Plantar Fascitis

Plantar fascitis can be defined as pain in the connective tissue of the bottom of the foot.  Plantar fascitis can occur when the foot is placed under more load or stress than it can manage.  This can commonly occur due to overuse, excessive weight, excessive tightness, weakness, or malalignment in the lower leg and calf which requires additional use of the foot to compensate.  Plantar fascitis can become exacerbated by mechanical irritation of the bottom of the foot due to bone spurs that may dig into the connective tissue, or due to poor footwear.  Some people develop malaligned foot bones which the body responds to by compensating in other areas of the foot, sometimes causing plantar fascitis.  Your physical therapist can analyze your foot mechanics in the context of the mechanics of the entire rest of your body, to determine where the problem is coming from.  For example, in some cases, the foot is compensating and over working due to poorly aligned or weak hips.  When the cause is something that can be changed (bad habits, weak or inflexible muscles, or poor joint mobility) we can address the problems with physical therapy.  If the cause is due to abnormal foot alignment which is associated with the shape of the foot bones, then we can compensate for this by prescribing foot orthotics.   We have physical therapists trained in analyzing the cause of plantar fascia pain, and in fabricating custom foot orthotics.  We always try to go the conservative route and resolve the plantar fascitis by correcting the mechanics throughout the lower body through exercises, manual therapy, taping, and education in proper habits and posture first, to save the cost of custom foot orthotics. 


Some health conditions treated at
Goodell Physical Therapy & Fitness Training:

Diabetes       Fibromyalgia       Weight Loss       Exercise       Arthritis       Back Pain       Carpal Tunnel Syndrome       Bursitis       Headaches       Womens Health       Sports Injuries       Joint Pain       Frozen Shoulder       Spondylolisthesis       Kegel Exercises       Heel Spurs       Trauma       Knee Injuries       Degenerative Disc Disease       Chronic Pain       Lordosis       Kyphosis       Muscle Spasms       Fitness Training       Shoulder Injuries       Nerve Pain       Cardiac Rehab       Spondylitis       Foot Injuries/ Foot Pain       Weakness       Hand Injuries       Dupuytren’s Contracture       Shoulder Impingement       Numbness       Elbow Injuries       Neuromuscular Re-education       Ankylosing Spondylitis       Muscle Injuries       Sports Training       Car Accident Injuries       Disc Bulge       Total Joint Replacement       Myofascial pain syndrome       Fasciitis       Balance Training       Fibromyositis       Work Injuries       Whiplash Injuries       Spine Fusion       Ligament Injuries       Complex Regional Pain Syndrome       Back Pain with Pregnancy       Connective Tissue Pain Disorder       Inflexibility       Joint Dislocations       Low Back Pain       Neck Pain       Neural Fibrosis       Spine Stability       Uneven Leg Length       Patella Femoral Dysfunction       Pelvic Pain       Peripheral Nerve Injury       Personal Training       Plantar Fascitis       Pregancy Pain and Fitness       Post Partum Pain and fitness       Sciatica       Orthotics       Meniscal Tear       ACL tear       Rotator cuff tear       Shoulder labral tear       Hip labral tear       Total hip replacement       SI joint pain       Ankle sprains       Total shoulder replacement       Leg length discrepancy       Migraines