Plantar Fasciitis and Foot Muscle Imbalances
This condition is caused by an increase in pressure to the plantar fascia – the fibrous tissue running along the bottom of your feet – usually as a result of biomechanical imbalance, such as pronation or supination of feet.
When this occurs, tension on your plantar fascia can lead to heel pain as well as cause an unusual bone called a heel spur to form.
One symptom of heel spur disease is pain when walking or standing up straight, which may worsen with each step or after long hours spent sitting or standing still. This pain often worsens in the morning or after sitting for extended periods.
Without proper physical evaluation, diagnosing plantar fasciitis can be challenging. Your physical therapist has extensive expertise assessing gait and biomechanical factors that could contribute to its onset.
Your therapist can assist in the identification of these issues by conducting various assessment tests such as the windlass test or Jack’s test, before providing a specific treatment protocol designed to address them.
Most often, these issues are easily remedied with an exercise and diet program designed to reduce body weight and enhance foot function, thus helping avoid future issues related to plantar fascia and other foot structures.
Once a patient’s underlying cause has been addressed, pain typically subsides with adequate conservative therapy over time. If that fails to alleviate symptoms completely, surgical intervention may become necessary, though only after trialling conservative therapy first and controlling abnormal mechanics that have caused symptoms to manifest themselves fully.
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