Plantar fasciitis is a foot disorder usually felt as pain in the bottom of your foot around the heel. There are about 2 million new patients of this condition reported every year in the USA only. That pain especially hurts first thing in the morning when you try to get out of bed, or after sitting for awhile. This pain is caused by an injury of the fascia connective tissue at the bottom of the foot. This tissue is called the plantar fascia and it connects the heel bone to the toes. Usually this injury is caused by overuse of the foot. Plantar fasciitis remission time can be very long because the overloading of the foot is a part of the patient’s daily habit and the foot gets injured repeatedly.
The foot is a very complex mechanical structure. Each foot is assembled from 26 bones, 33 joints, more than a 100 muscles, ligaments, tendons and nerves. The human foot system is even more complicated and is different in every individual. The plantar fascia band part in the foot mechanism is to keep the foot longitudinal arch structure. It operates almost like a bow string. But this structure is kept also by the other components of the foot particularly the foot’s small muscles.
This complex structure is getting stronger with practice. As long as you perform some special exercises that you can read about latter your feet will get stronger and your injured plantar fascia will get more natural support. Stronger feet can be the difference between a chronic heel pain to a treatable foot problem.
There are many different plantar fasciitis treatments, but there is no one therapy that works for everyone. Treatment methods can be simple, like applying ice on the foot, or very sophisticated like surgery. The most common and successful treatment is exercise. Exercise is reported as a very effective treatment measure, you can do it anytime, anywhere and it does not cost anything. Implementing some of the following exercises in your daily schedule (2-3 times a day) will make your healing faster and will keep your feet stronger.
Plantar fasciitis exercises consist of two different types. The first group of exercise is foot strengthening and the second is stretching. Normally whenever you carry out an exercise you should not sense any pain. If you do feel pain you must stop. The foot strength exercises are not appropriate for the painful stage of the disease. Wait for an inflammation relief and pain relief before you start strengthening your foot.
Anyway please consult your doctor before you carry out any of the following exercises.
Exercise is a great plantar fasciitis treatment technique. You can click the following link for the specific guidelines in : Plantar fasciitis exercises . There is much more about the disorder in this Plantar fasciitis link.