Plantar Fasciitis
Common Running Injuries and Treatment Recommendations: Part 1 Plantar Fasciitis
What is the plantar fascia? A thick connective tissue on the bottom of the foot. It connects the heel bone to the toes and helps create the arch of the foot. It’s designed to absorb the high strains and stresses we put on the foot with walking and running.
What is plantar fasciitis? A degenerative pathology that presents with pain and local tenderness at the heel that radiates to the arch. Pain may be reproduced when you first step out of bed or after prolonged sitting. You may experience pain at the beginning of your run that decreases or alleviates during the run.
Prevalence: affects 17.4% of the running population
Possible causes: prolonged standing for work, elevated BMI in the general public, repetitive high impact activities, flat feet or high arches/ tight calf muscles, improper shoe fit, over/ under pronation while running or walking
Home Exercise Treatments: gastrocnemius, soleus and great toe stretching, great toe and ankle dorsiflexion mobilizations, foot intrinsic strengthening (doming), toe range of motion and strengthening, loading exercises of foot, ankle and toes, single leg balance exercises, gluteus medius strengthening
Lindsay LaForce, PT, DPT, UESCA Certified Run Coach
Resource:
Life (Basel). 2021 Dec;11(12): 1287. Published online 2021 Nov 24. Doi 10.3390/life11121287
