Plantar fasciitis might be the cause of your heel pain. This condition is often caused by overuse or repetitive motion. It's common in runners, but you can also get it by walking or standing for many hours a day at your job. Here are some more symptoms of plantar fasciitis and some treatments a podiatrist might suggest to speed healing.
Signs You Could Have Plantar Fasciitis
One common sign of plantar fasciitis is when you experience heel pain when you first start moving after resting a while and then the pain is relieved as you stay active. Plantar fasciitis can also make you feel like you're walking on pebbles, and you may feel pain when you stretch your feet. The plantar fascia runs along the bottom of your foot, so you could feel pain anywhere in this area.
Treatments That Often Help Plantar Fasciitis
If your condition was triggered by running too far before you worked up to the longer distance, then resting for a few weeks might reduce the pain and speed healing. However, if you have to work and stand on your feet all day or walk all day, then resting is more difficult. Try to take as many rest breaks as you can, and be sure to wear shoes that support your feet. Flat shoes like flip-flops can make your heel pain worse.
Ice can also help with pain, and you can combine ice with exercise by rolling your foot over a bottle of frozen water. The cold temperature helps reduce inflammation, which can reduce your pain. Stretching your foot by rolling it over a bottle also helps by keeping the fascia from getting tight. Your podiatrist may teach you other types of foot stretches to do every day that help relieve pain and also prevent the condition from returning once it clears up.
Your podiatrist might recommend shoe inserts to wear in your work shoes or running shoes that can help with plantar fasciitis. If you can't stay off your feet, then you'll want extra support for your feet as well as padding to help with pain. Splints that keep your feet stretched while you're resting might reduce the initial pain you feel once you start moving. Your podiatrist might even recommend you sleep with splints on your feet to help with morning heel pain.
You can have plantar fasciitis in both feet at the same time, which is common when the cause is related to your gait, wearing flip-flops, or exercising too hard too soon. Whether the heel pain is in one foot or two, it makes it difficult to train for a race or keep up with your job, so if your heel pain doesn't get better in a few days, see a podiatrist, such as those at Collier Podiatry PA. You might have plantar fasciitis and need medical help.
Share12 February 2019
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