Plantar Fasciitis: What is it? How to relieve it? How to prevent it?

“Ouch! My foot hurts!”

Plantar Fasciitis is the MOST common foot issue I have seen with my clients in the past 20 years.

I experienced it myself, healed it, and share what I’ve learned here with you!

What is Plantar Fasciitis?

Plantar Fasciitis pain map — **Plantar fasciitis** is a disorder of the plantar fascia, which is the connective tissue which supports the arch of the foot.(Wikipedia)
This disorder is caused by inflammation. Any word ending in the suffix -itis refers to inflammation. Think of arthr-itis, gingiv'-itis, etc. The inflammation in the tissue under the arch of the foot causes pain. This pain can range from a slight ache to debilitating. The pain can also be in different areas of the foot, heel, even ankle.

Causes

This inflammation can be caused by over-use of the calves or feet, lack or insufficient stretching, poor footwear and eating an inflammatory diet. Dehydration and mineral deficiencies can contribute to the cramping and discomfort. Let’s dive deeper into each cause.

Over-Use / Lack or Insufficient Stretching: Walking, hiking, running, and sports involving these movements are great exercise, though doing a lot of any of these or increasing the amount can cause the muscles of the calf and feet to become tight. Get into the habit of spending a couple of minutes stretching after the activity. (More on specific stretches below)

Poor Footwear: The structure of the human foot is an ingenious design! It’s our built in shock-absorber. The arch of the foot (even if you have ‘flat feet’) is designed to move to absorb forces of impact to decrease stress on the knee, hip, etc. up the line. If your shoe juuuuust fits so that when you step your toes bump the front of the shoe, your foot is not able to fully expand to absorb that impact. Over time this causes stress in the plantar fascia leading to inflammation and greater stress in the calf, knee, hip, etc. I recommend getting walking/running shoes that are 1/2 to 1 full size larger than your casual shoe size. If this is a new concept, start with 1/2 size up to acclimate.

Inflammatory Diet: Duh. Do I need to say anything else? We are what we eat. Literally our cells (and tissues) are made of what we consume. Eat and drink inflammatory foods and you increase the inflammation in your body. For more on Anti-Inflammatory foods see my Anti-Inflammatory Eating blog post.

Dehydration / Mineral Deficiencies: Proper hydration enables our muscles, tendons, tissues and cells to function optimally. This comes down to drinking enough water and consuming electrolyte minerals that help the cells absorb the water. Magnesium is the magical relaxation mineral that helps our body (muscles, tendons, digestion, mind, ALL OF IT!) relax and reduces cramping. For more on hydration see my Hydration blog post.

Relief

When you feel the tell-tale pain in your foot, it can be in a number of places according to the diagram above. The pain can also present in your calf and up to your knee. You can feel it first thing in the morning when you step on the floor or it can be something you feel during or after exercise or as a nagging soreness that just does not go away.

Stretch: The first step to relief is to stretch when you feel the pain. I like to use a set of stairs, preferably with a railing so you can hold on and focus on the stretch and not balancing on the stair.

Hold each stretch for 10-15 seconds and remember to breathe. Start standing on a step. Lower the right heel off the stair while keeping the left foot on. Straighten the right leg pressing weight into the right heel. Then bend the right knee slightly to feel the stretch shift lower toward the ankle. Repeat on the other leg. Check out this quick demo from my Instagram.
You can also add a toe/fore-foot stretch by pulling the toes up toward the shin or using your fingers to separate between your toes.

When experiencing pain with the first step in the morning, do these stretches before getting out of bed.

Laying on your back hold one leg up with knee bent, support behind the knee. Draw circles with the foot. Point and flex the foot. Draw each letter of the alphabet with the foot. Repeat on the other leg/foot.

Roll: Invest in a foam roller, freeze a water bottle and grab a golf ball.

Freeze a water bottle. The cold helps decrease inflammation and the hard bottle helps to massage the plantar fascia and break up knots. Roll the frozen bottle under your foot the full length of the arch. Really press weight into it.
Place a golf ball on a carpeted surface and stand with the bottom of your foot on the ball. Roll the ball under your foot; under the ball of your foot, the arch and on the heel. Pay special attention on areas that are sore or “crunchy.”
Use a foam roller to massage calves. Massage from back/side of knee to ankle. Breathe. Sometimes stretching just isn’t enough.

Icy/Hot:

ICE: Put on your game face because this is a killer! But, it works immediately. Get a container large enough to submerge your foot and fill with ice and water. Place your foot in the icy water and breathe. Hold for at least 10 seconds, remove and repeat.
HOT: Epsom salt bath or soak for your foot or whole body. Epsom salts are magnesium sulfate which helps to calm the body.

Prevention

Unfortunately, Plantar Fasciitis is one of those conditions some of us are more prone to getting. And, once you get it you are more prone to getting it again. The good news is that once you have experienced it there is no mistaking that feeling and you can often tell when it’s starting to come back. This is the time to step up your prevention game and ask yourself the questions below.

Shoes: Are you shoes the right size? The right type for your activity? Just getting old and need to be replaced?

Diet: Have you been eating foods that are Inflammatory for you? Are you staying hydrated?

Stretching: Have you been slacking on your stretching? Maybe the stretching isn’t as effective and you need to get rolling or using a ball.

Thank you for reading and I hope you learned some thing that you can use to relieve your pain so you can continue doing the activities you love!

Questions? Send me an email at jen@simplyfitandfresh.com.