Understanding and Recovering From Plantar Fasciitis

As a Physio in the Sutherland Shire plantar fasciitis is something we see a lot. It’s common in runners and generally people that are spending prolonged periods on their feet, on hard surfaces such as nurses or individuals that work in supermarkets etc. However, it can also be linked to people wearing unsuitable footwear. I am going to single out two guilty parties here, one being women’s “flats” I believe they are called and the other is your year-round thong guy!

Many people suffer from plantar fasciitis. It’s been reported about 3.6% of the Australian population present to a GP complaining of heel pain and it can be one of those conditions that just keeps coming back until you address the true cause of the condition.

Plantar fasciitis is a broad band-like structure running the length under your foot from your heel to the base of your toes. Its job is to form a springy load absorbing trampoline-like structure. Plantar fasciitis is when that trampoline-like structure begins to slightly microtear away from its attachment on your heel. As it sounds, it can be very painful.

How does plantar fasciitis present?

The usual presentation to your Physio is one of an insidious onset over time that has gradually become worse. The first few steps in the morning are usually the most painful and then the injury appears to warm up and ease off - giving you the misguided sense that it’s actually not that bad, as it gradually plots to ruin all your weekend plans and idealistic dreams of running that next marathon or Sutherland 2 surf.

What can you Physiotherapy knight in white armour do?

There are 3-main phases to concurring this little bugger and your Physio will help guide you through them all. Working with so many runners in the Sutherland Shire over the years, it’s not too much to say… we have it down to an art.

Phase 1

Settle the acute symptoms - this just basically means reducing the pain. We do this in a number of ways by applying rigid sports tape to unload the tissue and allow it to start to mend, naturally reducing your pain. The next way is by examining the causes i.e. footwear, total weekly running load/time on feet or any biomechanical issue that need to be addressed.

Phase 2

Augment recovery and healing - As a continuation of the above, your Physio will apply hands-on techniques directly to the plantar fascia and surrounding tissue to assist recovery and address the aforementioned biomechanical issues if needed.

Phase 3

Strengthen the tissue - This is to establish a long-term solution to this injury and also enable you to get back to doing what you love without the thought in the back of your mind as to when it's going to flare up again. This involves a tailored program that is specific to demands you plan to place on the area i.e. ultra marathon running or walking the dog around the block after they have sufficiently made you feel guilty enough for not doing it in a while.

While all this sounds simple enough, it comes down to the details. How long should we tape the area before progressing to phase 2? What footwear is best? What strengthening does the research indicate gains the best results? This is the nuance that your Physiotherapist will help with while simultaneously convincing you they should place a statue to all Physiotherapists in the middle of the Sutherland Shire for concurring such a horrendous humanitarian issue as plantar fasciitis.

If this condition rings a bell with you. Contact our team so we can help fix it and get you back out there.