Plantar Fasciitis Symptoms

Plantar Fasciitis symptoms are the result of a physical condition that occurs when a part of your heel becomes irritated.

The plantar fascia is a ligament that connects the heel bone to your toes. It supports the arch of your foot, and if you strain it, it can become swollen, weak and irritated.

Your heel and sometimes the entire bottom of your foot can become too painful to walk upon.

Symptoms

Plantar Fasciitis symptoms develop gradually, over time, and at first you may only notice pain when you first get out of bed, or after sitting for a long length of time.

Heel pain: the classic symptom is sudden heel pain that occurs when you take your first steps after inactivity, like first steps in the morning or after sitting for a time.

Progressive stiffness: stiffness or pain that is present during the first few steps, then fades, only to return progressively worse after inactivity.

Progressive pain: occurs after standing for long periods of time, when climbing stairs and walking uphill. Pain can also fade during regular activities, only to return when you stop any activity.

Continuous pain: this is a latter stage symptom that should not be ignored. The pain continues after resting for a short time, and is present before taking any steps. It should be treated soon, especially if it resists anti-inflammatory drugs or heat and ice treatments.

Plantar fasciitis is commonplace in middle-aged adults. It can occur in younger people who are on their feet a lot, like soldiers and athletes.

Repetitive stress like walking, jumping, or running will hasten the condition along. The injured ligament may never heal completely, especially if you cannot alter the conditions that caused it.

As it progresses, the heel pain gets worse, and may change the way you walk because of it. This can lead to more discomfort and cause other problems with your foot, leg, hip and back because of having to adjust the way you walk to avoid pain in the heel.

Daily activities become more limited, and you cannot participate in some because of the growing pain. If left untreated, the ligament can tear completely, leaving you in constant pain, or bone spurs may develop, causing a host of other problems with your feet.

Plantar fasciitis may develop because of repeated small tears in the ligament, because the plantar fascia continually stretches as you walk, every time the foot strikes the ground.

If strained by your gait, or repeated stress, it will weaken over time. Physical factors that affect how your feet work can lead to this condition, including: rolling of the foot, high arches, flat feet, tight calf muscles, and tight Achilles tendons at the back of the heel.

Repetitive activities, like jobs that involve prolonged sessions of walking, standing on hard surfaces for long periods of time, being overweight, wearing ill-fitting or worn out shoes, and stressful sports like running can cause this condition to occur.

It can also be part of the natural progression of aging, and, an injury to the foot itself.