Some medical practitioners think that overpronation can always be determined by the dropping and rolling in of the foot arch. But this is not always the case. Sometimes it can only be seen while doing foot scans, especially if the patient has a high arched foot.

Other common causes include high arch or low arch and other biomechanical abnormalities including oversupination which is a far more rare case than overpronation and causes problems especially for runners and other athletes, in this position the foot is less able to provide shock absorption. This should be properly examined and treated by a podiatrist / physiotherapist / biomechanist.

Excessive walking in improper footwear which does not provide adequate support to foot arch has also been attributed to plantar fasciitis. In addition, overweight individuals are more at risk of developing the condition due to the excess weight impacting on the foot, this also causes plantar fasciitis.

Heel spur is also taken as a common cause for this condition, but research has found that this is not the case. On x-ray, heel spurs are seen in people with and without plantar fasciitis. So it is better advised to do treatment for plantar fasciitis only after knowing the
real cause.

Plantar Fasciitis can first occur as simple heel pain, under the heel and usually on the inside area of feet, and also at the origin of the attachment of the fascia. It can start as pain when pressing on the inside of the heel and sometimes even along the foot arch.

This pain might be usually the first thing which gives you a worst start of the day in the morning as the fascia tightens up overnight. After a few minutes it eases as the foot gets warmed up. If it is in advanced state the condition will become even more severe and the
pain can get worse throughout the day if you go on doing activities like running, walking etc throughout the day. Another symptom is that stretching of plantar fascia tissue becoming more painful as time passes by.

In some cases there may be pain along the outside border of the heel. This condition may occur due to the offloading the painful side of the heel by walking applying pressure on the outside border of the foot. It may also be associated with the high impact of landing on the outside of the heel if you have high arched feet.

Plantar fasciitis and heel spurs are most commonly found in people who involve themselves in sports which include running, dancing or jumping. Runners who overpronate are more vulnerable to plantar fasciitis as the biomechanics of the foot pronating causes additional
stretching of the plantar fascia tissue and might cause pain.

At the initial stage, treatment usually consists of two things: Anti-inflammatory medications and Heel stretching exercises. In most of the cases this can cure the pain to a great extent.

The most important factor accelerating the cure is nothing but rest, rest and rest alone.Take Rest until it is not painful. It can be very difficult to give rest the foot for most of the people as they will be on their feet during the day for work. By walking on the painful foot
you will be continually aggravating the injury and increasing inflammation and taking pain to the next level. You have to take rest as much as possible and put a stop to any unnecessary activities which place additional stress on the fascia tissue.

A good plantar fasciitis taping technique can also help the foot to get the rest it needs by supporting the plantar fascia tissue. Tape is to be applied in strips across the plantar fascia taking the stress off the affected foot for the healing to take place.

You can also apply ice or cold therapy to help reduce the pain and inflammation. Cold therapy can be applied regularly until symptoms have resolved completely.

Stretching the plantar fascia tissue is an important part of treatment and prevention of the pain. That is why heel stretching exercises are commonly advised to patients.

A plantar fasciitis night splint is an excellent product for curing the pain which is worn overnight for relaxing the tissue and it gently stretches the calf muscles and plantar fascia preventing it from tightening up overnight.

In a few patients, the nonsurgical treatment fails and surgery to release the tight, inflamed fascia becomes necessary for curing Plantar Fasciitis pain.

In open mode of surgery, usually an incision is made through the heel pad and the part of the ligament is cut to relieve the tension. Damaged tissues or heel spurs are also removed from the body during the surgery. In endoscopic mode of surgery, damaged area of
ligaments are located by means of various endoscopic instruments that are inserted inside the body.

What are the risks involved in surgical treatment of plantar fasciitis?

They include Infections resulting out of the surgery which are one of the common problems of all surgeries. Another thing is that, the arch of the foot can reduce, if the part of the ligament is cut more than required. Lastly, the surgery may or may not reverse all the effects of plantar fasciitis pain.There is always a chance that a patient comes out of surgery with all the symptoms of plantar fasciitis still in place.

Just like rest is prescribed as a conventional treatment for this kind of pain, it is also suggested even after the surgery, so as to enable the tissue to heal quickly. It normally takes about a minimum of 3 months for the tissue to heal completely and to resume its normal
function of weight bearing.

This surgical treatment involves quite a few complications and also its results cannot be assured. So it is always advised to think many times before deciding for taking surgery. Since prevention is always better than cure, the best way to protect your foot and the tissues supporting it is, to maintain a proper posture, wearing proper shoes and to ensure your body weight is distributed evenly on your feet. Then you will never have to worry about plantar fasciitis pain at all.

Lets take a quick glance over the types.

They are Heel Spur, Plantar Fasciitis, Stress Fractures, Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome, Posterior Heel Pain…
Types Of Heel Pain

• Heel Spur – Found most commonly in patients who have Plantar Fasciitis since long. We can say that Heel Spur or Heel Spur Syndrome is an extended form of Plantar Fasciitis itself.

• Plantar Fasciitis – The most common condition which causes pain to your heels. Caused by common irritation and inflammation of arch of the foot. This tends to occur in people with diabetes, those who are having obesity, pregnant women, athletes, volleyball players, tennis players and people who participate in step aerobics or stair climbing. It can be also triggered by pushing a large appliance or piece of furniture or by wearing worn out or poorly constructed shoes. Long distance runners are most likely for becoming victims of this condition. People with flat feet have a higher risk of developing plantar fasciitis.

  

• Stress Fractures – This one is an uncommon kind of heel pain. Should be considered especially in athletes such as long distance runners who have heel pain from beginning.

• Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome – This causes a large nerve in the back of the foot to become entrapped, or pinched.

• Posterior Heel Pain – This type causes symptoms behind the foot not underneath. The causes include Achilles tendonitis and retro calcaneal bursitis.

Surgical porcedures can be ineffective as sometimes pain may not subsidice and also while surgery there are chances of the nerve getting damaged. Extracorporeal shockwave therapy is found to be successful in this procedure the area is enflamed leading to increase in blood floew to the affected area. Coblation surgery (aka Topaz procedure) has been used successfully to treat  plantar fasciitis which is recalcitrant. This procedure makes use of radiofrequency ablation and the procedure is minimally invasive.