The plantar fasciitis is a common cause of foot pain, both athletes and sedentary people. The pain occurs in the foot, at the front of the heel, being a pain that worsens when walking or exercising.

Being a common injury in athletes as much in the general population, we will discuss the causes, prevention and treatment of plantar fasciitis in this article.

What is the plantar fascia?

The plantar fasciitis is an injury that affects the fascia or plantar fascia, a thick band of connective tissue that is in the sole, and runs from the front of the calcaneus (heel bone) to the front fingers.

The plantar fascia is a support structure to absorb the impact and maintain the shape of the foot. Upon reaching the toes, the fascia is divided into five bands.

I take this opportunity to point out that the suffix it is refers to inflammation but, as in the usual tendinitis, rarely a real inflammation is present (so we recommend talking about tendinosis). In the case of fasciitis same thing happens: rarely no real inflammation, so maybe I should change the term to fasciosis (which simply indicates an alteration, without specifying what type). Read more