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As someone who has had plantar fasciitis (PF), I know it is no joke. Mine began when I was pregnant, and I put on a lot of weight in a short space of time. I understand that everyone has their own PF story and how it came about, there are so many different reasons and situations. The daily suffering was something else, people thought I was lazy because I took every opportunity to sit, people thought I was exaggerating about the pain. My job was to be on my feet pretty much all day, it was horrible. My relationships began to suffer as I couldn’t or didn’t want to now do the things I used to do, my mental health suffered, I had to take some serious time away from work. My personal appearance took a dive, I was constantly in trainers and so I stopped dressing the way I used to dress because I couldn’t wear the shoes I would normally wear with my outfits and so my confidence began to decline. Are my feet going to hurt forever I thought???
So, for all the PF sufferers out there, I FEEL YOU, I FELT YOUR PAIN, I UNDERSTAND YOUR ANGUISH.
If you have spent a fortune on footwear, insoles, socks and gadgets that may only provide short term relief? If you have seen doctors, podiatrists, physiotherapists, and osteopaths only to be eventually told there is nothing more they can do for you? If you have had steroid injections or even surgery and still the pain returns? Then please give me a call.
The good news is, I can help. I use tried and trusted tools that reversed my PF, and I’m passionate about supporting you on that recovery journey. I still get the odd flare up when I have done too much or life throws off my eating plans, I’m human and I understand that you can’t always be on top of everything, there are holidays, weddings and other such life events that may throw you off. Its ok because I will teach you how to manage those occasional flare ups.
The plantar fascia is connective tissue that’s similar to tendons but arranged differently. It consists of 3 bands of dense connective tissue that stretch from your heel to the ball of your foot. The fascia tenses when you move your foot, propelling you forward allowing you to walk.
Your fascia is actually all over your body, supporting your organs, bloodstream, bone tissue and skeletal muscles. It is made up of elastic, collagen fibres and something called ‘extra-cellular matrix’. Its job is to reduce friction and muscle tension. A healthy fascia is slippery and smooth, stretching as you move. In plantar fasciitis it becomes thicker, sticker, drier and tighter causing a lot of pain.
PF is a degenerative condition of the fascia. There are micro tears that repeatedly tear and overcome the body’s ability to repair itself. Collagen and extra cellular matrix are lost, which give the cushioning needed to walk. Conventional treatment of plantar fasciitis aims at affecting the anatomical, biomechanical, and environmental factors that may contribute to development of plantar fasciitis. Pain can be unilateral or bilateral especially upon first movement i.e. getting out of bed and prolonged periods of standing.
Changing your eating habits can feel like a daunting process. Yet those changes can have a dramatically positive impact on your quality of life.
On your journey with me, you will discover what triggers your flare ups and how best to manage them. I’ll help you to implement sustainable changes which will help reduce your pain and inflammation and promote collagen synthesis, to reduce the degeneration of the fascia.
Many factors can have an impact on PF like your lifestyle, job, structure of your foot (high or low arches), weight and age to name but a few. As we age, we begin to produce less collagen and the structure and quality of this collagen diminishes.
Promoting the production of collagen and extra cellular matrix helps to reduce friction and muscle tension. This is one of the areas I address when helping clients with PF. The other areas are:
Surprisingly little is known about the course of the condition, why the pain is different and in different areas of the foot. Some people have it in both feet, others only one foot. There is still much controversy over the treatment of the condition. It is said that the condition will most likely resolve itself within a year. This is not the case for those with chronic PF. I don’t know of anyone whose pain has magically disappeared within a year.
My focus is on supporting the body to heal itself. In a degenerative condition such as Plantar Fasciitis, this is key.
