You Can Teach Your Feet

If you are a runner then you will be at an added risk of many types of strains and injuries. One of the things you will need to be careful of is developing plantar fasciitis. This is a painful condition that will keep you off of your feet for a while if you are affected by it. As a runner, you know that being off your feet for an extended period of time can make it that much harder for you to get back up to your pre-injury speed. Read this article for information on plantar fasciitis so you know how to avoid it, spot it and get relief from it.

What causes plantar fasciitis?

Plantar fasciitis occurs when your plantar fascia, the tendon that goes along the bottom of your foot, gets injured. The injury can be a tear, a strain, irritation or inflammation. The condition is often caused by excessive weight, long periods of being on your feet, ill-fitted shoes, shoes without proper support and too much stress being put on your feet.

As a runner, yours will more than likely be caused by not wearing the right running shoes or by pushing yourself without taking long enough breaks between runs. Also, running on very hard surfaces can play a role in the development of the condition.

What are the symptoms to watch for?  

Plantar fasciitis will cause the bottom portion of your foot to hurt. If you experience pain in the top part of your foot, then the problem will be something else. Most often the condition will cause a pain right near the heel of your foot, but that pain can radiate to nearby places as well.

The pain is usually a stinging or burning pain, but some people feel it as more of a throbbing. Although the pain can come at any time of the day, it usually feels the worst after you have been off of your feet for a while, such as when you wake up or after you have been sitting for a good length of time.

How is plantar fasciitis treated?

If you are unfortunate enough to develop plantar fasciitis, then the chosen treatment will depend on the severity of your condition. Some treatments include night splints, shoe inserts, walking casts, physical therapy and in some cases even surgery. If you have just developed the condition, then you may be advised to rest your feet, take anti-inflammatories and give yourself time to see if it will heal on its own.

For the pain, you can get some relief by massaging your feet, especially before you get out of bed in the morning. You can also roll a frozen plastic bottle under your foot to numb the area and help stretch out the tendon. For more information, contact a doctor, such as Dr. Lisa M. Schoene.