If you've never experienced the pain that accompanies heel spurs and plantar fasciitis consider yourself lucky. This common problem is debilitating for many people. It causes intense heel pain or pain anywhere on the bottom of your foot. The symptoms are usually worse during the first few steps and gradually decrease once you walk around. However, some people are in pain all day long. It can effect a sedentary person, a skinny person, an overweight person, or an athlete. It alters how you walk and move throughout the day and may cause back pain. People look all over for remedies to their pain, usually to no avail.

The cause of Plantar Fasciitis is irritation to the plantar fascia on the bottom of your feet. The plantar fascia is a thick band of tissue that goes from your heel all the way to your toes. It maintains your arches and creates a stable foundation for your foot.

If you walk without proper arch support in your shoes eventually your arches will fall. When this happens it causes your plantar fascia to stretch. This makes the fascia tighter than it should be and this causes pain. For many people the fascia gets so tight that it starts to pull at the heel bone. After many years of pulling these people may develop a heel spur. This is when the heel bone grows a little bump on it because of the constant pulling. This may be accompanied by pain but it may be painless.

Some people with normal arches or high arches get heel pain and plantar fasciitis as well. This is usually caused by muscle imbalances in the foot or lower leg. Some people have normal arches while standing but when they stand their arches fall. Either way, the first solution is to get custom orthotic inserts made for your shoes. This doesn't mean the cheap ones you get at a pharmacy. You need to find someone who makes custom orthotic inserts that can be made specific for your feet. These can cost from $75 to $300. This is expensive but can be very effective.

The best way to get rid of your pain is to get your plantar fascia stretched out. When the fascia lengthens it won't pull on your heel and you won't get so much pain. To do this you need to find a Chiropractic Physician or someone with extensive knowledge of the fascia to work on your foot. This procedure is extremely effective but also can be quite painful. It requires the practitioner to push into your fascia with their fingers and manually stretch out your fascia. It normally takes one treatment but may require more. At the conclusion of the 5-10 minute procedure you must roll a tennis ball under your feet for 15 minutes every hour for a week to reshape your fascia.

If you suffer from heel of foot pain you should be in contact with a practitioner who is skilled in plantar fasciitis. The remedy of rest usually will not help you. The other option is a cortisone injection which may be very painful and does not solve your problem. Try to treat your symptoms with ice and custom orthotics, but you may still need to have someone manually stretch your fascia to obtain permanent relief.



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