Plantar fasciitis is a very common foot ailment that occurs when an inflammation of a thick band of tissue forms and connects the heel bone to the toes (Footwear News). It is usually self-diagnosable & self-treatable. The inflamed tissue runs across the bottom of the foot with the primary symptom being a stabbing pain near the heel. Plantar fasciitis happens a lot with runners and people who have flat feet, high arches, are overweight, or who are on their feet a lot.


With attentive care, the sufferer can often do these 6 things in their daily life to alleviate the pain caused by Plantar Fasciitis and help your foot heal faster (Podiatry Today).

1. Rest: Sure this one seems most obvious and easiest to implement, but as we know life often gets in the way of taking care of one’s self. General rest is critical when coping with Plantar Fasciitis and it is very important to keep weight off your foot until the inflammation goes down.
   
   
2. Ice: The old standby of ice to treat inflammation still works great , and there are multiple ways that you can implement this.
   

• A store bought ice pack always works great. They are relatively inexpensive and most efficient to use. One piece of advice would be to get one of minimal size as you want to focus on icing the heel area and not the entire bottom of the foot. General recommendation is to put it on your heel 3 to 4 times a day for 15 to 20 minutes at a time.
  
  
• Next option would be to make a homemade pack. First wrap a towel around a plastic bag filled with crushed ice or even around a package of frozen corn or peas. As with the store bought ice pack, put the homemade ice pack on your heel 3 to 4 times a day for 15 to 20 minutes at a time.
  
  
• Another option is to fill a shallow pan with water and ice and soak your heel in it for in it for 10 to 15 minutes a few times a day. Remember to keep your toes out of the water as we want to focus primarily on the heel area.
  
• Pain relievers: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can make your foot feel better and help with inflammation. The most prominent NSAIDs are aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen, all available over the counter.
  
  
• Stretching and exercise: Stretch your calves, Achilles tendon, and the bottom of your foot. Do exercises that make your lower leg and foot muscles stronger. This can help stabilize your ankle, ease pain, and keep plantar fasciitis from coming back.
  
  
• Night splints: Most of us sleep with our feet pointed down, which shortens the plantar fascia and Achilles tendon. Night splints, which you wear while you sleep, keep your feet at a 90-degree angle. So instead of shortening your plantar fascia, you get a good, constant stretch while you sleep. Although night splints tend to be bulky, they work well and can help relieve pain while you sleep. Once the pain is gone, you can stop wearing them. 
  
  
• Shoe inserts: For the daytime and your daily activities, quality shoe inserts are crucial to use. Most shoes are not factory produced with quality support for your feet. Also called insoles, arch supports, or orthotics, shoe inserts can give you extra cushion and added support that your shoes do not provide. You can get them over-the-counter (OTC) or have them custom made. Typically, your results will be just as good, and less expensive with OTC inserts, but quality is still important when considering. When you choose one, adjustability is key and it is important to make sure that you can achieve a level of firmness that is right for you -- and make sure it has good arch support. Also you should choose a pair of insoles with a good heel cup that provides extra cushion.

Have your knees racked up the slings and arrows of tendonitis, bursitis, or tissue tears? Maybe your knee pain is of the congenital variety, such as patellofemoral syndrome, chondromalacia, or a generalized osteoarthritis. Or perhaps you have nagging pain in your knees you haven’t had examined by a doctor yet and are looking to find relief without taking medication.

Did you know your knee is your body’s largest joint, designed to bear downward force in three directions while allowing for 150 degrees of movement? The entire hinge joint, as it’s termed, is cushioned and held in place by layers of superbly wound cartilage, tendon, and ligament—all working in delicate balance. If one variable is not working optimally, you’ll feel it with a vengeance. It’s no surprise that most of us suffer knee pain at some stage of life.

CAUSES OF KNEE PAIN

While knee pain can be felt at the local site, it’s usually the result of other underlying conditions, most of which can be traced to how your feet get traction as you step within your shoes. There is a pathway back to good knee health that doesn’t require pills, injections, or the dreaded unpredictability of surgery. Clouding your symptoms with steroid injections or oral medications is potentially shortsighted, given the relief that awaits with the proper arch support.

