How to Deal with Heel Pain or Plantar Fasciitis?

Pain in feet or heel pain is a common condition. Especially in women. Seven out of ten females suffer from this at some point of time in their life.

And if you think ‘high heels’ are the obvious culprit , you are so wrong!

Let’s find more about it from an expert physiotherapist, Sabrina Merchant.

Heel Pain or Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis is one of the most common causes of heel pain. It is due to  the inflammation of a thick band of tissue  (known as plantar fascia) which runs underneath the sole of the foot and connects heel bone with toes.

Symptoms –
– pain in the inner side of heel or centre of heel
– severe pain while getting out of bed in the morning, first few steps being the most difficult
– dull aching pain throughout the day

Causes – 
– jobs which require standing for a long duration on hard surface
– over weight, have flat feet or a very high arch
– improper footwear, worn-out shoes with thin soles

Management of Pain-

Here are following tips you can consider to reduce your heel pain:

–  Cold fomentation with ice. Put a small bottle of water in the freezer and turn it into ice. Twice or thrice in the day, roll your feet over the bottle, concentrating on the heel. Ice is the best therapy to relieve pain in this condition.

heel pain ice bottle treatment

– Wear right footwear. Avoid Ballerina or absolutely flat shoes with hard sole. High heels are also not recommended. Go for medium platform heels. Wear footwear that supports the arches of your feet. Even for home slippers, use the ones which have slight heels at the back.

plantar fasciitis

 

 

 

– Stretching exercises. Below are few stretching exercises which are helpful in this condition. Hold each stretch for 10 counts,5-7 times each. Do them twice daily.

heel pain

heel pain

heel pain

 

– Get in touch with a physiotherapist if the pain persists or is unbearable.

 

sabrina merchantSabrina Merchant is a practicing Physiotherapist in Pune.

You can connect with her at,

call- 7768085558

mail- sabrina_merchant11@yahoo.com

 

 

 

Images credit – Google

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