Common Referee's Injury - Plantar Fasciitis (1)

What is plantar fasciitis or heel spurs? During my active days as a referee and also among my colleagues, pain at the bottom of the heel is often the common injury that we suffered. Consulting my sport doctors, they diagnosed it as Plantar Fasciitis or heel spurs. Plantar Fasciitis is inflammation of the plantar fascia or arch tendon of the foot. It is an overuse injury causing heel pain which may radiate forward into the foot. Plantar fasciitis can also be known as a heel spur although they are not strictly the same. A heel spur is a bony growth that occurs at the attachment of the plantar fascia to the heel bone (calcaneus). A heel spur can occur (with repetitive pulling of the plantar fascia) on a foot with no symptoms at all and a painful heel can have no heel spur present. What are the signs and symptoms? Heel pain, under the heel and usually on the inside, at the origin of the attachment of the fascia. Sometimes there may also be pain along the outside border of the heel. This may occur due to the offloading the painful side of the heel by walking on the outside border of the foot. It may also be associated with the high impact of landing on the outside of the heel if you have high arched feet. Pain is usually worse first thing in the morning. After a few minutes it eases as the foot gets warmed up, but can get worse again during the day especially if walking a lot. Plantar fasciitis or heel spurs are common sports which involve running, dancing or jumping. Runners who excessively pronate (feet rolling in or flattening) are particularly at risk as the biomechanics of the foot pronating causes additional stretching of the plantar fascia. Reducing pain and inflammation Rest from activities that cause pain. Stay off your feet as much as you can. Use crutches if necessary. Maintain fitness by swimming or cycling. Take the opportunity to work on upper body strength. If you cannot stay off your feet then the next best thing is to tape the foot. The taping gives excellent support while allowing the foot to heal. If taping is effective then it is likely that orthotics will also be effective in correcting foot biomechanics and helping to prevent the injury returning once normal training has resumed. Apply cold therapy. Ice massage for 10 minutes to the site of pain - every hour for the first day progressing to three times a day at least. NSAID (Non steroidal anti-inflammatory medication) e.g. ibuprofen may help in the early stages. Always check with a Doctor before taking any medication. Do not take Ibuprofen if you have asthma. Visit this site for more details: http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net