Your gut probably already tells you what an orthopedist may be reluctant to say: Correct posture aligns your body in a way that actually diminishes inflammation and pain. By making a few habit changes that are focused on proper body alignment and walking gait, you’ll find your knees (and other joints) will benefit. Making these changes are generally longer lasting and less expensive than orthopedic “quick-fixes” administered in the name of medicine. It’s also gentler on your body as compared with drastic intervention.

PROPER BODY MECHANICS TO REDUCE KNEE PAIN

The field of biomechanic science has been studying athletes, astronauts, and soldiers for the better part of a century to better understand the effects that forces have on the motion of our bodies. The value of this research is broadly applicable to anyone who goes about on two legs. It has discovered that misalignment causes strained tendons and ligaments when your knees angle away from the midline. Examples of this include internal tibial rotation, also known as “pigeon toes,” or inward arch pronation.  

But knee pain may not be a lifetime sentence, regardless of your age. If you have any type of misalignment, dynamic orthopedic insoles may be for you. Using an insole like SelectFlex allows you to choose comfortable, corrective levels of arch support and address the causes of poor knee alignment. When your knees are properly supported by your shoes and footwear, you can reduce acute knee pain. Furthermore, SelectFlex insoles are designed to reduce forces your foot experiences with each step by mimicking the ligaments in your foot and providing energy return with each step. Isaac Newton would be pleased.

KNEE PAIN AND WEIGHT GAIN

Is your knee pain partially the result of being overweight? Excess weight is especially rough on your knees, yielding 1.5 times the force of your body weight with each step, according to Harvard Medical School. But how will you walk off some of that weight when your knees hurt? The first step is to address any issues of structural alignment starting from the ground up with proper arch support to reduce foot, knee or hip pain. Dynamic arch support, available with customizable SelectFlex insoles, is a great option to get you going. Over time, you can adjust these insoles to account for changes in your own downward forces relative to your weight reduction.

ADDRESSING CHRONIC KNEE PAIN

If your pain is chronic, it’s good diagnostic practice to obtain imaging, such as an X-ray, CT scan, or MRI. Even if your doctor assesses your pain as structurally or mechanically based, you may find that any kind of invasive technique is too premature, especially when structural options can be addressed with ground-up adjustable arch support. The right support can help relieve the pain you feel and slow down further damage to your joints.

The human foot has 33 joints that hold together 26 different bones and over 100 muscles, tendons, and ligaments. The arches of the feet provide the spring to your step and help to distribute body weight and all its compressive forces across your feet and legs. The structure of the foot arch determines how a person walks and needs to be both sturdy and flexible.

WHAT ARE FLAT FEET?

Flat feet, also known as pes planus or fallen arches, is a postural deformity that occurs when the arch of the foot collapses and comes into complete or near-complete contact with the ground. This condition may occur at the time of birth or develop over time as a result of aging or injury. Flat feet can usually be self-diagnosed, either by the “wet footprint test” or the “shoe inspection test.” Simply wet your feet and look at the wet imprint of your foot. The thicker the imprint between the heel and ball of the foot, the flatter the foot. By contrast, a high arch foot will only show your heel and the top part of your foot near your toes.

Similarly, if you inspect your shoes and see more wear on the inside of the soles, that would be evidence of flat feet. The shoe’s upper will also tend to lean inward over the sole as a result of the faulty foot mechanics. Flat feet are typically associated with excessive pronation of the foot. Overpronation occurs when the arch of the foot descends downward and inward as the foot strikes the ground. This overpronation causes the foot to be less able to absorb shock, placing greater stress on the feet, ankles, and knees.

FLAT FEET SYMPTOMS

If you are having problems with shin splints, back pain, your knees, or hips, you may want to consider looking at your feet as the cause. When you walk, you put as much as five times your body weight in force on each foot. If your foot doesn’t absorb that shock properly, it can cause other problems, and is why people with flat feet typically experience pain in the midfoot region.

