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How do I self manage plantarfasciitis?

Plantarfasciitis can be a real pain to get rid of, literally! The reason for this is that for normal inflamed structures, one of the key priniciples to follow to help get it better is to rest it and offload it so that it can heal. However, it’s a bit difficult to stop walking when you are living a busy life. So, what can you do to help yourself get rid of plantarfasciitis more quickly?

Well, first of all let’s clarify exactly where plantarfascia pain is. The ‘plantar’ aspect of the foot is underneath, the fascia is in the arch of the foot and ‘itis’ just means inflammation. So, plantarfasciitis simply means inflammation of the fascia on the underneath of the foot. The fascia is a weblike structure that helps the insertion of your Achilles tendon be very powerful and efficient at accelerating you forwards. Another reason why, when it’s inflamed, that it takes some time to calm down. Follow the simple physio steps below to help you resolve yours:

1. Rest it when you can
2. If you can’t rest it, buy a heel raise to help reduce the shock going through the tendon and to slightly shorten the tendon so that the pressure is reduced
3. Ice it daily for 10 minutes – wrap a bag of frozen peas in a damp teatowel for best results. Don’t leave out the teatowel so that you can avoid an ice burn
4. Stretch it 5 times a day – gently within pain do a normal calf stretch and hold for 40 seconds to ensure the fascia repairs along its normal line of pull – if you don’t do this scar tissue can lay down in any direction and cause ongoing pain when you try to recommence exercise
5. Avoid weight bearing exercise – better to calm it quickly than to soldier on and make it last longer

Now, of course, this wouldn’t be The Food Physio if I left it there. You can also eat well to aid a good repair:

1. Ensure protein intake at all meals as it provides the building blocks to repair
2. Ensure good intake of magnesium (green leafy vegetables, nuts and seeds) needed to relax muscles and provide energy for repair
3. Eat anti-inflammatory foods – coconut oil, olive oil, avocados, nuts and seeds
4. Ditch inflammatory high trans fat foods like cake, biscuits and fried food that will worsen inflammation
5. Get plenty of fruit and vegetables to get enough vitamin C and other nutrients needed to heal well

We hope all of this helps you to clear your problem quickly. However, if it doesn’t and you’re in Fife then there’s lots more a physio can do so give us a call on 01337 858433 to book in and see a physio. Or, if you think your diet is hindering you book in for a nutritional therapy session here.