About 2 million Americans suffer from some sort of foot pain on a daily basis and Plantar Faciitis is one of the most common ailments. Foot problems like Plantar Faciitis can lead poor posture, back pain and misalignment.

What is Plantar Fasciitis?

Plantar Fasciitis is the inflammation of the plantar fascia, a ligament in the foot, caused by tearing along the bottom of the foot. Most pain is felt in the morning as the ligaments in the foot tighten at night. Standing or walking for long periods can also exacerbate the pain throughout the day.

Symptoms

• +sharp or acute pain the in heel of the foot
• +difficultly walking first thing in the morning
• +foot stiffness

Who is at risk?

• +people who are overweight
• +the elderly
• +women
• +people with flat feet or high arches

What can be done?

The first and easiest solution, is to wear a shoe insert. Sole inserts are a great way to absorb the shock of walking or running while providing support to your whole foot. Sole inserts also help alleviate pain in other areas of the body like the knees, legs and back and can make any shoe more comfortable. Heel inserts provide specific support and stretching for heel related ailments and are ideal for most heel related ailments. For those with severe foot pain in the morning, the use of a night splint could help keep the heel muscles and ligaments stretched over night providing relief. In addition to shoe inserts, anti-inflammatory medications can help relieve some of the pain related to swelling in the foot.

Another simple solution is to regularly stretch the muscles and ligaments that cause foot related pain. There are a variety of stretches one can do to relief the stress of Plantar Fasciitis. The easiest stretch takes little time and effort and not equipment. Place a tennis ball or chilled can under the arch of your foot and roll back and forth for a few minutes then switch feet. Refer to the picture below for other stretches.

Stretches

1. 1. Place a towel on the floor. Using your toes, grab the towel and pull it towards you.
2. 2. Sit down. Grab the heel of your foot with one hand and you toes with the other. Stretch your toes toward you leg.
3. 3. Stand on a step near the bottom of the stairs. Plant one foot firmly on a stair while placing the other one about 1/3 of the way on the stair. Put you weight on the ball of your foot and stretch your calf muscle.
4. 4. Place you hands firmly on a wall. While keeping your heel firmly planted on the floor stretch one leg out behind you like a lunge.

While surgery is also an option for those suffering from serve footailments, the use of at home remedies in combination with shoe inserts proves beneficial to almost everyone and is much less expensive, and less painful, than having surgery.