Plantar fasciitis

The fascia attaches to the tip of each toe, so it also plays a crucial role in everyday activities like walking. It helps stabilize the foot by forcing the toes to bend backwards during movement. This, in turn, helps to tighten and hold the curve of the foot in place, thereby ensuring arch stability.

Causes of plantar fasciitis

Inflammation of the fascia at the arch of the foot is typically caused by extra pressure during activities like running, jumping, unusually long walks or long hours of standing work. A heavy body weight and hard surfaces, also increase your risk. If you suffer from flatfoot or hollow foot, then you are at a higher risk of developing plantar fasciitis.

Symptoms

The most common symptom is heel pain when pressure is put on your foot. The pain is typically worst when you get out of bed in the morning. As your foot warms up, the pain often diminishes to some degree. If the pain is also present during inactivity, then it is common for the pain to be at its worst during the evening after performing activities during the day.

Diagnosis and treatment

Avoid jumping, running and/or similar activities to relieve pain or discomfort in your foot. Those activities inflame or tax the arch of your foot. You can also try changing your footwear to reduce the pressure on your foot’s arches.

Training

Exercises that stimulate circulation in the damaged tissue can help treat plantar fasciitis. Focus on strength training, which has been shown effective in injury prevention. You may also benefit from stretching the Achilles tendon and the leg muscle, as well as exercises to increase arch stability and mobility in the foot and ankles.

Health facts and statistics about plantar fasciitis

How many people are affected by plantar fasciitis?

It is estimated that plantar fasciitis is one of the most common causes of chronic heel pain. Between 11% and 15% of all adults who see their physician about foot symptoms are diagnosed with plantar fasciitis. In fact, one in ten people will suffer from plantar fasciitis at some point in their lifetime.

Tenderness in the heel is one of the major symptoms related to this condition, particularly amongst older patients who suffer from plantar fasciitis. Approximately 7% of those who aged over 65 will suffer from this problem, with heel pain typically being the symptom most likely to cause them to seek out a diagnosis.

What activities increase the risk of developing plantar fasciitis?

Inflammation of the plantar fascia and the subsequent cascade of symptoms associated with the condition are most commonly seen in those who engage in regular physical exercise. Athletes, runners, joggers – these are just a few of the categories most at risk.

Trying to maintain an active training regime, such as running or jogging, while ignoring the symptoms of plantar fasciitis can worsen symptoms, leading to more chronic conditions. Often, these types of physical activity will lead to intense muscle contractions, particularly in the plantar flexor muscles.

This can cause the plantar fascia to overstretch and thus, become inflamed, leading to muscle strains. This is because the plantar fascia is being forced to alternate between stretching and contracting over a protracted period.

Over time, this leads to micro-tears in the muscle, making the condition worse. While activities such as running and jogging should be avoided during recovery, the injured foot still needs to be treated with the correct types of exercises.

What jobs increase the risk of developing plantar fasciitis?

Activities involving prolonged weight bearing on the foot, such as standing for several hours, increase the tensile load on the fascia and lead to plantar fasciitis. Certain job categories such as hairdressing, sports and the military are associated with an increased risk of developing plantar fasciitis. Football players or soldiers standing guard are typical examples. Prolonged weight bearing on the foot, whether moving or stationary, is enough to cause the plantar fascia to become tensioned and inflamed.

Dancers, orienteering instructors and anyone whose work requires standing or walking on hard surfaces are also at increased risk of developing these types of problems. Studies have shown that plant assembly workers and truck/forklift drivers are another occupational group who are frequently diagnosed with plantar fasciitis.

Who is more at risk of developing from plantar fasciitis?

Certain groups of people have a higher risk of suffering from plantar fasciitis than others. Statistics reveal that 70% of all those diagnosed with plantar fasciitis are clinically obese (have a body mass index over 30), showing a clear link between high BMI and plantar fasciitis.

In fact, if you have a BMI over 30, you are five times more likely to suffer from these kinds of mobility issues than those with a lower value.

Demographically, the highest incidence of plantar fasciitis tends to occurs in middle-aged, clinically obese women but is also very common in in young male athletes. Pre-existing conditions, such as spondylarthropathy will also place you at greater risk of developing plantar fasciitis, as will a family history of similar issues.

Age is another risk factor. The prevalence of plantar fasciitis tends to peak between the ages of 45 and 64, but as a general rule, the older you are, the higher your risk becomes for developing the condition.