What is plantar fasciitis?
Plantar fasciitis is the most common cause of heel pain. It is an injury to the plantar fascia, the most important structure at the bottom of your foot that holds your plantar arch together. Pain is usually located at the heel, but can also happen underneath the arch. Plantar fasciitis is characterized by a sharp pain in the morning when you first stand up and/or pain after a while of walking or running.
When left untreated, plantar fasciitis can become very painful and cause injuries elsewhere as you change your way of walking. In more severe cases of plantar fasciitis, as tensions build up, the plantar fascia can tear up and even completely rupture.
What causes plantar fasciitis?
Plantar fasciitis is caused by an excessive tension in the foot. Therefore, many things can lead to an injury: flat feet, cavus feet, inadequate shoes, weight gain, new or more intense physical activity, foot sprain, etc.
Plantar fasciitis, like any other injury, is painful because there is inflammation around the injury. The more severe the plantar fasciitis, the more inflammation there will be. Hence, it is important to treat your plantar fasciitis early.
