Can you still exercise with plantar fasciitis?

Written by Wang Cheng Lin

Orthopedics

Updated on September 04, 2024

00:00

00:00

Patients with plantar fasciitis can exercise, but there are definite restrictions on the type of exercise. For instance, it is best to avoid weight-bearing exercises such as running, weightlifting, or mountain climbing. For patients with plantar fasciitis, we recommend swimming because it involves limb, muscle, and fascia activities in a non-weight-bearing situation, which is greatly beneficial and not harmful to the fascia. Swimming is our recommended approach, as it can also appropriately stretch the plantar fascia during the process, thereby helping to alleviate foot pain.

Other Voices

home-news-image

Written by Guan Yu Hua

Orthopedic Surgery

1min 21sec

home-news-image

Where to massage for plantar fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis is a common condition seen in clinics, often more frequent among women who wear high heels for extended periods on uneven surfaces, as this may increase the likelihood of developing the condition. Due to prolonged tension in the soles of the feet, coupled with extended periods of standing and walking, this phenomenon can easily occur. Once it happens, treatments such as heat application, physiotherapy, massage, and electric heating can help alleviate the symptoms. Methods like massage and heat application can stimulate increased local blood flow, expand blood vessels, and accelerate blood flow, effectively alleviating symptoms and thus easing the discomfort caused by plantar fasciitis. It is best to rest strictly in bed for this condition. When standing, the weight-bearing on the affected foot makes the pain more pronounced. Symptoms naturally alleviate when the fascia is relaxed during rest. Treatments such as physiotherapy and massage, as well as taking medications that promote blood circulation and relieve pain, are needed. The improvement is a prolonged process, but conditions are prone to recurrence. It is advisable to wear softer sports shoes more often, with softer, thicker insoles to reduce the frequency of outbreaks.

home-news-image

Written by Cheng Bin

Orthopedics

1min

home-news-image

Causes of Plantar Fasciitis

The main causes of plantar fasciitis are usually due to local trauma, prolonged overexertion, chronic irritation, or exposure to cold, which can lead to aseptic inflammation of the plantar fascia, resulting in plantar fasciitis. This causes pain symptoms, and in severe cases, it may affect the patient's ability to walk and engage in normal activities. Patients with plantar fasciitis must pay attention to rest and protection for a recent period of time, try to minimize local irritation, and absolutely avoid exposure to cold. Persist in actively applying warm compresses to the area every day, use topical ointments that activate blood circulation and remove blood stasis, and take oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving drugs along with drugs that promote blood circulation and remove stasis. With consistent treatment, recovery will gradually occur.

home-news-image

Written by Guan Yu Hua

Orthopedic Surgery

1min 42sec

home-news-image

What should I do if plantar fasciitis is very painful?

Plantar fasciitis is mainly characterized by worsened symptoms after activity, with pain at the bottom of the foot, which tends to ease during rest. Typically, the most intense pain occurs when stepping down for the first time in the morning or when the affected foot bears weight painfully, possibly due to tension in the plantar fascia. This condition frequently arises in individuals who wear leather shoes or high heels for extended periods, stand for long durations, or walk on cobblestone pathways in flat shoes. Pain occurs when the plantar fascia is tense and gradually worsens, but rapidly alleviates when the fascia relaxes upon resting. Local heat application is recommended as it promotes dilation of the surrounding vessels, effectively stimulating blood circulation and thereby easing the symptoms. Additionally, it is suggested to reduce the amount of time standing and the frequency of activities, and to rest as much as possible in bed. Recovery is typically slow, generally improving gradually over about 3-4 weeks. For significant pain, medications that promote blood circulation and alleviate pain may be taken. If necessary, encapsulation therapy can be performed. In cases where repeated treatment is ineffective, fasciotomy might be considered, which can impact the function of the foot to various extents, yet the benefits outweigh the downsides and might be the last treatment option chosen. Many patients find that rest, along with medications that promote blood circulation and alleviate pain, physiotherapy, heat application, electric baking, massage, and others, help in alleviating the symptoms.

home-news-image

Written by Wang Fei

Orthopedics

40sec

home-news-image

The difference between Achilles tendinitis and plantar fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis and metatarsal tendinitis, these two diseases are essentially the same type of disease clinically. In professional clinical terms, it is called metatarsal tendinitis, commonly known as plantar fasciitis. The anatomical location is mainly on the sole of the foot, extending from the 1-5 metatarsophalangeal joints to the position of the calcaneal tubercle. Our soles have a very thick layer, resembling a tendon sheath, which is a very important structure that supports the arch and normal walking. Plantar fasciitis and metatarsal tendinitis essentially occur in the same location, with only a difference in terminology.

home-news-image

Written by Wang Cheng Lin

Orthopedics

1min 1sec

home-news-image

How to completely cure plantar fasciitis?

Plantar fasciitis clinically has no method that can achieve a radical cure. Only through surgical treatment can the recurrence rate be reduced, but it cannot be completely cured. Of course, the effects of surgical treatment are definitely more significant than conservative treatment. The first step in surgical treatment is to release the plantar fascia, and the second step is to remove bone spurs, as a significant portion of patients with plantar fasciitis have concurrent bone spurs. Of course, during the surgical process, it is necessary to remove bone spurs. The third step involves drilling into the heel bone to decompress it, as some patients also suffer from high pressure in the heel bone. Therefore, the surgery aims to decompress the heel bone by drilling, thus further alleviating pain in the heel and foot. However, if rest is maintained post-surgery, and strenuous activities are avoided, it can significantly reduce the chances of recurrence of fasciitis, but surgical treatment is not a cure-all method.