How to Prevent Plantar Fasciitis
Plantar
Fasciitis is a common injury among runners but it could also occur to any
athlete of any sport or any person in particular. In order to fully understand how this injury
occurs lets get to know what the words Plantar Fasciitis stand for.
Plantar is the word used to describe the location of the injury, which is the
bottom surface of the foot. Fasciitis describes the injured structure within
the foot. The fascia is a thick ligamentous structure that provides structural
support to the arch. When the plantar fascia is constantly stressed it becomes
irritated and in turn becomes inflamed hence the –itis on the end of the word
fascia. This structure runs from the heel (calcaneus) all the way to the toes
(metatarsophalangeal joint area).
Now you are probably
wondering how this injury occurs right? There are many ways in which someone
could develop plantar fasciitis but we are only going to go over the most
common ones.
1.
Foot Structure:
There are three types of foot structure:
I.
Neutral foot- has
an arch but with a moderate height
II.
High Arch Foot-
arch that is higher than normal
III.
Flat Foot- little
to no arch
People with high arched feet
and people with flat feet are at a greater risk of developing plantar fasciitis.
The reason is because since in a
high arched foot there is little to no motion in the foot and in a flat foot
there is too much motion. To fully
understand this try to imagine a rope bridge. Now imagine that the side of the bridge
that you are standing on is the heel and the side that you are trying to cross
to will be the toes of your foot. The rope bridge itself is the plantar fascia;
you will be the stress that is placed on the plantar fascia each time you take
a step.
Tight Rope Bridge (High Arched Foot)
As you walk on the tight rope
bridge you notice that the bridge is nice and stable with almost no give, which
is a good thing right? Well if you plan to not walk as much as you do it is but
that’s not the reality for most of us. Imagine that the amount of activities
you do everyday will consist of you crossing over the bridge from side to
side. You will find that eventually the
rope bridge will start to give and that is exactly what happens with the
plantar fascia in a high arched foot.
Loose Rope Bridge (Flat Foot)
In a flat foot, the plantar
fascia does not provide much support, and as you walk the rope bridge you will
notice that this bridge is less stable with a lot of give. This instability of the foot causes the
plantar fascia to be stressed in all types of ways. This type of stress is not normal for the
plantar fascia causing the irritation to occur.
2. Type of
Footwear:
(I’m not going to go in detail as to how
footwear may cause plantar fasciitis because this is one of the blogs that we
are going to be posting soon, but I will explain it briefly). Footwear is one
of the biggest ways to either influence plantar fasciitis or prevent it. It is
all related with your foot structure. For example, if you have a high arched
foot and are wearing shoes or sneakers that don’t have much arch support you
are going to cause your plantar fascia to overwork. This is due to the lack of
support in the arch. The same thing could occur with people with flat feet, the
foot will need some kind of support to decrease the excessive movement in the
foot. If not properly supported irritation occurs.
3. Biomechanical
disadvantages:
One
of the key biomechanical disadvantages that most people have is tightness. Tightness
can occur in the body for a number of reasons such as, muscle imbalances, bone
structural differences, overuse, and etc. The gastrocnemius (outer most muscle)
and the soleus (inner muscle) make up your calf muscles. These muscles
originate (start) behind the knee and insert or attach the calcaneus (heel) via
the Achilles tendon. Tightness to these muscles can cause tension on the
plantar fascia because all these structures, the plantar fascia and the
gastrocnemius, and soleus are attached to the calcaneus. All of these
structures make up a pulley system in order to project you forward.
Common Signs and Symptoms
· Heel pain that comes and goes
· Server pain in the morning when attempting to stand
· Area will appear swollen compared to the none affected
foot
These are the three major factors
that can cause plantar fasciitis. It is important to note that these issues do
not operate alone. They can be caused by many other factors, but for the
purpose of this blog we will not discuss those. I have attached a workout that
can be done 2 to 3 days a week that will help prevent much of what causes
plantar fasciitis. They are not the “end all, be all” but they will help to
keep the muscles loose and moving properly. Please keep an eye out for our
future blogs about footwear, which can also help prevent plantar fasciitis.
Home Exercises to Help Prevent
Plantar Fasciitis
*You will need a Lacrosse ball, baseball or golf ball,
Foam Roller, Thera Band or elastic tubing, and Rope.
Soft Tissue Work:
Roll
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Plantar Fascia
|
40 sec-1min
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Calf
|
1min-2min
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|
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Quads
|
40 sec-1min
|
|
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Glutei
|
40 sec-1min
|
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IT Band
|
40 sec-1min
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Leg Exercises
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Exercise
|
Sets
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Reps
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YouTube Link
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Hip Press
|
1
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20
|
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Clams w/ T Band
|
1
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15each side
|
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T Bands 3 ways
|
1
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15 each way
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Stork Stance
|
1
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15
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Stretches
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Exercise
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Sets
|
Reps
|
YouTube Link
|
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Big Toe
|
1
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15
|
|
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Calf w/ Rope
|
1
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15
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