A plantar fasciitis injury is one of the most annoying setbacks a runner can suffer. Remember that the plantar fascia runs from your heel bone to your toes, and creates the arches in your feet. When that connective tissue becomes inflamed at the heel, you’ve got plantar fasciitis. It can take a long time to heal, and sometimes feels like it gets worse before it gets better. But how do you know if it’s just plain getting worse?

1. The pain does not fade during the day

A hallmark of plantar fasciitis is that it gets worse in the morning. After a night of rest and healing, it hurts a lot to put pressure on the inflamed point. Typically, after some use the pain lessens. If it doesn’t ease up at all and stays very painful throughout the day, it’s probably getting worse.

2. The pain increases over time

What a nightmare! It’s understandable to expect a condition like plantar fasciitis to take some time to heal. However, the pain should slowly lessen over time. If it’s actually getting so bad that you can’t bear to put pressure on your heels, it’s definitely not getting better.

3. The pain begins to effect your feet in new places

Plantar fasciitis pain is usually contained to the heel. It may be getting worse if the pain starts to spread into the arches of your feet as well. It can effect one foot more than the other, or spread just a little or into the full arch. There’s no doubt this can be very painful.

4. Your knees start to hurt

If your feet are constantly painful to walk on, it’s likely that your gait will change as a result. As you try to avoid causing yourself more pain, you may start to put new pressure on your knees instead and this incorrect gait can cause your knees to ache by the end of the day.

5. Your hips and lower back start to hurt

If your gait is off, and your knees are out, then it’s likely that the dysfunction will refer upwards to your hips and lower back, too. If you don’t address the root of the problem (the plantar fasciitis) quickly, it can cause quite serious problems down the line.

If you're suffering from painful plantar fasciitis, here is our rehab advice.

Does walking make plantar fasciitis worse?

Anyone who has been recently diagnosed with plantar fasciitis should minimise time spent on their feet. However, after approximately one to two weeks you should be able to get back on your feet again.

Can I treat heel pain through walking?

Walking in small doses at this stage will actually help heal your plantar fasciitis. This provides the stretches necessary to increase flexibility and reduce pain. However, it is absolutely fundamental that anyone walking to help heal their plantar fasciitis, wears supportive insoles.

The only insoles proven to help heal plantar fasciitis, Enertor insoles are sure to get you back on your feet again.

• Proven to help heal Plantar Fasciitis.
• 91% of wearers had reduced heel pain.
• 75% said the insoles helped eliminate symptoms of plantar fasciitis completely.
• Injury prevention and increased comfort:
  • Flat profile and arch support available.
  • Full-length shock-absorption, spreads the load across the whole foot. 
  • Certified Class 1 Medical device.
  • The only shock-absorbing insole to be used by the British Armed Forces.
• Improves muscle function, reduces fatigue.
• Easy to use:
  • Fit into work, casual or sports shoes.
• Durable - lasts over 7 times as long as standard insoles.
• Suitable for everyone:
  • Diabetics and those recently recovering from leg surgery.

How Enertor insoles can prevent plantar fasciitis from getting worse

The post 5 signs your plantar fasciitis injury is getting worse appeared first on Enertor. Whilst Enertor has over 18 years Orthotics experience, our blog content is provided for informational purposes only and it is not a substitute for your own doctor’s medical advice. Enertor advises anyone with an injury to seek their own medical advice – and do not make any health or medical related decisions based solely on information found on this site.