What causes Plantar Fasciitis?

What causes Plantar Fasciitis? Its no coincidence. The majority of patients presenting with heel pain have gone from zero to hero overnight!

The amount of times that the heel pain patient reports that they made the decision to “get fit” is uncanny.

They usually join a bootcamp,  hire a personal trainer or join the gym. Often, there are exercise routines that involve explosive movements, hill running, jumping or squatting. This creates tight calf muscles which pull on the heel and also puts a lot of stress on the foot. The plantar fascia is put under a lot of strain and then becomes inflamed very suddenly : hence plantar fasciitis.

Regardless of the heel pain, there is a desire to keep training and to lose weight and so the routine continues, which adds further to the pain caused by the plantar fasciitis. Most patients find that they can get through a training session because the heel pain eases after warming up. However, a few hours later, and the morning after can be excruciating!

So what should happen? Well, there needs to be a much slower return to exercise, with ample rest days in between and regular stretching afterwards. Calf muscle stretching is crucial as this prevents the pulling on the heel.

Once heel pain has taken a hold then its important to seek treatment as soon as possible. Plantar fasciitis can persist for many months if left untreated.

With the correct heel pain treatments in place it is sometimes possible for patients with plantar fasciitis to keep training. However, this is not always possible and a few weeks rest can be required while the treatments take effect.

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You may also read about Plantar Fasciitis Treatment for more info.

Written by Karl Lockett