Occurrence of Plantar Fasciitis in New Zealand

Plantar fasciitis is a common foot problem of in New Zealand and it can become a painful and restrictive, in some patients chronic injury that will take a while to recover from. Let's have a closer look at the symptoms and causes of plantar fasciitis. Many cases of plantar fasciitis can linger for weeks or months with pain increasing and decreasing in an unpredictable way. Plantar fasciitis discomfort may nearly disappear for several weeks, only to re-emerge completely after walking or running. Research in the USA shows that only about 7% of sufferers actually seek professional help from a doctor. Most middle-aged men and women have a chance of 55% to suffer from heel pain at some stage. First we need to understand the anatomy of the foot. Under the foot runs a long and wide fibrous band of connective tissue which in Latin is called the plantar fascia. It originates at the heel bone and runs along the bottom of the arch much like a fan, starting at one point (the heel) and fanning out to the base of each of the toes. The fascia are a quite tough and strong structure and performs a number of important functions during running, walking and sports. It also provides stability to the metatarsal bones (they are similar to your fingers, long bones in the foot). Your plantar fascia acts as a shock-absorber by tightening and stretching during the walking sequence for your legs, back and entire body. It helps lift off the longitudinal arch to prepare the foot for the propulsive phase of the foot's normal gait cycle. In runners plantar fasciitis tends to occur more often. In fact over 10% of running injuries in New Zealand are inflammation of the plantar fascia, which means many thousands of runners and joggers in NZ will encounter this problem every year! On the other hand people who are very inactive and live a sedentary lifestyle also at risk. Because inactivity promotes tightening and shortening of the foot and leg's ligaments, causing plantar fasciitis in these people.

Although it is a resilient ligament structure, the plantar fascia is not designed to be overly stretched, even though natural stretching occurs in the fascia every time your foot hits the ground and lifts off the ground. Research has shown that the fascia can only stretch at 110% of its normal length, beyond that micro-tearing of the tissue will occur. You have to bear in mind that when the foot lands up to 2-3 times of your total body weight is placed on the foot's structures. With running this can be up to 4-5 times your body weight! Not surprisingly plantar fasciitis occurs in many people of all ages, especially when they have gained some weight in recent years.

Understanding the gait cycle:

Faulty foot mechanics or a poor gait cycle plays an important role in the cause of Plantar Fasciits. Firstly we need to comprehend the gait cycles and its different phases. 1. Contact phase: foot strikes on the outside of the heel with a 3- 4 degree ‘Tibial Varum angle’. Foot pronates and turns into a loose mobile adaptor and forms a natural shock-absorbing mechanism lower leg rotates internally 2. Midstance phase:foot converts from mobile adaptorinto a rigid lever, preparing for propulsion, foot starts to supinate, lower leg starts to rotate externally 3. Propulsive phase: heel lifts off the ground; rearfoot and forefoot lock together; foot continues to supinate; lower leg continues to rotate outward.

Formation of heel spurs:

Plantar fasciitis is often associated with heel spurs. Spurs are in fact calcium deposits at the point where the fascia suffers most damage. The heel bone gets agitated and the body responds by forming a bony growth at calcaneus to be specific at the medial tubercle of the calcaneus (heel bone), or the origin of the inside part of the plantar fascia. Stretching Exercises for Plantar Fasciitis: The following exercises have a beneficial effect on heel spurs. They are such that they can be done easily between daily activities.

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