Are you taking care of your feet?

Feet: Represent our understanding – of ourselves, of life, of others. – Foot Problems: Fear of the future and of not stepping forward in life. (there was nothing specific for heels or plantar fasciitis). By Edie Weinstein

Plantar fasciitis, characterized by the unpleasant symptoms, is one of the leading causes of foot pain. It occurs when the plantar fascia, thick connective tissue that runs from the heel bone (calcaneus) to the bones at the base of each toe, becomes injured from repetitive strain or excessive load-bearing.

Common causes and correlation: People with tight calf and ankle muscles—common in athletes whose sports require running, sprinting, or quick footwork, as well as in high-heel wearers—are also more vulnerable to plantar fasciitis. Shortened muscles in the calf and ankle pull on the heel bone, stretching the plantar fascia, which then tends to remain lengthened, thereby decreasing the amount of load the fascia can comfortably support, making inflammation or micro-tears more likely.

Yoga and self massage practices can help. Whether you want to take preventive measures or are currently trying to manage plantar fasciitis, the few exercises can help to strengthen and support your plantar fascia tissue, and may alleviate mild symptoms of plantar fasciitis. As always, check with your healthcare provider first, especially if you think you have plantar fasciitis. Medical conditions such as heel bone spurs or inflammation to the tendon just beneath the plantar fascia can mimic the symptoms of plantar fasciitis, so an accurate diagnosis is necessary to adequately manage your discomfort.

Connecting the dots between problems in our bodies that may have seemed disparate gives us a new approach to alleviating them. It also hints that it may be worth looking for less-obvious causal relationships in our daily lives. Just as we might need to refer to the pelvis or the knees to fully explain what is happening in the feet (or vice versa), so we might at times benefit from looking some distance away from our immediate situations to discern the real, if less proximate, roots of our moods, our energy levels, and our well-being.