General Plantar Fasciitis Information

Kid’s Shoe Fit Can Prevent Plantar Fasciitis

It seems that every few months your children need new shoes and you may try to stretch your budget by fixing their current shoes or by giving them a pair a big sister or brother has discarded. Unfortunately, either solution may not be good for the feet of the child who needs a shoe fix. Some health issues caused by improperly fitted, worn out or hand me down shoes include plantar fasciitis, Morton’s neuroma, excessive sweating, hammertoes, corns, bunions and blisters.

Feet are critical to the health of the human body. Your kids have twenty six bones in their feet with half located in the toes. They have muscles, ligaments and joints making their feet incredibly complex. As an adult you know from experience what problems foot pain or injuries can cause in your day-to-day life and this is even more frustrating for a child.

One way you can put an end to the possibility of problems with your kids’ feet is by examining their feet and shoes frequently. A foot inspection will alert you to problems your child has not yet found painful, and a shoe inspection will help you decide whether or not you want to repair or replace them. Following is a suggested checklist of issues to be considered.

–How does the sole of the shoe look? Was it thin to begin with or has it thinned in response to use?
–Is either heel loose?
–Ask your child to put the shoes back on and check if they have adequate toe room or places where there the shoe causes friction against their skin.
–Have your child walk in the shoes so you can see their gait.

–What is the size of the feet being inspected? Most people have one foot larger than the rest. If you are not sure of the size take your child to a shoe store to be sized properly.
–Are there any obvious defects such as blisters, fissures, bunions, corns or spots that are just plain red and irritated?
–Do you notice any big patches of excessively dry skin?
–Give your child a foot rub and watch for signs of pain or cramping.
–Make note of any problems that necessitate a visit to your pediatrician.
–Pay attention to the size of the shoes as compared to the size your child wears. It may be possible to continue wearing shoes slightly bigger than the current size but never let them wear shoes that are too small.
–When finished taking a look at your kid’s feet and shoes consider if you can repair any issues without harming the feet that wear the shoes. If there is no toe room but the shoes otherwise fit you may be able to stretch the toe box with stretching spray and a shoe stretcher depending on the shoes.

When the soles are very flimsy or stretch too easily in response to pressure then your child may develop plantar fasciitis which is a painful inflammation of the connective tissues in the arch of the foot. If you can flex the shoes below the toe box then the shoes need to be replaced.

When the heel of your child’s shoes are too big compared to the rest of the shoe, use a heel insert made for children. You want to avoid having your child develop hammer toes caused by using their toes to keep the shoes from slipping off. Calluses on the tops of the toes is a giveaway that the heels of the shoes are too lose.

If the shoes fit well but there a few spots of pressure, try different socks. Socks now come in a variety of thickness and weight. Your little one may need a thicker sock to prevent pressure wear particularly if they often wear sports shoes. Teens athletic shoes in particular because pain or not the think they can still run with plantar fasciitis. This of course only aggravates the inflamed plantar fascia and tends to put healing at a slower pace.

If the issues with your child’s feet seem ongoing despite new and properly fitted shoes, they may need an orthotics . Ask your M.D. to recommend an orthopedist for an evaluation. Most of the orthotic devices are made of plastic and help distribute body weight evenly and realign the foot.

The feet your child is born with are the feet they will walk around on throughout their life. Paying attention to their feet can improve their general health by eliminating leg, back and neck pain. A child will walk the distance around the earth several times during their life time. Don’t you want to make that journey as pain free and comfortable as possible ? This is the kind of attention to detail that when paid can prevet heel spurs and other painful conditions

The Mayo Clinic

The American Family Physician

Web MD

eMedicine

about.com: orthopedics

Plantar Fascia stretching for pain relief

Healthlink Medical college of Wisconsin

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Plantar Fasciitis Doesn’t Hurt Much

The truth is quite to the contrary my friends plantar fasciitis an extremely common cause of severe pain in the foot and heel is keeping orthopedic physicians very very busy these days. If you experience the unique pain of plantar fasciitis it is an experience you will not soon forget. What I write in this blog comes from extensive personal experience with the condition. I received far less than optimal advice from medical professionals, I do recommend that if you suspect that you have plantar fasciitis or heel spur pain that you see a doctor. I intend to give no medical advice here. Rather to give you the benefit of what I have learned from dealing with my own problem.

