PLANTAR  FASCIITIS

Have you ever heard of Plantar Fasciitis? Usually, nobody has heard this phrase until they have experienced it or knows someone who has. When you work in a specialised shoe shop, it is one of the most common foot problems that customers talk about and most of them are desperate to find a solution for this issue because it is so painful. Plantar Fasciitis seems to be such a popular issue right now that we thought some more information on what it is and how to help alleviate the symptoms would be beneficial. Yes, we are sales advisors/ managers in a shoe shop (we know we are not podiatrists) however, we have additional qualifications from The Society of Shoe Fitters as well as experience in trying to find shoes which will be the most beneficial to customers experiencing Plantar Fasciitis.

Do you know what the best treatment of Plantar Fasciitis is? To be honest, the best thing is actually if you can try to prevent it ever happening in the first place. In this blog, we will try to explain what Plantar Fasciitis is and how your choice of shoes can affect it.

If you look at FIG 1, you can get a visual representation of what the Plantar Fascia is – it is the main ligament (or fascia) covering the base of your foot. There are 26 bones in each foot, as well as additional ligaments and tendons which all work together to keep our feet working as nature intended. These structures take a huge amount of strain during walking/exercising. When the Plantar Fascia becomes inflamed or damaged, this causes excruciating pain around the heel area, where the fascia inserts onto the heel bone. This pain is usually the most intense first thing in the morning when you take those first few steps out of bed.