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Plantar fasciitis or Plantar heel pain:

Plantar fascia loading, an added exercise.

Plantar heel pain is a common and debilitating condition.  South West Podiatry are committed to helping more people and dedicating our time to education and promoting foot health.  In this series of blogs, we discuss one of the most common form of foot pain for the general population and over the next few weeks we will discuss the signs and symptoms of plantar fasciitis/plantar heel pain.  It has been reported that up to 20 % of the population within the UK will suffer from symptoms of plantar fasciitis.  This is generally of varying degrees and plantar fasciitis can be one of the most debilitating conditions of the foot and ankle.

Plantar fascia loading – Intrinsic muscles

Part 6 :

In part 4 we discussed the excellent work by Rathleff et al and showed you how to complete a simple plantar fascia loading programme under guidance from your podiatrist.  Plantar fascia pain is common and when you start to read about plantar fasciitis, you start to appreciate the complexity of the foot and ankle.  One of the common comments we hear in clinic is ” I didn’t appreciate my feet until they started to hurt “.  Well, with over 26 bones, 33 joints, 100 + muscles, tendons and ligaments, not to mention a large network of blood vessels, nerves and skin.  You start to appreciate that the foot is more complex than two blocks of wood at the end of your body.

There is a growing body of research in the field of building intrinsic muscle strength of the feet to help a wide range of foot and ankle conditions, including plantar fasciitis.  With around 19 true intrinsic foot muscles and 4 layers of intrinsic muscles of the feet, its no surprise that when we train these muscles, symptoms of pain reduce.  South West Podiatry has excellent results and outcomes for a wide range of conditions when we work with you to train and condition these smaller, intrinsic muscles of the feet.  There are many ways of conditioning these muscles, but one of our favourite methods is an exercise called ” toe curls “.  The aim is to engage the muscles on the bottom of the feet, spreading the toes and improving strength.  Check the video out below.

Want to know how to improve the intrinsic muscles of the feet ?

Clinic locations:

Appointments are available at Earlsfield and Maidenhead clinics.  *On-site diagnostic ultrasound is available at Earlsfield and Maidenhead clinical locations.

How to book:

Click the following link to schedule your consultation online 24/7:  BOOK ONLINE.  Alternatively, speak to our friendly booking team between 9am-5pm Monday-Saturday: 020 7164 6607

Insurance and Fee’s:

We accept most major private medical insurance companies including BUPA, Vitality, WPA, Cigna, AVIVA and Simply Health. A full list of our consultation fee’s including self-pay can be found here:  Insurance and Fee’s. Our Podiatry team are health care professional council registered, meaning they are required to maintain professional standards and continued professional development. As an organisation we have invested in the latest diagnostic technology in order to help our podiatry team, help you. We have onsite diagnostic ultrasound available at Maidenhead and Earlsfield clinics. Infra-red pressure analysis available at Maidenhead and Earlsfield clinics with treadmill examinations.