What is Plantar Fasciitis?

The doctors and staff of Mercer-Ocean Podiatry can help diagnose and heal that pain in your heel!  The sole of the foot is known as the plantar area, and the plantar fascia is the largest ligament in your foot.  It acts as a shock-absorber that supports the arch of the foot. If too much tension and stress are put on the ligament, this can result in small tears in the fascia and cause plantar fasciitis, the term for when this area becomes inflamed. Plantar fasciitis is usually diagnosed after a physical or foot examination. Plantar fasciitis can develop alone or it may be a symptom of an underlying condition. Excess weight, as well as activities like running, dancing, and jumping can increase a patient’s risk for developing plantar fasciitis.


Symptoms of Plantar fasciitis include pain in the foot arch and heel, stiffness in the plantar area, and tenderness in the sole of the foot.  If you are suffering from heel pain, try resting your foot and icing the area. Changing the type of shoes you wear may also alleviate pain. Your shoes should always have a strong arch support and well-cushioned soles. If you are not able to bear weight on your heel when you stand, or if you’ve sustained an injury to the foot that has caused heel pain, don’t hesitate to come see us for an evaluation.


To learn more about the conditions we treat and services we provide, visit www.newjerseyfoot.com for more information.  To schedule an appointment with Dr. Frank Killian of Mercer-Ocean Podiatry, PC, call our Hamilton, NJ, office at 609-585-3200 or our Toms River, NJ, office at 732-557-4266.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sever's Disease

Do you recall suffering frequent heel pain as a child? If you do, that’s not unusual; children’s bones haven’t fully fused together, and they are more vulnerable to overuse injuries than adults. However, nobody likes seeing their child in pain, and if a child frequently suffers from sore heels, there may be a biomechanical issue at play. At Mercer-Ocean Podiatry, we assist patients of all ages, so we thought it would be a good idea to explain Sever’s Disease, a common source of childhood foot problems, in more detail. Sever’s disease, or calcaneal apophysitis, is inflammation of the growth plate connecting the back of the heel bone to the bone’s main body. The back of the heel bone is where the Achilles tendon, one of the strongest tendons in the body, attaches. When the calf muscles or the tendon itself are tight, the tendon will pull the heel up and backwards, causing soreness in the soft growth plate. The calf muscles are likely to tighten up after a person has been running and jum
Read more

Choosing Shoes for Children

The doctors at Mercer-Ocean Podiatry get a lot of questions from patients about shoes, and how to choose the best shoes for their families.  Children three and older experience foot growth at the rate of one-half a foot size every four to six months, but a growth spurt can cause a child’s feet can grow up to two sizes in a six month period.   So how can you keep their feet comfy, without going broke from buying new shoes?  Leave room for growth when selecting.  There should always be extra room for a child’s foot to grow in the toe area or ‘box’ of the shoe.  A good measure for this extra wiggle room could be the width of one of your fingers.  From the tip of the child’s big toe to the tip of the shoe, extra space the length of one finger width should do. As kids age, they put their shoes through a lot, and luckily most shoes are made to withstand some of this wear and tear.  Before tossing every scuffed pair, look around the edge of the sole for wear in the material.  This is a sign t
Read more

Clipping Toenails

Clipping your toenails correctly is the key to avoiding an ingrown nail. But many people are misinformed about this basic aspect of footcare, and during the summer, people are paying more attention to their bare feet and wondering how to trim their nails correctly. If you’re diabetic, this may be something that you’ll always need to be cautious about, but for most people at Mercer-Ocean Podiatry in northern New Jersey, the following advice will keep their toes safe and presentable. It’s a good idea to have separate clippers for the toenails and fingernails. Toenail clippers are a little larger, and using separate clippers will reduce the spread of bacteria. The toenails should be clean when they’re cut, but unless they’re extremely thick, they shouldn’t be wet. A wet nail is at greater risk of tearing. As you cut, go straight across, using a few small trims. You don’t want your nails to be rounded off, or they’ll be at greater risk of growing into the skin and causing a hangnail. Inst
Read more