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Plantar Fasciitis, more than any other problem I encounter is something that many people have just resigned themselves to dealing with. There can be many causes, some of them take a long time to resolve and others take less time. As a general rule, the longer you have been dealing with the condition the longer it will take you to get out of the condition – though there are many notable exceptions to this rule.

The foot and the brain

The feet are the two most important parts of the body when it comes to the single movement that most defines us as human beings: bipedal movement, aka “walking”.

This should come as no surprise to you, because the foot touches the ground…normal walking is impossible without it. Duh. But let me explain some not-so-obvious reasons why the foot, and more specifically the bones & positions of the bones in the foot are so profoundly important to how we move.

Proprioceptors in Ligaments

The talus is one of two bones in the human body that has no muscles attached to it. The talus also supports the entire weight of the body, so you may mistake this bone as merely a piece of structure support. You would be wrong.

talus-posterior-view

Posterior-Medial view of Talus

talus-anterior-view

Anterior-Lateral view of Talus

Every ligament in the body is filled with golgi ligament endings – these are special sensory neurons that provide feedback to the brain on the status of a ligament. The talus, with its many ligaments provides important information to the brain about which muscles to activate during gait (aka walking). Improper positioning of the talus will cause erroneus information to be sent to the brain, causing muscles that should support and decelerate the various bones of the foot to misfire. This series of events leads to excess energy being absorbed by the plantar fascia, irritating the fascia and the bone it attaches to – resulting in the all too common “plantar fasciitis”.

The solution – A multimodal approach

To fix plantar fasciitis requires a comprehensive analysis of the positions of the bones of the foot – and a plan to restore their position. In addition strengthening of the misfiring & atrophied muscles is required. Through a combination of manual therapy and a corrective exercise plan we can restore normal foot mechanics and spare the plantar fascia from absorbing excess energy.

If you’re suffering from plantar fasciitis, please contact me