Plantar Fasciitis and the foot arch

Welcome to ‘plantar fasciitis another type of foot pain

When Ken from New York wrote, ‘any articles on plantar fasciitis or plantar fibroma?‘ I knew I needed to respond.  Plantar fasciitis and the foot arch share common grounds but we also know they relate to heel pain as well.  Anyway, I replied through Facebook (@david.tollafield). The time had come to turn my attention to yet another common foot pain problem. In fact, if you check out my foot pain diagram, plantar fasciitis is present at location [15] although as you can see there are many other regions of the foot and ankle affected by pain problems. The figure shows Location 15, which shows the common site of plantar fasciitis and the foot arch.

I can recall a patient coming into my clinic one day and saying my doctor says it’s ‘my planters!’ What she was referring to was plantar fasciitis. The two ii’s make it difficult to pronounce. Others would call it heel pain and some attempting the tongue-tied phrase made a stab at fash-sheetous. The second condition, plantar fibroma is not so well known. Dupuytren’s in the hand and Lederhosen in the foot. The bubbly tough cystic appearance may be uncomfortable or pain-free. Technically these are two different conditions with different methods of managing the problem. I checked the database and of 22,000 conditions we have (Royal College of Podiatry) 0.64% relate to plantar fasciitis (PF) and 0.13% have fibromatosis (1/1/16-current). The data comes mainly from podiatric surgical sources and does not account for general podiatry. Although I saw numbers of PF in my clinic, I would estimate these came to around 5-7% so I saw more than some, maybe fewer than others.

These were often at an advanced stage. Early remedy and diagnosis are important and successful in avoiding both injection therapy and less likely surgery.

More information on Plantar Fasciitis and the foot arch

There is so much information published form but I recommend the NHS site for patients click on https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/plantar-fasciitis/ to find information. This is pretty basic though and if you know me, even with laypeople, it is important to have good quality information as that is the reason for Footlocker. Another great site, beautifully presented with heaps of quality material and no pushy sales can be found if you click on the link Foot Education.


Fibromatosis

Plantar fasciitis is one condition that can resolve with self-help and strapping. Another foot arch problem is fibromatosis. While fibromatosis is usually harmless and should be left alone (surgically) it is possible to keep the area comfortable. Most people complain about the lump(s). The only cautionary note is that if an orthosis is used, it should have a cut out to allow the lump to sit on the surface without pressure. The adaption can prevent irritating the fibroma and making it worse. If the area is increasing in size and becomes painful then you are advised to seek professional advice. 


 

Thanks for reading ‘Plantar Fasciitis and the foot arch’ by David Tollafield

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Published by Busypencilcase Communications Est. 2015 for ConsultingFootPain

 

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