Plantar Fasciitis Symptoms

The best known is the sudden sensation that something just snapped in your heel

Although there is not an extensive list, if you understand exactly what they are and identify them as early as you can, treat them with both the right equipment as well as with nutrients that can have a huge impact on them; you may be able to totally avoid some of the serious consequences they can cause.

This is extremely important for several reasons, but the biggest ones is the effects they can have on your daily activities and your gradual inability to preform them. However, it can go much deeper than that as these symptoms can very easily lead to foot, knee, hip, as well as back problems, as they will gradually begin to change the way that you walk.

What Exactly Is It?

In identifying the plantar fasciitis symptoms, it is very helpful to understand exactly what this condition is, the factors that can lead to these symptoms, how you can correct some of these factors, as well as exactly which nutrients can help you not only treat these symptoms, but possibly prevent them from re-occurring.

Plantar fasciitis, which is also commonly referred to as heel shunts, involves a thick band of tissue called the plantar fascia. This band of tissue runs across the bottom of your foot where it connects your heel bone to your toes, and is one of the leading causes, if not leading cause, of heel pain.

The main reason for this pain is the inflammation that will occur, and is much more common in runners than the general population. However, to suggest that only runners are affected is a misconception, as it also commonly affects people that are overweight.

It can also commonly affect pregnant women, as well as anyone that wears shoes that do not have adequate support, especially in your heel areas. In fact, if you live a large metropolitan area like New York City where you can literally walk several miles a day in your dress shoes as well as climb hundreds of stairs getting on and off of the subways, you are just as likely to develop this condition as someone the runs for several miles each day.

Risk Factors:

In identifying the plantar fasciitis symptoms, it is also very helpful to understand what the risk factors are that will increase your chances of developing them.

The first risk factor is your age, as it is by far and away more common in people that are between 40 and 60 years old, and for reasons still not fully understood, it seems to affect women more commonly than men. There are also certain types of exercises that place you at a much higher degree of risk, and while long distance running is perhaps the most common cause, there are others.

They include any type of an activity that will place a lot of stress not only on your heels, but also can affect the tissues that are attached to your heels.

Other activities include dance aerobics or ballet dancing, as well as walking up and down stairs. If you do live in somewhere like New York City, you know better than anyone that you place this same type of stress on your heels several times a day walking up and down stairs, stepping up and off of curbs, not to mention the challenges you face preforming these same tasks in the middle of the winter.

Being flat footed as well as having a high natural arch in your feet also places you in a higher risk group, as well as any type of abnormal walking pattern. An example of this might be some type of a corn or callus that is affecting your feet, and because of this, it affects the way your weight is being distributed.

Being obese also puts a lot of stress on your plantar fascia, as does any type of an occupation that keeps you on your feet for long periods of time. This can include several occupations such as teachers, factory workers, pharmacists, and other like occupations, especially if the surface is hard floors. Anyone that works in a very large retail store such as a supercenter or wholesale club is also at a higher degree of risk.

However, perhaps the leading of all the risk factors with plantar fasciitis symptoms is improper shoes. If you fit into any of these high risk groups, the last thing you want to do is to wear shoes that have very thin soles, shoes that are loose, as well as shoes that do not provide above average arch support.

You also want to avoid shoes that do not provide a superior level of flexible padding that can easily absorb the continual shock you are placing on your feet.

If you are female, the last thing you want to do is wear high heels, as they will very quickly contract and shorten the natural movements of your Achilles tendon.

Plantar Fasciitis Symptoms:

In fully understand plantar fasciitis symptoms, it is also helpful to understand how your plantar fascia acts under normal circumstances. If everything is normal, it will operate basically like a bowstring that has shock-absorbing like qualities, and because of this, it supports the arch located in your foot.

If there is too much tension, it will result in small tears in this bowstring, and repetitive tearing as well as stretching can cause it to become inflamed and very painful. In most cases, these symptoms will develop very gradually and it can affect just one of your feet, or both at the same time, which can be very challenging.

The most famous of the plantar fasciitis symptoms is the sudden sensation that something just stabbed you in the heel of your foot, and this most commonly affects you with your first steps in the morning. It can be so painful that you will feel that you may not be able to walk, but once you limber up your foot, this stabbing like pain will begin to decrease.

However, this stabbing sensation can attack you again during the day, and if you stand for long periods of time or suddenly get up from sitting for long periods, these symptoms may re-occur.

What Can Help?

There are several things you can do to help with plantar fasciitis symptoms, such as using arch supports as well as arch splints if they are bad enough, but there are two other very important things you must do; wear the right shoes and feed your body the right nutrients.

You want to make sure that your shoes have enough arch support and shock absorbency, and you need to feed your body with three nutrients; vitamin C, bromelain, and turmeric. Vitamin C preforms several important tasks in your body, but with this condition its role with collagen is critical.

This nutrient is absolutely necessary in the production of collagen, which is the key structural material of three things; your blood vessels, tendons, and ligaments. The stronger your tendons and ligaments are, the less chance you have of developing these symptoms.

Bromelain may also help, as it is a mixture of protein-digesting enzymes that are found in pineapples. In the United States we may not be familiar with these enzymes, but they have been used for centuries to control and reduce inflammation in several ligaments as well as muscle strains.

Turmeric has also been used for thousands of years in India and China to treat several issues including musculoskeletal inflammation, one of the leading plantar fasciitis symptoms.

Summary:

Identifying plantar fasciitis symptoms as early as you can goes a long way in treating and then eliminating this painful condition, especially in you take the proper precautions and build up your resistance as strong as you can.

Natural Treatments for Plantar Fasciitis Symptoms

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