Pain on the Bottom of Your Foot: Plantar Fasciitis

Fascia is connective tissue that runs throughout the entire body, connecting, surrounding, and supporting muscles, tendons, and nerves. It also separates the skin and subcutaneous fat (body fat that’s just under the skin) from the underlying muscles and other soft tissues. Like all other connective tissue in the body, the fascia can develop adhesions, become inflamed, tear, or be subjected to some other kind of injury. Due to its interconnected nature, movement restrictions, tightness, or pain in the fascia in one region of the body can affect other parts of the body.

One place in the body that is particularly susceptible to irritation, chronic inflammation, dysfunction, and pain is the plantar fascia, located on the soles of the feet. Plantar fascia runs from the bottom of the heel to the ball of the foot. This fascia supports the foot’s main arch and stabilizes the foot during pushing-off (like during running and jumping). When this tissue becomes inflamed, the condition is called plantar fasciitis.

Exercising Doesn't Have to Hurt! Dealing with Muscle Soreness

Anyone who has exercised or participated in physical activity likely has experienced soreness associated with these activities at one point. Colloquially, “soreness” may be rather vague and used to describe a variety of sensations and conditions. So the physical fitness and medical fields use the term delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) to describe the residual muscular pain or discomfort following unusual or excessive muscle use. As the name indicates, the soreness usually sets in anywhere from 1-5 days after exercise.

Stress Fractures

A stress fracture is a bone injury that occurs at a spot in the bone that is exposed to high or repetitive forces. These forces either come from external sources (like impact with the ground when you walk, run, or jump) or from internal sources (like muscles/tendons pulling on the bone). Specific spots of bones may be more susceptible to stress fractures than others due to mechanics/form while performing specific tasks or due to cyclical weaknesses that occur naturally as a part of the bone’s remodeling process.

Resting from Activity

Many injuries need time off from physical activity to heal. However, this does not always mean completely stopping all activities and losing conditioning simply due to an injury.