Foot pain is common, especially among athletes and people who walk a lot. Does your foot hurt when you walk? It could be plantar fasciitis.
Symptoms of Foot pain
Although benign in the majority of cases, Foot pain is no less disabling in everyday life, especially as it is often accompanied by other symptoms.
Pain under the foot
Pain in the soles of the feet is generally felt underfoot. It's an inflammatory pain, linked to repeated effort, which starts at the heel and can extend to the front of the foot.
Underfoot pain is relatively common. Their main cause is overuse of the foot: excessive walking, sports with a sudden increase in training load.
Generally speaking, any prolonged or unusual walking effort is conducive to this type of pain. For example, it's not uncommon to feel pain under the foot after a long hike, or a walk on steep terrain. Runners are also affected, especially if they suddenly extend their sessions, or if they do not warm up sufficiently.
The main symptoms
Foot pain under the foot rarely occurs in isolation. It is often accompanied by other symptoms such as swelling, redness or stiffness of the affected foot. Usually, the pain is particularly severe when you first take a step, before gradually diminishing over the course of the day.
Generally benign, these pains are nonetheless annoying. Patients find it difficult to put their foot down, or even to move their foot at all, making it difficult to walk.
How can you tell if you have plantar fasciitis?
Do you feel a sharp Foot pain in your heel, particularly strong in the morning when you take your first steps? It's probably plantar fasciitis, or plantar fasciitis. This pathology, common among runners, corresponds to inflammation of the plantar fascia, the fibrous tissue that supports the arch of the foot.
Plantar fasciitis is a pathology of overuse, appearing gradually over the course of training or walking sessions.
Pain is initially intermittent, and may disappear when the foot is not used. However, if left untreated, they tend to intensify over time. After a while, plantar fasciitis manifests itself as intense pain, even at rest.
Treatment of plantar fasciitis
Rest is essential to relieve plantar fasciitis: patients should avoid high-impact activities such as running for the duration of treatment.
Plantar orthoses can be placed in the shoe. These devices effectively relieve inflammation by absorbing shocks, while supporting the arch of the foot to relieve pressure on the heel. In some cases, analgesic treatment may be prescribed to relieve Foot pain.
Physicians generally prescribe physiotherapy sessions for patients suffering from plantar fasciitis. Foot re-education is often necessary to correct the imbalances at the root of the pathology. Stretches performed during sessions also help to relieve pain, accelerating healing.
The physiotherapist's role is also to advise the patient on the right reflexes to adopt when practising sport, to avoid recurrences: progressive training, adding foot stretching to the sports routine, choosing suitable, comfortable footwear... As a general rule, all these elements are sufficient to overcome plantar fasciitis, and return to sport without difficulty.