| One of the most common injuries in runners, joggers | | | | If you have plantar fasciitis, stop running and limit |
| and tennis players is plantar fasciitis, pain on the bottom | | | | walking until you can run without feeling pain. Since you |
| of the heel. | | | | pedal with your knees and hips and place little force on |
| A band of tissue called the plantar fascia extends | | | | your fascia, you can usually pedal a bicycle without |
| from your five toes, along the bottom of your foot to | | | | feeling pain. Use shoes that have flexible soles. Wear |
| attach on the bottom of your heel. When you run, you | | | | arch supports that limit the rolling in motion of your feet, |
| land on your heel and raise yourself on your toes as | | | | stretch your calf muscles and wear night splints. |
| you shift your weight to your other foot, causing all | | | | Surgery to cut the plantar, called fasciotomy, is usually |
| your weight to be held up by your plantar fascia. This | | | | ineffective and may even prevent healing. I have |
| repetitive force can tear the fascia from its | | | | treated some patients with infractible pain, |
| attachment on your heel. | | | | unconventionally, with 10 mg/day alindronate for three |
| Several factors increase force on the fascia, such as | | | | months. |
| shoes that have stiff soles that do not bend in the right | | | | Some podiatrists now offer a non-surgical treatment |
| place just behind the ball of your big toe, shoes that | | | | for plantar fascitis that does not respond to the |
| are too wide for your feet, running too fast for the | | | | conventional treatments. The Food and Drug |
| present strength of your plantar fascia, or not allowing | | | | Administration has approved The Dornier EPOS |
| enough time to recover between fast workouts. It can | | | | extracorporeal shockwave machine that has been |
| also be the first site of pain for arthritis. Doctors have | | | | shown to cure persistent plantar fasciitis. If your heel |
| no medications that help heal the plantar fascia. | | | | pain has not been cured by other treatments, check |
| Cortisone injections and aspirin-like pills can reduce pain, | | | | with a podiatrist to see whether extracorporeal |
| but they can also delay healing. | | | | shockwave treatment is appropriate for you. |