If you have flat feet, your foot will tend to roll inward as you walk. That extra motion can create other stresses further up your legs. This pain tends to increase with activity and may also present swelling along the inner ankle and arch, as well as hip, knee, and lower back pain. Flat feet can also lead to tendinitis in your Achilles tendon because that tendon must over-compensate when you push off with your feet.

Overpronation can put unnecessary stress on your knees. When your foot over-pronates, your leg rotates inward causing the knee to flex and extend while pointing inward. This is not the normal direction for the knee and puts additional stress on the joint. Overpronation can also affect the hip joints. When the foot pronates, the leg rotates inward and the hip joints can become misaligned. This condition puts additional stress on the hip and on the entire leg muscles.

TREATMENTS FOR FLAT FEET

The treatment for flat feet, and joint pain associated with having flat feet, can vary. Physicians typically recommend a conservative approach, with surgery reserved for only the most server cases.

PROPER FOOTWEAR

Healthy footwear can play a significant role in reducing flat foot causing knee pain and hip pain associated with flat feet. High heels increase the risk of knee joint degeneration so try to always wear low-heeled shoes. However, flat shoes also need to be carefully considered as many do not provide adequate arch support and that can cause flat feet knee pain, hip pain, and back pain.

When shopping for footwear, take the time to find a proper-fitting shoe as tight shoes can create foot pain and oversized shoes can affect your gait. Stability sneakers provide cushioning and help control over pronation. If knee and hip pain are due to poor foot mechanics, then proper footwear along with orthotic insoles can be a very effective way to relieve joint pain.

ORTHOTIC INSOLES

People with persistent or severe joint pain symptoms caused by flat feet may benefit from orthotic arch supports. Orthotic supports are used to modify the structure of your foot. While there are companies that manufacture custom corrective shoes, these are usually quite expensive. Similarly, custom orthotics prescribed by a podiatrist can also be costly and many people find them to be very rigid and uncomfortable.

If your condition is not too severe, you may get relief from the many different cushioning insoles sold at your local pharmacy. Just remember to replace them once their supporting cushioning becomes worn down as they will no longer be helpful. If your condition is a bit more severe or you are looking for a durable product that will not degrade quickly like foam or gel inserts, you may want to try a hybrid insole, like SelectFlex. SelectFlex gives you all the benefits of expensive custom orthotics at a fraction of the cost, and the adjustability feature of SelectFlex allows you to customize the level of arch support that your unique condition requires.

FOOT STRETCHES

There are many stretching exercises you can do to increase arch flexibility and strength and can be very helpful for people suffering from the side effects of flat feet. You can strengthen the intrinsic muscles in the foot by picking up marbles with your toes, stacking items with your toes, and writing numbers in the sand with your big toe. To stretch the plantar fascia ligament thereby improving arch flexibility and alleviating aches and pains, roll a golf ball forward and back under the arch of the foot, while seated. A runner’s stretch is also great to lengthen the calf muscle and Achilles tendon, both of which can cause pronation when tight.

OTHER TREATMENTS

Other exercises and therapeutic massage may also help with arch flexibility and pain relief. The downward dog yoga pose is great for lengthening and strengthening calf muscles and Achilles tendons. Heel cord stretching is a great exercise to stretch the Achilles tendon and posterior calf muscles, as a tight Achilles tendon will encourage the foot to roll inward.

Doctors may advise some people to rest until their symptoms improve and to avoid activities that could aggravate their condition. When obesity is the cause of flat feet, losing weight may improve the symptoms.

SEEKING TREATMENT FOR FLAT FEET

Know when to seek help from a medical professional. When pain is severe and interferes with your daily activities, it’s time to see the doctor for a thorough examination and treatment. If needed, flat foot surgery can provide permanent relief and may even create an arch where none existed. The surgical solution will ultimately be based upon your age, your exact symptoms, and the nature of your structural deformity.