Plantar fasciitis.

Plantar fasciitis is a painful inflammatory condition of the plantar fascia; the tendon / ligament hybrid that runs along the bottom of your foot.  The pain can be described as "burning", "stabbing" and "aching".

This Condition can occur when the feet are out of balance or showing poor gait. It is variable in all cases but generally the plantar aponeurosis comes under strain and results in "tearing" and/or inflammation at the heel and/or anywhere along the length of the arch of the foot. Causes are many and very varied but may be due in whole or part to excessive pronation, supination, and pes planus or pes cavus type feet. As a rule we generally find that there are a combination of causes and this is where our ‘speciality’ really comes into play.

Plantar fasciitis shows itself in many different forms and can affect the heels, the inner or outer arches and even the balls of the feet. It is a very specialised condition requiring specialised knowledge.

Metatarsal pain (‘Ball’ of the foot)

Pain in this area can emanate from dropped metatarsal heads, Mortons neuromas, march fractures or even a difficult plantar aponeurosis exerting excessive ‘pull’ on the ball of the foot. Our approach is to find out exactly why these problems are happening to the patient and eradicate them at their source.

Re-occurring ankle pain

Patients will often consult us with pain in the ankles that has not resolved following an injury. These cases will usually exhibit an imbalance in the foot that has prevented healing by exerting unusual pressure on the injured site. By correcting the balance, the injury can be allowed to heal naturally.

Shin pain

Knee, hip pain or lumbar back problems

These problems are not always due to foot imbalance, but our consultants will be happy to assess this. Many cases can be completely cleared by wearing orthotics, but we would need to see you to offer our expert opinion.

Achilles pain

Except for short-lived injury, many Achilles symptoms are traceable to excessive pronation that literally ‘bows’ the Achilles causing constant strain. Orthotics are able to give good results in these cases and our consultants will be most happy to assess whether we can help you.

Bunions (hallux abducto’ valgus)

Orthotics do not ‘cure’ bunions.  Accurate orthotics may stop a bunion growing in the vast majority of cases and may stop the constant pain associated with their growth.