Plantar fasciitis (PLAN-tur fas-e-I-tis) is one of the most common causes of heel pain. It involves inflammation of a thick band of tissue that runs across the bottom of your foot and connects your heel bone to your toes (plantar fascia).

Plantar fasciitis is an actual inflammation of the very thick membranous structure on the bottom of your foot. It’s very thick, it’s often very, very tight, and when it gets inflamed – and it can become inflamed for various reasons – it creates a lot of pain. The classic sign of plantar fasciitis is waking up in the morning and stepping down onto your heels and having excruciating heel pain.

There are other causes of foot and heel pain, which can be arthritis, bunions, overuse injuries, poor mechanics or walking mechanics. There are various causes for foot and ankle pain. One of the other things is that foot pain can actually be part of a more complex diagnosis, so that is one of the reasons that you should see a chiropractor. It’s, again, pain that is important and needs to be addressed early.

Plantar fasciitis actually is related to a lot of people with a high BMI, or body mass index. It’s actually from weight-bearing structures. A local chiropractor may work with your local massage therapist and your local physiotherapist to create the best health or rehabilitation plan for your situation. Obviously, there are overuse injuries where the person is running with a faulty mechanic that can inflame it as well. Improper shoes can also be one of the reasons that people have plantar fasciitis, but one of the most common reasons is for a high body mass index.

When a patient arrives in an office with foot pain, again, a patient history is one of the key things to making a proper diagnosis. We need to look at the amount of time that they’ve had the pain, perhaps a causing injury, if there’s underlying arthritis…

Once the underlying cause has been established for the foot pain, chiropractors have a plethora of different techniques or a multitude of different techniques to use. We can use mobilizations, we can use icing, laser therapy, soft tissue therapy, orthotic casting – various tissues. One of the main things and clinically effective things is actually a stretch to the plantar fascia that occurs for three minutes. It’s a long stretch, but it’s very effective. Local Physiotherapist 

Foot pain needs to be diagnosed early and treated properly.  If it’s not treated properly, the pain can progress. It’s just a simple thing to get in early to see your chiropractor and be diagnosed early and get the proper treatment as soon as possible. Often seeing a local family physician or a physiotherapist in conjunction with a registered dietitian and athletic therapist is a great option to take control of this condition. Smart Food Now and exercise is also optominal for overall health.    

Presenter: Dr. Beverley Steinhoff, Chiropractor, Vancouver, BC

Now Health Network Local Practitioners: Chiropractor

n badminton plantar fasciitis of the foot can occur because of the quick stops and starts they make on the hardwood floor. Plantar fasciitis is pain and tension that's felt in the bottom of the foot anywhere from the heel to the toes. If we look at our foot here, this is the top surface, well the bottom surface is the plantar surface. And it really runs from the heels right through to the toes and creates the arch of the foot.

But what can happen is it can become inflamed and irritated because of the pounding motion and the stretching motions that occur as you run around the court. That plantar fascial tissue can stretched, it becomes inflamed either at the heel or inflamed anywhere along the line that that plantar fascial tissue goes, and become quite painful.

When dealing with plantar fasciitis in the foot one of the tools we often use for plantar fasciitis treatment is a ball to do some release work on the tissue on the bottom of the foot. That helps decrease the tension on those tissues so you're not getting as much pull from the heel. We also prescribe a variety of different warmup exercises and toe scrunching exercises to try and help keep the tissue supple and keep the blood flowing in the tissue and as well make sure that you're doing a variety of different stretches and other exercises to help speed the healing. 
If you think you have plantar fasciitis go see your physiotherapist, they can assees to see whether or not you need orthotics to help control the arch, but they'll also give you a variety of different exercises and stretches to help you on your road to recovery.

Presenter: Mr. Carl Petersen, Physiotherapist, Vancouver, BC

Local Practitioners:  local Orthopedic Surgeon