Plantar fasciitis effects both men and women in equal numbers, plantar fasciitis is a condition of the plantar fascia which is the broad, flat, ligament-like band that runs along the bottom of the foot connecting the bottom of the heel to the toes. The purpose of the plantar fascia is to support the arch of the foot. When the plantar fascia becomes strained, swollen or inflamed then plantar fasciitis and the heel pain it brings along with it develops. The heel hurts at the insertion of the plantar fascia at the calcaneal or heel bone where the inflammation tends to concentrate. The pain is increased greatly when the body in answer to the stress caused by the inflammation and the tugging at the point where plantar fascia meets bone builds a deposit that we call heel or bone spur. This outcropping greatly increases the pain and makes every step misery for many with the condition.

Inflamed plantar fascia are commonly seen in people who participate in heavy exercise schedules, runners in particular develop the condition. Many who have jobs requiring quite a bit of walking or standing, especially if those jobs take place on hard surfaces will also experience plantar fasciitis in numbers greater than the average population. At high risk of developing plantar fasciitis are those who are obese or even those who are just overweight. It seems the amount of overweight is directly proportional to a person’s likelihood of developing the painful malady.

The debilitating pain caused by the inflammation and resultant heel spurs occurs very frequently first thing in the morning after the plantar fascia has spent the night shortening or tightening.When you have the condition watch out for the first step out of bed, taking that first step after standing in the same position or place for a long time or with that first step when you have been sitting for a prolonged period of time.

Sufferers with plantar fasciitis usually experience some relief from pain following activity, this do to the plantar fascia warming and stretching but there is a price for the activity that was pain relieving as the heel pain returns with a vengeance from the stress and the resultant added inflammation

Plantar fasciitis is a condition that has great impact on lives the way that intense chronic pain conditions do. It occupies a part of you all the time. It is not a pain you "learn to live with". It can take years to completely resolve the issues of inflammation and bone spur growth and in some cases it is never quite fully resolved.

A considerable number of sufferers from the condition let the source of the problem continue too long without adopting some simple self therapies and maybe some lifestyle changes. The delay in treating usually makes the healing process long indeed. For some who have stoically endured the pain the worst happens because the condition progresses to the point where it is not uncommon for the severe aspect of the pain to last for years. I was unfortunately a member of that class.

Plantar fasciitis treatment is first to allow the plantar fascia to heal to the point where stretching and strengthening of the plantar fascia can begin, treatment focuses on reducing the inflammation and pain in the heel,and then and only then on to improving the strength and flexibility of the foot, allowing the small tears in the plantar fascia to heal, and ultimately get back to your normal life. Once the condition has progressed to where a bone spur is in place you must engage in a process. If you try too hard with the stretching and strengthening before you have given proper down time for the healing you only re-injure and and reignite the inflammation. So the first order of business is rest,rest rest, This can take weeks depending on home much rest you can give it but the more the better. At this time you should only be gently stretching the plantar facsia manually during the day and with a plantar fasciitis foot brace throughout the night.

In addition to the stretching and strengthening exercises among treatment options non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications, cortisone injections into the heel, ice, specially designed running shoes, orthotics, physical therapy,taping specifically for plantar fasciitis and ultrasound therapy. Surgery for plantar fasciitis is sometimes but infrequently resorted to. There are increasingly less invasive surgical techniques which is very good news for those who most go the surgical route.

I will be returning to the blog with discussion of all the different treatments for plantar fasciitis over the next several postings.

for more Plantar Fasciitis info these links wil serve well: