Plantar fasciitis is one of the most common pains that active adults between the ages of 40 and 60 will experience in their lifetime. It most commonly presents as intense heel pain with walking or as a sharp/ripping sensation in the arch of your foot with the first steps out of bed in the morning. Even worse, it’s estimated that Americans spend approximately $500 million dollars every year on interventions to treat their plantar fasciitis! The most common interventions include surgery, cortisone injections, and expensive custom orthotics.
Most people who currently have or have had plantar fasciitis believe the reason they are experiencing pain is due to their high arch or low arch (flat feet) or the fact that they are on their feet all day and not wearing supportive enough shoes. The harsh truth is that none of those are legitimate causes of plantar fasciitis. But before you can believe that, you may first need to understand what is causing the pain in the first place.
Inflammation – Ever the Culprit
Out of the thousands of cases that I’ve treated over my career, I can honestly tell you that 99.9% of every case was due to one or both of these two things: inflammation of the plantar fascia or inflammation of the posterior tibialis tendon. Inflammation of the plantar fascia usually correlates with the sharp ripping sensation in the arch of your foot and inflammation of the posterior tibialis tendon usually correlates with heel pain.
Now this is where things are going to get really interesting for you, if you are still following along and drinking the Kool-Aid I’m offering.
We need to understand why the inflammation occurred in the first place, and I promise you it is much simpler than what your podiatrist or mainstream media is telling you. Inflammation of the plantar fascia occurs due to weakness of the sixteen tiny muscles underneath your plantar fascia. You literally have four layers of four muscles whose main job is to support the arch of your foot. When those muscles get too weak, too much stress is placed on the plantar fascia – and that is when inflammation occurs. And here’s the kicker: Those muscles get weak because they’re not getting used when you are wearing shoes all day! Then they get even weaker when you start wearing supportive shoes, custom orthotics, and even worse…Hoka shoes! This causes a downward spiral toward your foot ultimately becoming dependent on external support from shoes and/or custom orthotics because those sixteen muscles are just too weak now to even begin to do their job.
On the other hand, inflammation of the posterior tibialis tendon, which causes heel pain, is most commonly caused by hip weakness! I can pretty much guarantee you’ve never heard your podiatrist tell you your heel pain is due to a weakness in your hip – and again, if you’re still drinking the Kool-Aid, let me explain. One of the main roles your posterior tibialis is responsible for is supporting your medial arch. On the flip side, one of the first things that occurs when you have hip weakness (specifically, abduction) is that exponentially more forces are placed through the medial side of your foot. Now, because your hip muscle is not doing its job upstairs, considerably more stress is placed downstairs on the little tiny tibialis muscle in its attempt to support the arch of your foot. A great analogy of this would be expecting a Toyota Camry to tow a 30-foot boat down I-75 at 70 mph – it’s just not going to happen because the motor is not even close to big enough to accomplish the task. This is why the posterior tibialis tendon becomes inflamed and extremely painful.
The Keys to the Kingdom
With all of that said, now it’s time to give you the keys to the kingdom, so to speak! The solution to resolving your foot pain and making sure that it never comes back again is really simple (notice that I did not say easy). All you have to do is strengthen the weak muscles so that they can actually do the job they were designed to do! The reason I say simple and not easy is because it’s actually up to you to do the work. It’s very easy to go to the doctor and let them do surgery or let them give you an injection or swipe a credit card for expensive orthotics and supportive shoes. It’s not easy to actually put the time and effort into focusing on these little tiny muscles and giving them the love and attention they have longed for. Luckily for you, that’s where I come in!
Because I’ve helped thousands of people over the years ditch their ugly, bulky supportive shoes and trash their expensive orthotics (which, incidentally, never seem to fit into the shoes you really want to wear at any given time), I’ve got it dialed into a science. I can also honestly say that 100% of the people I’ve worked with who completely followed my prescription were able to get back to doing the things they had been missing out on, such as golf, tennis, running, and (most importantly here in Naples) walking on the beach pain-free and unrestricted! So, if you’ve already tried everything else and you’re still not happy with your results, would it be a bad idea to give me a call to see if I might have a different (and more effective) suggestion? Call or text me at 239.431.0232 or email me at: [email protected] now!
Dr. Jake Berman, PT, DPT, is a physical therapist and the owner of Berman Physical Therapy, where they focus on treating the actual problem causing your symptoms (pain) to help you avoid taking pain pills and dangerous surgeries. So, if you’re tired of feeling “old” and you are looking for another way to keep active and mobile, call Dr. Berman at 239.431.0232 to take advantage of a FREE 30-minute taster session!