Planter Fasciitis, A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions

By Kenneth Kee

Plantar Fasciitis (Painful Heel Syndrome) is a medical disorder with inflammation of the plantar fascia (which stretches from the calcaneum to the toes) typically featured by the pain in the heel especially in the morning and weight bearing exercises.
The plantar fascia is a thick connective tissue on the bottom of the foot.
It strengthens the arch of the foot and also works as a shock-absorber in the foot.
It joins the heel bone to the toes and produces the arch of the foot.
When this tissue becomes swollen or inflamed, it is called plantar fasciitis.
Plantar fasciitis happens when the thick band of tissue on the bottom of the foot is over-stretched or over-used.
This can cause pain and make walking more difficult.
The damage is normally near to where the plantar fascia joins to the heel bone.
Plantar fasciitis may be thought to be 'Policeman's heel' but they are different.
Policeman's heel is plantar calcaneal bursitis - inflammation of the bursa (sack of fluid) under the heel bone.
The most frequent symptom is pain and stiffness in the bottom of the heel.
The pain is frequently worsened:
1. In the morning when the patient take the first steps
2. After standing or sitting for awhile
3. When climbing stairs
4. After intense activity
The patient may limp because of the painful heel.
The physical examination may show:
1. Tenderness on the bottom of the foot
2. Flat feet or high arches
3. Mild foot swelling or redness
4. Stiffness or tightness of the arch in the bottom of the foot.
An ultrasound scan normally shows thickening and swelling of the fascia in plantar fasciitis.
Conservative treatments for plantar fasciitis are:
1. Rest the foot
The excess walking, running, or standing and undue stretching of the sole should be avoided.
Gentle walking and exercises below are fine.
2. Footwear
The shoes are chosen with cushioned heels and a good arch support.
A sports shoe rather than an open sandal is the best footwear.
3. Heel pads and arch supports
The patient can purchase various pads and shoe inserts to strengthen the heel and support the arch of the foot.
If the heel is painful, a small hole is cut in the heel pad at the location of the tender spot.
This indicates that the tender part of the heel will not come in contact with anything inside the shoe.
The inserts or pads are placed in both shoes, even if the patient only has pain in one foot.
4. Relief of pain
Painkillers such as paracetamol will frequently relieve the pain.
An ice pack (such as a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a tea towel) placed on the foot for 15-20 minutes may also assist to relieve pain.
5. Exercises
Regular, gentle stretching of the Achilles tendon and plantar fascia may assist to relieve the symptoms.
This is because most people with plantar fasciitis have some tightness of their Achilles tendon.
A steroid (cortisone) injection is sometimes tried if the pain remains bad.
In extracorporeal shock-wave treatment, a machine is used to provide high-energy sound waves through the skin to the painful area on the foot.
New treatments are injection with botulinum toxin and treatment of the plantar fascia with radiotherapy.
Surgery is normally only advised if the pain has not relieved after 12 months and requires separating the plantar fascia from where it joins to the bone.

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Plantar Fasciitis
Chapter 2 Causes
Chapter 3 Symptoms
Chapter 4 Diagnosis
Chapter 5 Treatment
Chapter 6 Prognosis
Chapter 7 Flat Foot
Chapter 8 Ankle Sprain
Epilogue

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: Nov 3, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370702848

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

Planter Fasciitis,

A

Simple

Guide

To

The Condition,

Diagnosis,

Treatment

And

Related Conditions

By

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2016 Smashwords Edition

Published by Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated

To my wife Dorothy

And my children

Carolyn, Grace

And Kelvin

This book describes the Plantar Fasciitis, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases which is seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.

(What You Need to Treat Plantar Fasciitis)

This eBook is licensed for the personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Introduction

I have been writing medical articles for my blog http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Condition) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.

My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.

Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).

I then wrote an autobiolographical account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.

This autobiolographical account A Family Doctor’s Tale was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Conditions into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale on http://kenkee481.wordpress.com.

From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 700 amazon kindle books and some into Smashwords.com eBooks.

Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.

For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.

The later books go into more details of medical conditions.

The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately tends to have typos and spelling mistakes.

Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.

As I tried to bring you the latest information about a condition or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.

Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.

I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.

I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.

I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.

Chapter 1

Plantar Fasciitis

What is Plantar Fasciitis?

Plantar Fasciitis (Painful Heel Syndrome) is a medical disorder with inflammation of the plantar fascia (which stretches from the calcaneum to the toes) typically featured by the pain in the heel especially in the morning and weight bearing exercises.

The plantar fascia is a thick connective tissue on the bottom of the foot.

The plantar fascia is a strong band of tissue (like a ligament) that stretches from the heel (calcaneum) to the middle foot bones.

It strengthens the arch of the foot and also works as a shock-absorber in the foot.

It joins the heel bone to the toes and produces the arch of the foot.

When this tissue becomes swollen or inflamed, it is called plantar fasciitis.

Plantar fasciitis indicates inflammation of the plantar fascia.

It is more frequent in women.

What is the cause of Plantar Fasciitis?

Cause:

The main cause of Plantar Fasciitis is the non-specific inflammation of the plantar fascia as an effect of repetitive injury to the fascia.

In some patients the plantar fasciitis occurs as a result of a calcaneal spur pressing on the fascia.

Plantar fasciitis happens when the thick band of tissue on the bottom of the foot is over-stretched or over-used.

This can cause pain and make walking more difficult.

Repeated small injuries to the fascia (with or without inflammation) are believed to be the cause of plantar fasciitis.

The damage is normally near to where the plantar fascia joins to the heel bone.

The patient is more likely to damage the plantar fascia in certain circumstances.

For example:

1. If the patient is on the feet most of the time, or if the patient does lots of walking, running, standing, etc, when the patient is not used to it or has previously had a more sedentary lifestyle.

2. If the patient has recently started exercising on a different type of surface - for example, running on the road instead of a track.

3. If the patient has been wearing shoes with improper cushioning or improper arch