Kicking away foot pain
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By Geoff Wendell
The average person takes somewhere between 8000-10,000 steps per day. This adds up to about 160,000 km of walking in a lifetime. That is a lot of time to spend on your feet and anyone who spends most of their work day walking or standing will likely have experienced foot pain especially by the end of the day.
Repetitive activities, like walking or running, and prolonged activities like extended periods of standing, can cause damage and pain to the tissue within the sole of your foot. One of the main structures in your foot is called the plantar fascia, which is a tough band of tissue that connects the underside of your heel to the ball of your foot. This band functions to support the arch of your foot as you bear weight in standing, or while walking. When this fascia becomes overstretched it can become inflamed. This condition is known as plantar fasciitis, and the symptoms typically include a burning pain anywhere from the heel to the ball of the foot, and may be worse either with the first few steps in the morning, or later in the day after prolonged standing.
Although repetitive and prolonged activities cause many of the plantar fasciitis cases seen, there are other secondary factors that may cause this condition. Some of these factors include pregnancy, as well as having either very ‘flat feet’ or conversely very high arches.
Another factor that may contribute to the development of plantar fasciitis is a change in activity level. The tissues of the body become accustomed to a certain amount of activity, so when you decide to increase your activity level, or take up a new sport that challenges the muscles of your legs and feet, make sure you do it gradually so your tissues have time to adapt. People that have always been “walkers”, for example, may have problems with plantar fasciitis if they decide to become “runners”, unless they make the transition slowly.
Treatments for plantar fasciitis will vary depending on the causes and severity of the condition, but if you have symptoms similar to those mentioned above, talk to your doctor or physiotherapist as soon as possible. Typically, the longer you ignore your foot pain, the longer it will take to heal. Treatment typically focuses on strengthening weakened foot and ankle muscles as well as stretching out tighter calf muscles and addressing any alignment issues that may be putting more strain on the fascia. One final statistic I’ll leave you with is that 75 per cent of all people will have problems with chronic foot pain in their lives, so while foot pain may be hard to avoid, at least it is manageable once you’ve got it.
Geoff Wendell is a registered Physiotherapist at Sun City Physiotherapy Winfield. He can be contacted at the Winfield location (250-766-2544) or by email at winfield@suncityphysiotherapy.com
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