Plantar Fasciitis

Do the undersides of your heels of your feet hurt when you get up after sleeping and put your feet down to walk?

Does the pain get worse throughout the day?

Are your heels tender to the touch?

Does it hurt to stand on tiptoes?

Does the pain stop when exercising but the pain return’s when resting?

If yes then you may have Plantar Fasciitis!



What is it?
The plantar fascia is a thick band of tissue that stretches from your heel to the base of your toes, it acts as a support to the arch of your foot. Plantar Fasciitis is a chronic condition whereby this thick band becomes inflamed, causing pain.



How is it caused?
Plantar Fasciitis occurs in sports that involve a lot of running or jumping and sports that are played on hard surfaces. The repeated stress to the sole of the foot causes the toes to bend and puts pressure on the heel end of the plantar fascia, causing inflammation. Improperly fitting footwear, obesity, pregnancy, overpronation, flat feet can also be contributory factors and a sudden increase in activity or overtraining. Tight Achilles and calf muscles.



How can Sports Massage help?
There are various sports massage techniques that can help ease the pain of plantar fasciitis such as reducing tension in the calf muscles by releasing the fascia through myofascial release.

Fascia surrounds and protects every tissue, tendon, muscle, bone, ligament and organ of the body. Following all trauma and through poor posture, fascia becomes hard and scars in the affected area. This can cause the fascial network to lose its cushioning mechanism and internal structures become pulled out of alignment. Should your calves be tight, tense or have adhesions this can also contribute and cause the plantar fasciitis to become inflamed and painful.

Deep friction massage to the plantar fasciitis will help to achieve movement of the collagen structure of the connective tissue, thus helping to relieve the symptoms. Finally, soft tissue release and muscle energy techniques are used for stretching the tight calves and plantar fasciitis.


Home Care and Exercises?

Initially, the root cause needs to be sought and this can be assessed by the bodifit sports massage therapist in your first session.

A frozen bottle of water to roll your foot on whilst reading or watching TV will help with the inflammation and ease the pain.
Self-massage with a lacrosse or massage ball will help release the tension in the plantar fasciitis, used on a morning sitting on the side of your bed.
Eccentric heel drops and stretching of the calf muscles.
Ensuring you stretch before and after exercise, especially your calf muscles.

The bodifit sports massage therapist can help you with a plan to ease the pain and eventually heal within a few months depending on severity.


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