Plantar fasciitis (PT), formerly called "a dog's heel" in the United Kingdom, (gotta love those Brits--they see things in a perspective us Yanks miss) is a painful inflammatory condition of the foot caused by excessive wear to the plantar fascia that supports the arch or by biomechanical faults that cause abnormal pronation.
Causes include activity overload (PT is common in distance runners), faulty foot mechanics (such as being flat footed like me), arthritis, diabetes, and improper shoes. This Mayo Clinic site provides a good basic explanation of PT including causes, treatment, prevention, and risk factors.
This 41 second Google Video illustrates a runner's foot action and shows the plantar fasciitis as the foot pushes off.
This site of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons suggests some simple treatment exercises.
Here is a long, but interesting paper in a pdf file regarding sports injuries including PT and other foot/shin pain. It was found on a Kendo site, written by Kosi Gramatikoff, PhD, and goes into various treatments including acupuncture and magnets.
Click For Large View of Reported Areas of Pain.
Comments (1)
How long has this blog been up? The only thing is I seem to be having some technical difficulties getting to your rss feed
Posted by skate shoes | April 25, 2010 5:33 AM
Posted on April 25, 2010 05:33