What You Can Do To Ensure Optimum Foot Health and Plantar Fasciitis Symptoms + Treatment
If you’re like me, you don’t think about foot health too often - until something goes wrong and you realize exactly what you’ve been taking for granted.
I’m 47 and aside from an occasional ingrown toenail, my feet have never bothered me, so I never really gave them any thought. I’d get up, go about my day, jog or walk or do yoga and all was good.
Until it wasn’t.
Which is exactly what happened late this summer. I would wake up and my right foot didn’t just ache, it was so painful I wondered if I had a fracture in my heel. It was the strangest thing…I’d get out of bed and it would hurt like crazy, but the more I was on it, the better it felt. That “better” feeling usually even included my 4.5 mile daily walks or walk/runs.
But afterwards, when I sat down to work or sleep, the pain would set it. This went on for awhile, until one morning I could barely put any weight on it and thought I might need to limit the amount of time I was spending on my feet (novel concept after feeling all that pain, I know🤦♀️).
It didn’t take a lengthy deep dive into what could be wrong; I almost immediately figured out what I had: plantar fasciitis.
More on my experience with plantar fasciitis below, but if you’re here to learn how to prevent a foot injury don’t skip these next few paragraphs!
Foot Injury Prevention
Don’t wait until your feet start hurting to try to fix the aches and pains brought on by overuse and injury! Here are a few things we can do to prevent the pain in the first place:
Invest in a good pair of insoles. ESPECIALLY for those of you on your feet all day for work, you need to find not just good, but, THE BEST insoles for standing all day. Providing a nice cushion for support reduces foot fatigue and absorbs shock helping prevent any potential joint pain you might otherwise find yourself with.
Mix up your fitness routine. Speaking personally, this is hard for me in warmer weather because I LOVE to be outside. That said, I’ve learned to mix it up - alternating small bits of jogging with walking, or even several shorter walks throughout the day. Or, a short walk with yoga.
Speaking of yoga, when was the last time you stretched? Those of us most in danger of foot injury aren’t spring chickens anymore and stretching is imperative to help prevent not just a foot injury, but any injury! If you’re a non-stretcher, start with just 5-10 minutes a day…you can easily achieve this while watching your favorite TV show! For those of you on your feet for long portions of the day, get in the habit of stretching before work.
For intense workouts, you may need to start warming up, and yes, make sure to stretch your legs and feet!
Rotate your athletic shoes. If you’re working out daily, or on your feet all day, you’ll need to get new shoes more than once every 2 years….even if they still look good🙂.
What is plantar fasciitis?
Now, if you’re here because you too are suffering from plantar fasciitis, here a few tips to stopping the pain!
According to the Mayo Clinic, one of the most common foot injuries plaguing our pedis, plantar fasciitis is inflammation of the thick band of tissue running across the bottom of our feet, connecting the heel bone to the toes; this is known as the plantar fascia.
There actually aren’t a ton of plantar fasciitis symptoms, aside from the stabbing pain around the heel area of the foot, especially when first getting out of bed. The causes aren’t abundantly known either. We know foot tension, overuse or stress to the area can cause small tears within the plantar fascia which can lead to further inflammation and the pain you likely are feeling.
There are several risk factors including age (if you’re 40+, you’re higher risk), consistent exercises that cause stress to that specific area of the foot, such as long distance running, walking or dancing, extreme foot mechanics such as flat feet or high arches, obesity and occupations that keep you on your feet for all or most of the day.
You’ll be excited to find out plantar fasciitis treatment, doesn’t involve a doctor (usually). It does involve rest (no fun, I know), stretching and you can get special inserts specific for plantar fasciitis at your local drug store.
Here are a few plantar fasciitis stretches:
Pike Stretch: sit on the floor with legs extended. Slowly bend forward at the waist reaching toward your feet. Go down as far as you can and hold for 15-30 seconds.
Towel Stretch: in this same position, using a towel with either end held by each hand, wrap the towel around the ball of your foot (under your toes). Pull back and hold for 15-30 seconds.
Calf Stretches: there are a variety of ways to stretch your calves. From the above position, flex your toes, and repeat the above pike stretch. You can also stand and cross one leg over the other then simply bend and hang to stretch one calf at a time. Make sure to repeat on the other leg.
Have you recently suffered from a foot injury? Tell me about below and what you did to recover!
