Whenever you stand on your feet all day, it makes sense that they might feel tired or even hurt a little bit. There are situations where this response is normal, especially when there is an identifiable cause. What about heel pain that comes on after sitting down for long periods of time or even right out of bed in the morning? There doesn’t appear to be any reason that this should happen, but there must be an underlying cause. When pain presents this way, it might be due to a condition called plantar fasciitis. There are a variety of causes for this condition, but the treatment can be put simply as restoring normal neurologic function of all of the lower leg muscles on the affected side. Read more to learn why you’re struggling with plantar fasciitis.
What causes plantar fasciitis?
Simply put, dysfunction of the lower leg muscles causes plantar fasciitis. In neurologic testing for muscle strength, or myotome testing, there is a grading scale from 0-5. When grading these, there is a gradual scale where 5 is full, normal function, and 0 is absolutely no ability for the muscle to contract. A 4 demonstrates normal contractility of a muscle, but its strength gives out under force. In plantar fasciitis, 4/5 muscles are the issue. There are many methods of treating these 4/5 muscles. The method that I employ involves utilizing these weaknesses with injury reflexes to determine the cause of dysfunction. Muscular injuries can cause these 4/5s, which is why manual therapies and trigger point techniques are so important. Wearing shoes that are too tight or have really thick soles can also cause plantar fasciitis by detraining the muscles that support the foot.
Many muscles in the body correlate with organs. When these organs are stressed, their correlated muscles might demonstrate these 4/5 strength grades. The posterior tibialis and calf muscles correlate with the adrenal glands and the anterior tibialis and fibularis muscles correlate with the bladder. In cases of adrenal fatigue or bladder infections, plantar fasciitis might be a recurrent issue if not treated properly.
Fix It
If you have chronic heel pain and think that it might be plantar fasciitis, I encourage you to go see a local chiropractor for further evaluation. Those of you who currently have a diagnosis of plantar fasciitis or have any of the symptoms described in this article, try the following:
- Make sure your shoes aren’t the problem. I often recommend barefoot style shoes to my patients. Our feet were designed to walk on the hard ground, not an inch of cushion. Treat your feet right. Your shoes should provide more than enough room for your foot to spread out and should have as little cushion as possible.
- Dig at those trigger points. If you have any tenderness in any of the lower leg muscles, utilizing a lacrosse ball or just your hands to massage any trigger points can help restore normal function.
- Consult a professional. Although you might have a good idea of what’s going on, it’s always a great idea to find somebody you trust to examine and treat you accordingly.
If you think that you might have plantar fasciitis or have any questions about your health, book a free consult with me here.
