Probably on of the most common complaints voiced by many of us is “my feet are killing me.”  While they literally do not kill us, heel pains, be they occasional or persistent, can give us a great deal of trouble.  This is not surprising if one considers that foot arches support the weight of our entire body against the pull of gravity.  Furthermore, unlike the architectural arches of immobile buildings, our biological foot arches have to withstand a great deal of moving, shaking and bumping.  It has been estimated that a 150 pound-person walking a mile places approximately 60 tons (a ton equals approximately 2,000 pounds) of force through each foot.

The architecture of the foot:

The major supportive structures in the foot arch (runs from the heel to the base of the toes) are the heel bone (the calcaneum), and the bones and muscles of the front of the heel which are bound together by a band of firm and resilient ligament, a sinew-like tissue called the plantar fascia (the fascia of the sole of the foot).

In truth, each foot forms just half of an arch because the inner part of the sole is above ground and only when the two feet are adjacent do they form a complete arch.

The heel bone is the largest of the 26 bones in the human foot, which also has 33 joints and a network of more than 100 tendons, muscles and ligaments.  In its back, is the strong Achilles tendon that inserts the tendons of the calf muscles, and below it is the tight attachment of the plantar fascia that forms the vault of the arch of the sole (the plantar arch).

Particular stress on the arch of the foot occurs while walking and running because in doing so the feet normally turn slightly inwards (what is called pronation) and more forcefully stretch the plantar fascia.

When does heel pain occur?

Heel pain typically occurs at the bottom or in the back area of the heel. The pain is described as being dull aching or sharp and can be reproduced by flexing the toes upwards and tensing the fascia.  Symptoms tend to worsen after standing and walking, in the morning, after awaking or after prolonged sitting. This happens because the fascia is being stressed again after a protracted rest.  As the person walks, the fascia “warms up” and lengthens slightly, reducing the tension and the pain.

Repeated irritation of the origin of the fascia to the heel bone can lead to growth of a heel spur, this being  calcification.  The spur does not necessarily cause pain, it can be detected by an x ray.

Treatment

It is important that the sufferer consults their GP as soon as they can for a diagnosis.  It is my personal experience that plantar fasciitis can go on for a long, long time making the sufferers life a misery.

There area few ways to treat the problem, anti-inflammatory treatment: Non-steriodal anti-inflammatory drugs such as Ibuprofen may be helpful. In more serious cases deep cortisone injections into the heel’s fascia may be considered.

I personally used physiotherapist who strapped my foot with zinc oxide tape for a week to give the foot some support and rest.  They then applied ultrasound to reduce inflammation.  Being a Reflexologist, I also used reflexology to assist the healing.

I personally believe that you should only have injections or an operation as a last resort.

I have personally helped some clients to recover using my experience of plantar fasciitis and using reflexology techniques together with Bio-magnetics.

See the Reflexology page for details of this treatment.