Plantar fasciitis
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Plantar fasciitis is an overuse injury that affects the arch tendon of the foot and can cause pain from the heel right down the foot.
Athletes who are most susceptible to plantar fasciitis are runners and athletes from any other sport that requires a significant amount of movement.
The symptoms of plantar fasciitis are heel pain which normally feels at its worst first thing in a morning before the foot becomes warm and loosens up. However, the pain can return once a person starts walking around on the injured foot.
Plantar fasciitis often stems from another injury like calf strain, which causes an athlete to put excessive downward force on a foot and overstretch the plantar fascia. Plantar fasciitis can also be a result of a misshapen foot that has a particularly high or low arch.
Plantar fasciitis should immediately be treated with ice to the area and an athlete should rest until the pain subsides. Carrying on training and competing will make the injury worse and sideline an athlete for a much longer period of time.
To avoid plantar fasciitis, stretching the plantar fascia on a regular basis is advisable. Athletes that have experienced plantar fasciitis will also need to do these exercises in order to fully recover from the injury.
There are also special splints and taping that can be applied to the foot in order to aid the recovery of plantar fasciitis, as well as the supplement Glucosamine sulphate which many athletes believe to be helpful for the injury.
We have much more information on plantar fasciitis in the articles listed below.
