Are you suffering from heel pain?
There are a few simple things that you can do immediately.
If you do have pain in your heel you may have plantar fasciitis the most common type of heel pain. The plantar fascia is a band of tissue that supports your arch it runs from your heel to the base of your toes, when it is overused it becomes inflamed and very painful.
Do you know heel pain is the most frequent foot complaint of New Yorkers. According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons 2 million Americans develop heel pain a year it typically feels like a sharp pain in your heel especially with that first step in the morning this is because the plantar fascia tightens while you're sleeping and if you stand on that foot without stretching the fascia first you may restart the cycle of micro-tears and inflammation and that is very painful.
There are a variety of risk factors for heel pain such as weight gain, poor fitting shoes, increase in the amount of standing walking or stair climbing, having high arches, or abnormally flat feet.
Here's the painful truth it does not get better by itself if you have been in pain for a while I strongly encourage you to see a physical therapist. However, here are some simple things that you can do at home to help you immediately. Ice is your best friend the easiest way to do it take one of your water bottles fill it with water and throw it in the freezer. Once it's frozen sit down put it under your arch and roll do that for about ten minutes, three times a day. Secondly take a cushion shoe and place it by your bed so if you get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom or first thing in the morning when you stand up you have a nice cushion under your plantar fascia. Thirdly, wear footwear that supports your foot that varies of course depending on the anatomy of your arch, and lastly do this stretch for your plantar fascia you want to sit down and take the foot that has heel pain cross it over the other leg take your one hand put it on the base of your toes pull your toes up towards your shin take your the fingers of your other hand and place them on your arch at the base of your great toe you want to hold the stretch of your toes for a count of 10.
You'll know you're having an effective stretch when you can feel the tightness underneath your fingers recent studies from the Journal of sports physical therapy showed the plantar fascia stretch to be far more effective than the standard Achilles tendon stretch in alleviating the pain of plantar fasciitis. A physical therapy treatment may include such as stretching, strengthening, manual therapy, ultrasound laser and taping.
If you have been living with heel pain I highly recommend you consult with a physical therapist or visit a podiatrist. You may also want to check a detailed guide on how to cure plantar fasciitis @ heelpainresource.com
