better, then a $300 pair of "orthopedic" shoes. The Heel Seats can
be used in ANY closed back shoe and results are usually felt within (2)
weeks of everyday use.
(2) Heel
"Cushions": Many sufferers of plantar fasciitis and heel spurs
think or have been told to use soft "cushions" under their heel. This
approach does nothing to attack the actual source of pain and rarely
works. The same thing is true for painful Cortizone shots. Cortizone
only numbs the inflamed area and makes your body not feel the pain, but
again does nothing to actually attack the source of the problem or
provide a long term solution.
(3) Arch Supports/Custom Orthotics: Everyone should wear a
quality arch support in their shoes starting as early in life as
possible. Having proper support under your arch and keeping the proper
bio-mechanical balance will prevent plantar fasciitis and heel spurs
from occurring later in life. With the many different types of footwear
available such as non supportive flip-flops it is not realistic that
everyone will take the preventative approach and this is why 15 million
people suffer from plantar fasciitis in the United States alone.
Podiatrists seem to always prescribe custom orthotics for patients with
plantar fasciitis and it's no wonder they rarely work to cure the
problem as they are just an expensive arch support. Again... the reason
they rarely help is because they do not attack the source of the problem
which is the plantar fascia contracting, not a lack of arch support.
Podiatrists profit hundreds of dollars selling custom orthotics that
rarely work and they provide no guarantee.... buyer beware!!
The Heel Seats were designed specifically
for Plantar Fasciitis and Heel Spurs. How they treat Plantar Fasciitis
and Heel Spurs is described below:
Plantar Fasciitis: The Heel Seats
have patented acupressure ridge that is just forward of where your heel
sits. When your body weight presses down on this acupressure ridge the
ridge physically stretches and lengthens the plantar fascia. This is
the true source of heel pain from Plantar Fasciitis, the plantar fascia
contracting and becoming inflamed. The Heel Seats are the only product
we have found(and we carry a lot of products for foot pain) that
actually provide a long term solution to this very common, but very
frustrating foot ailment.
Heel
Spurs: The Heel Seats use the same patented acupressure ridge
described above to leverage the weight off of your heel. The pain from
Heel Spurs is not because of the actual bone spur, it's because of the
inflamed tissue around the spur that has been pounded by walking on it
for too long. The Heel Seats leverage the weight off of the heel and
allow the inflamed tissue around the spur to reduce and therefore
eliminate the heel pain felt because of Heel Spurs.
Hopefully
this section helps you make a more informed and educated decision when
purchasing products for both Heel Spurs and Plantar Fasciitis.
Our medically proven Heel Seats
work to correct the source of Plantar Fasciitis and not cover up the
symptoms. The patented acupressure bar keeps the fascia stretched all
day as you walk. This constant pressure on the plantar fascia works as
therapy to eliminate Plantar Fasciitis for good!
HTP Heel Seats cure the cause... not just treat the symptoms like other products.
Dealing
with plantar fasciitis can be very problematic. People spend billions
of dollars a year on hundreds of products with little to no success.
Try HTP Heel Seats. Stop the insanity and start the healing. Remember,
your results are guaranteed!
Click here to read more about how HTP Heel Seats work and how Dr. Art Smuckler invented them and proved their effectiveness in clinical trials....
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