What is plantar fasciitis?
The plantar fascia is a dense ligament that links your heel to your foot. It takes acre of the arch of your foot and assists you in walking. When the ligament is damaged, it causes ache in the bottom of the heel.
Plantar fasciitis is one of the most prevalent orthopedic injury. Your ligaments of plantar fascia go through a lot of wear and tear in your daily chores. Typically, these ligaments work as shock absorbers, maintaining the arch of the foot. However, when your feet goes through too much of pressure, it can stretch the ligaments and can completely tear it; the plantar fascia becomes swollen, and the swelling causes heel stiffness and inflammation.
What are the signs of plantar fasciitis?
The main symptom of plantar fasciitis is the ache that you experience on the heel bottom. In some cases, the patient have had pain at the bottom mid-foot part. This grows steadily over period of time and gets worse. In most cases, you would find it in just one foot, but it can also affect both feet. The pain usually is dull, not very acute in beginning, but it gets worse with time. Some people also experience an inflammation or pain on the bottom of the foot spreading outward from the heel.
The degree of pain is highest soon after you wake up and take your first step out of the bed or if you have been lying or sitting at one place for a while. The pain is worse, when you are climbing stairs. Also, if you are into intense physical feet activity, the pain would begin after you stop the activity.
What are the reasons for plantar fasciitis?
The risk of developing plantar fasciitis is higher, if you are an obese. Also, there is a risk of developing plantar fasciitis, if you have gain too much of weight in too little time. Weight increases pressure on the ligament, causing the ligament to stretch. It may also be noticed in pregnant women, especially in cases of late pregnancy.
Also, if you are an athlete or are into running, there is a greater risk for you to develop this. The demography in which it is prevalent is in the age group of 35-70 and is more common in women than men.
How does doctor diagnose your plantar fasciitis?
The foot specialist will conduct a physical check to look for any stiffness in your heel and the precise spot of the heel pain to validate that it’s not because of any other foot problem. The foot specialist may ask you to stretch your foot while they conduct checks on the plantar fascia to understand if the heel pain increases as you stretch and better as you relax. They’ll also understand if you have mild soreness or inflammation. The foot specialist will analyze the health of your muscles and the condition of your nerves by examining your:
Dr. Parth Parekh
DNB(Orthopaedic) ; D (Orthopaedic) ; M.N.A.M.S (Orthopaedic)
Consultant Orthopaedic Foot And Ankle Surgeon
CIMS Hospital
Science City Road,
Sola,
Ahmedabad, Gujarat India 380060