Plantar Fasciitis: Why Your Feet Hurt
Dec 8th, 2009 by admin
It starts one morning when you get out of bed, and the bottom of your heel hurts almost as soon as you put it on the floor. The pain feels like a cramp, a bad one, and just like you would with a cramp, you manage to walk it out after a half-hour or so.
It comes back the next morning, and the next. After a week or two, you start having it when you’ve sat for long periods of time, and it takes longer to walk out. It hurts to stand still for long periods of time, and it hurts when you run or walk for very long. You stop exercising, and start putting on a little weight. As the scales go up, so does the pain.
You are probably suffering from plantar fasciitis, a problem caused by the gradual degeneration of a tendon (the plantar fascii) on the bottom of your foot. Pain starts in the heel because this is where the largest mass of the plantar fascii is located. It’s caused by high relative body mass index, long periods of standing, and sometimes by jogging or other types of physical exercise that place a lot of stress on the feet.
Plantar fasciitis by itself is not a cause for concern, but more of a painful nuisance. However, because it discourages exercise and gets worse over time, it does cause or worsen other health problems related to weight and fitness. Early treatment for plantar fasciitis reverses the problem quickly and minimizes any secondary problems.
There are several treatments for plantar fasciitis. Losing weight is the cheapest and most effective overall, while surgery is the most drastic and used only in the most severe cases. But for simple, quick, and relatively inexpensive relief, excellent supportive shoes worn every day may be your best bet. Not only can good arch-support shoes like New Balance improve plantar fasciitis, they can prevent getting it in the first place. Good shoes support the plantar fasciitis along the bottom of your foot, where it connects the heel and your toes, and keep it properly stretched and positioned throughout any activity, from an eight-hour nursing shift to a marathon run. Speak with a shoe specialist to get exactly the right dress or athletic shoe to treat and prevent plantar fasciitis.
