Ailments & Treatments

Plantar Fasciitis & Home Treatment

18 Dec, 2021

Plantar fasciitis is the most common cause of arch pain.  It can be caused by overuse, underuse, tight / rigid fascia, cold weather, inflammation, or injury to the plantar fascia.

Several years ago during one very cold winter in Montreal, I developed plantar fasciitis.  I attributed this to the fact that the muscles in my foot wasn’t warmed up when I started to run in the snow to try and catch the bus, plus the fact that my plantar fascia was quite rigid and inflexible from lack of use.  As I started to run, I could feel a slight tear in the arch at the sole of my right foot.  When that happened, I knew I had to look after myself better.

Following are steps one can take to treat plantar fasciitis:

1. Rest your feet first couple of days and don’t overuse it
2. Use ice to relieve pain and reduce swelling
3. Take pain and anti-inflammatory medication if necessary
4. After a couple of days, alternate between hot and cold pads
5. Step on a tennis ball and slowly roll the ball along the arch of your foot
6. When the foot is warm, apply some mild and gentle stretching exercises (i.e. ankle rotation, foot flexion / extensions, etc)
7.  Gently move up to stretch the leg muscles (i.e. Soleus, gastroc nemius, and tibialus anterior muscles) including the Achilles’s Tendon
8.  Massage your feet

For me, I also got a therapeutic Thai massage treatment, with focus on my feet and also on my legs, hip, and lower back muscles because those areas also felt affected from the plantar fasciitis, after all every part of the body is interconnected.  The overall experience was painful, but doing the steps above helped me with having a quicker recovery.

My body doesn’t function as well that I’m older than when I was younger.  So now I try not to take my feet for granted.  I also take greater care in ensuring I stretch my feet and ankles more often.  I feel the stretching and mobility helps me to maintain the elasticity in my muscles better.  And for sure I don’t run in the cold until I’ve warmed up my muscles!!!

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