Do You Really Have Plantar Fasciitis?

Here’s a quick and dirty line of attack to find out if you have Plantar Fasciitis…or not.

A poll done in 2003 found that about two million American people develop this ailment on an annual basis. Furthermore, the condition will affect more than ten percent of the population at one time or another. But “plantar fasciitis” is one of those terms that everyone thinks they know…and this can be dangerous, because new research is showing that chronic foot pain may not be plantar fasciitis after all.

Let’s take a look at the evidence, and then you can decide for yourself if you have it or not.

“Itis”, as a medical term, indicates the presence of inflammation. So bronchitis, tendonitis, gastritis…all of these are the result of inflammation. Typically speaking, inflammation comes along with some indicators: pain, swelling, redness and heat. Also, it commonly (though not always) goes away after a week or two. Another word for inflammation is “rubor”, but whatever you call it, it exists as a mechanism to help heal an injury or irritation. When that job has been done, it vanishes. Inflammation that continues beyond ten to fourteen days indicates that whatever the original trauma was, it hasn’t been resolved.

In contrast, the medical meaning of “osis” is “degeneration”. So the term “plantar fasciosis” indicates an actual degeneration of the plantar fascia (which is a length of connective tissue on the underside of your foot) itself, not a secondary problem like inflammation. When aspirin and icing don’t work, and you’ve been in pain for longer than two weeks or so, the chances are excellent that your ailment isn’t plantar fasciitis, but plantar fasciosis. If this sounds like your condition, the plain fact is that a different method of treatment is going to be required for you to fully recover. And rather than wsating a lot of time on inflammation, the cornerstone of this different treatment is going to be addressing your real problem, which is degeneration of your plantar fascia.

So is there some simple way to determine which condition you have? You’re in luck. There is. Do you recall those four classic symptoms of inflammation? Take a moment to examine the sole of your foot. Does it feel swollen? Hot to the touch? Is it unusually red? (If you’re reading this, I’ll stipulate that pain is probably already present.) No? So what would you think if a doctor told you that you have plantar “fasciitis” but three of the four standard symptoms of inflammation simply aren’t there? Here’s another test: have you been taking NSAIDs and/or using ice for more than two weeks? And are you still in pain? If so, inflammation probably isn’t the issue. You should ask a medical professional and see what the answer is.

Be aware that it might not be one or the other, though. Fasciitis and fasciosis can, and often do, coexist. But keep in mind that these conditions are not the same. They will need to be addressed with separate remedies for you to get better. If you think that you have plantar fasciosis, there are some specific exercises that you can do to help yourself get better.

-- Download Do You Really Have Plantar Fasciitis? as PDF --

Tags: foot pain, plantar fascia, plantar fascia pain, plantar fasciitis, plantar fasciosis, target plantar fasciitis, tendinitis, tendinosis, tendonitis, tendonosis