What is Plantar fasciitis?, Plantar fasciitis is a common foot condition that causes sever heel pain. Many people often confuse the terms heel spurs and plantar fasciitis. Plantar fasciitis on one hand refers to the condition of the inflammation of the tissue bands called the plantar fascia that runs along the heel to the arch of the foot. And on the other hand, heel spurs is the excessive and abnormal growth of bone on the heel or on the calcaneus.

Plantar fasciitis hits all age groups but is commonly seen in middle aged women and men. It is sometimes, but not necessarily associated with weight gain. Athletes and sportsmen tend to develop this condition since excessive running and physical activity damages the fibrous tissue, plantar fascia that is known to support the arch of the foot.

Plantar fasciitis is mainly caused due to constant small injuries to the plantar fascia. Such situation arises due to several reasons like-

• Standing for long hours, heavy physical activities like running, walking, etc especially for people who are not accustomed to it.
• People who follow a sedentary lifestyle are also prone to plantar fasciitis.
• Faulty way of workout like running on irregular road rather than the tracks.
• Use of faulty footwear that don’t support the ankle or arch of the foot.
• Overweight people tend to suffer from plantar fasciitis as their heels get highly affected due to their heavy body weight.
• Sudden stretching or strain on the foot sole can also cause plantar fasciitis.
• People with a stiff Achilles tendon gets affected the most since it prevents the ankle to flex, damaging it in the whole process.

Plantar fasciitis is a common medical condition. About 1 in every 10 people gets affected by this condition at sometime or the other in their lifetime. People between the age brackets of 40-60 years are prone to plantar fasciitis. But it can also affect other age groups but is very common in athletes

Pain is the only symptom of this condition that can be anywhere underneath the heel. However, the main source of pain is found in a single place that becomes tender to touch. Sudden stretching of your foot’s sole may turn the pain worse. So try and avoid indulging into strenuous physical activities.

Heel pain’s most common condition is plantar fasciitis. It mainly occurs when the long fibrous ligament of plantar fascia that runs beneath the bottom of the foot produces tears within the tissues and results in intense inflammation and pain. The pain usually locates close to the area where the plantar fascia is linked to the heel bone or the calcaneous.

However, patients suffering from plantar fasciitis complains of this stabbing and burning pain in the heels that gets even worse in the morning hours since the fascia ligament stiffens all through the night. After getting out of the bed while placing the first foot, one can realize the pressure put on the ligament. The ligament at such time turns tout and a piercing pain immediately generates in the heels. But with movement, pain reduces as the tissues warms up but can again hit if left out for long hours.