Quick Facts: Plantar Fasciitis - Merck Manuals Consumer Version

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What is plantar fasciitis?

What causes plantar fasciitis?

What are the symptoms of plantar fasciitis?

How can doctors tell if I have plantar fasciitis?

How do doctors treat plantar fasciitis?

Foot Problems

Bunion

Hammer Toe

Plantar Fasciitis

Polymositis is characterized by inflammation and degeneration of the muscles. Dermatomyositis is polymositis accompanied by skin inflammation. In which of the following age groups do these disorders typically occur?

Adults ages 40 to 60 years, and children ages 5 to 15 years
Children of all ages, and young adults ages 20 to 29 years
Infants and young children ages 2 to 10 years
Young children ages 2 to 10 years, and adolescents ages 12 to 19 years

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Last full review/revision Jun 2020| Content last modified Jun 2020

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Plantar Fascia

Plantar means something on your foot. Fascia is one of the kinds of tissue that connect different body parts (called connective tissue). So the plantar fascia is a band of tissue that connects the heel and ball of your foot.

Plantar fasciitis is foot pain caused by a problem with your plantar fascia. It's sometimes called plantar fasciosis.

It's the most common cause of heel pain
The pain is often worse when you start walking first thing in the morning and after periods of rest
It's common in people who spend a lot of time on their feet
Stretching, applying ice, and changing shoes can help
Doctors sometimes give you corticosteroid shots

Plantar Fascia

The plantar fascia is the connective tissue between your heel bone and the ball of your foot.

Plantar fasciitis is caused by strain, tearing, or wearing out of the tough band of tissue in your feet called the plantar fascia.

Strains or tears of the fascia are more likely to happen if you:

Wear high heels
Are a runner or dancer
Sit all the time
Spend a lot of time on your feet on very hard surfaces
Have tight calf muscles
Have flat feet or very high arches

The following may cause plantar fasciosis or make it worse:

Being very overweight
Having rheumatoid arthritis

The main symptom is:

Pain in your heel when you put weight on your foot

You usually have the heel pain first thing in the morning, but it goes away in 5 or 10 minutes. It usually comes back later in the day.

To tell if you have plantar fasciitis, doctors will do a physical exam. If they think your fascia may have torn or your pain is coming from another problem, they may do tests such as:

X-ray
MRI

To lessen pain and lower the stress on your foot:

Take smaller steps
Don't walk barefoot
Avoid jogging and other high-impact activities
Lose weight, if you're overweight
Do stretches of your calves and feet

Doctors may have you:

Rest and put ice on your foot
Take NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), such as ibuprofen
Wear a splint at night to stretch the muscle
Wear special devices (orthotics) that fit in your shoe
Do physical therapy
Get corticosteroid injections into your heel

If your pain doesn't get better, doctors may:

Put a cast on your foot for a while
Apply sound waves to the heel to improve your circulation and lessen the pain (extracorporeal pulse activation therapy)
Do surgery

Generic Name	Select Brand Names
ibuprofen	ADVIL, MOTRIN IB

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