Does walking feel like stepping on needles? Here's how to relieve plantar fasciitis

Does walking feel like walking on needles? Here’s how to relieve plantar fasciitis!

The main function of the plantar fascia is to support the arch of the foot and participate in maintaining the structural and functional stability of the foot. It plays an important role in walking, running and other daily activities, helping to absorb impact, maintain foot stability, and transmit force.

When running uphill, the angle between the toes and the rearfoot increases, the plantar fascia stretches longitudinally, and the load on its attachment to the calcaneus increases.

Plantar fasciitis, commonly known as "heel pain", refers to a chronic aseptic inflammation of the fibrous tissue of the heel and sole. When the heel strikes the ground, repeated high tension stimulates the starting point of the plantar fascia, causing slight tears and leading to cystic degenerative changes.

Main symptoms

Heel pain:

There will be pain and discomfort in the heel, which is more obvious when getting up early. The symptoms will be relieved after walking for a while, but will worsen again if walking for a long time.

Intracalcaneal tenderness:

If the patient's condition of plantar fasciitis continues to develop, there will be obvious tenderness on the medial tubercle of the calcaneus, and in severe cases, severe swelling on the medial side of the heel. Once rupture symptoms occur, symptoms of plantar hematoma accompanied by tenderness will appear.

Joint effusion:

Long-term abnormal joint activity can easily cause joint effusion. During this period, the patient's joints will show congestion, swelling, pain, etc., and the exudation will increase significantly, accompanied by difficulty in squatting.

Plantar Bone Spurs:

As plantar fasciitis worsens, the cartilage on the sole of the foot will wear out or break down, causing the bone itself to harden and proliferate. Some patients experience severe redness and swelling on the heels, and long-term fatigue can significantly increase the heel pain.

self assessment

Tenderness point:

1. The location is in front of the heel bone. Patients can simply understand it as the part at the back of the sole of the foot, close to the heel bone. The probability of pain in this area is very high.

2. The location is on the inner side of the arch. The pain in this area is mainly caused by the long-term stretching of the plantar aponeurosis, which then causes the pain here.

3. The location is on the inner and upper part of the calcaneus. The main reason for the pain in this area is plantar fasciitis complicated by calcaneal high pressure, or a series of aseptic inflammations around the talar process, which leads to pain here.

Special test inspection:

Windlass Test:

With the patient in a standing or sitting position, the examiner stabilizes the patient's foot and asks the patient to actively dorsiflex (pull up) the big toe. As the patient dorsiflexes the big toe, the examiner observes whether the plantar fascia along the sole of the foot causes symptoms or pain. This test places tension on the plantar fascia and applies pressure to the plantar fascia across the dorsal area of ​​the big toe, which can cause pain or symptoms.

Medical Examination:

DR and MRI examinations are generally used for differential diagnosis to exclude other possible diseases, such as stress fractures, tumors, etc.

Ultrasound examination is a very standard indicator for diagnosing and evaluating the treatment effect of plantar fasciitis. Under normal circumstances, the thickness of the plantar fascia root bone insertion point does not exceed 4mm.

Rehabilitation

1. Physical therapy: Low-frequency, high-energy sound waves are transmitted to the plantar fascia, which induces micro-trauma, activates interstitial and extracellular responses, and triggers tissue regeneration, angiogenesis, increased blood flow, and nutrient delivery to help heal the degenerative tissue of the plantar fascia.

2. Release fascia and muscles: The plantar fascia can be better relaxed by stepping on a tennis ball and using a fascia knife, while the calf triceps and tibialis anterior can be released by using a foam roller.

3. Strength training: By strengthening the triceps surae, tibialis anterior and ankle muscles, you can increase your ability to move, improve your cushioning ability when landing from the air, reduce excessive stretching on the plantar fascia, and play a good preventive and rehabilitation role.

Assistive devices

Orthotic insoles can effectively reduce the tension on the plantar fascia when the lower limbs bear weight, thereby reducing the damage to the plantar fascia caused by repeated traction.

① Personalized customized orthotic insoles can provide support for the arch of the foot, reduce the tension of the plantar fascia , reduce the traction and stimulation to the affected part, and relieve symptoms.

② Orthopedic insoles can relieve heel pain by increasing the force on the forefoot and reducing the force on the hindfoot .

③ Orthopedic insoles can limit excessive dorsiflexion of the metatarsophalangeal joint , thereby reducing its impact on plantar fascia tension and reducing mechanical stimulation.

With the improvement of living standards, people are paying more and more attention to foot and ankle diseases. In order to provide the most accurate diagnosis and the best treatment plan, our team's gait analysis laboratory is equipped with the most advanced lower limb biomechanical analysis equipment.

①Mirror pressure test equipment: Mirror pressure test uses the principle of mirror reflection to intuitively observe the plantar pressure, arch type and biomechanical line of the lower limbs.

② Plantar scanning test equipment: Through 3D technology and white light mode projection, a 3D CAD model of the foot can be obtained through reverse engineering processing, which can accurately evaluate the abnormal conditions of the patient's lower limbs and obtain various foot data, such as foot shape, arch index, degree of inversion and valgus, etc.

③ Portable gait analysis equipment: Patients wear insoles equipped with sensors to perform a one-minute walking test, which can not only obtain the spatiotemporal and phase parameters of their walking process , but also obtain dynamic parameters , providing an objective and quantitative scientific basis, reducing the demand for space and manpower, and making gait assessment more efficient.

Through these advanced equipment, our team is able to provide each patient with the most accurate diagnosis and the most appropriate treatment plan, helping them recover their health and improve their quality of life as soon as possible.

If you have any problems with your feet and ankles, you are welcome to come and consult us. Let us move towards a healthy path together!!!