| Foot Pain Can Stop You in Your Tracks |  |
By Pamela Adams D.C.
Ever stepped out of bed in the morning only to hop back in
because you felt a sharp pain in the bottom of your foot?
Arch pain or heel pain can signal a condition called plantar
fascitis and can keep you off your feet for months
at a time. It's hard to treat, slow to heal and hurts like heck
with every step.The best way to deal with this condition
is to prevent it.
You're a candidate for plantar fascitis if you walk or stand
for a living. Or if you're a jogger, or player of any sport that
involves regular, sustained running. Especially if you rarely
stretch afterwards. Years of wearing flip-flops or
going barefoot can do it, too.
You're even more at risk if either or both of your feet pronate.
What is pronation? Normally when you put weight on your
feet--standing, walking, running-- your arches flatten out.
If you pronate, your arches flatten too much. They actually
collapse. Have you've been told you have flat feet?
You may be a pronator.
.
Do this test: Stand barefoot and have a friend try to place two
fingers under your arch. It should be easy. If not, you probably
pronate. Doyour feet turn out? If you look at the soles of your
shoes, is there more wear on the outsides of your heels?
If so, you probably pronate.
What to do? First, you must wear supportive shoes. On the job,
it's not enough to wear shoes with cushioned insoles. You need
shoes that support your arch. Once you've endured the pain of
plantar fascitis, you'll gladly forego fashion for support.
If all else fails, consider orthotics.
Orthotics are shoe inserts made of a variety of materials
some flexible, some not, and are designed to fit and support
your foot. A good all-around insert can be found at
http://www.hapad.com
Debilitating, chronic foot pain usually calls for a custom
orthotic made by a podiatrist.
Physiologically speaking, plantar fascitis is inflammation of the
connective tissue, or fascia, on the bottom of your foot. This
fascia
connects your heel with the ball of your foot. Constantly
over-stretching
it results in inflammation and pain. If it is ignored long enough, it
can
cause something called a heel spur.
Bone is dynamic. It is constantly changing and renewing itself.
It changes in response to stress, mechanical stress. When the
fascia is constantly tugging on the bone at the insertion point, the
bone responds by adding more bone at that spot to relieve the
tension.
It's as if it were trying to give the fascia some slack. It's how a
heel
spur forms. But if you take care of it, when the plantar fascitis
heals,
the bone spur is a non-issue.
Being on your feet 8-10 hours a day is an athletic event.
Make a practice of stretching achilles and calf muscles
throughout
the day, and, of course, after each run, hike, ride or game. To
stretch
your achilles, find a curb, step, or rung of a chair that's 3"to 4"
high.
Keeping your heel on the ground, place the ball of your foot
(not your toes) on the curb. Bend the knee and lean forward
until you feel a stretch just above your heel bone. Hold for
10 seconds.Next straighten your knee until you feel the stretch
higher in your calf. Hold 10 seconds. Switch to the other leg.
A tight achilles and calf will pull up on your heel bone thereby
stretching that fascia. Wearing high heeled shoes will shorten
the achilles, so stretch after you take those shoes off.
When you're driving or biking, make sure you
push the pedals with your whole foot, not just your toes.
Bending your toes up will stretch the fascia.
Here's an exercise to strengthen your arch to prevent pronation:
toe curls. Sit down, take your shoes off, and curl your toes
under as hard as you can and as many times as you can.
In the beginning, you might get a cramp. Just walk around
and try the curls again.
If you are right now suffering plantar fascitis pain, stay
off your feet, ice and wait patiently. When the pain lessens
take some of the steps I've outlined above to prevent it from
ever happening again.
Postscript: John Vonhof provides a great free newsletter
specializing in the care of your feet. I look forward to it
every month. To subscribe, mail to:
FixingYourFeetEZine-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
_______________________
By Pamela Adams D.C. (c) 2003 Painless Guides Inc. For more
articles and health tips or to subscribe to the free newletter,
Self-Health News, visit http://www.painlessguides.com
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