Feeling throbbing pain as you want to get up, walk, run or do anything else that involves feet utilization is certainly irksome and greatly impairs your daily activities. Unfortunately, feet ache is not related to the old people only but it can also happen to the youth. Plantar fasciitis is the commonest causes of the pain in feet, but many debates whether it causes ankle pain too.

What is plantar fasciitis?

This is a condition that involves inflammation of the plantar fascia, a tissue strip located at the bottom of your foot that connects the heel bone to the toes. This condition is more common in women whose job involves a lot of standing (especially in heels), but it is not so rare in men. Other risk factors include being overweight, flat feet or just simple aging.

Does plantar fasciitis cause ankle pain?

Plantar fascia acts like a shock absorber that protects your arch. Once the stress on it is too great, small tears appear in the fascia that cause the inflammation afterward. The inflammation usually strikes the heels first, but there is a high incidence of it spreading to other foot parts, including ankles. Therefore, we can surely claim that plantar fasciitis absolutely causes ankle pain.

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Plantar fasciitis causes the ankle pain, but there are different standings on how it is developed

First studies on plantar fasciitis suggested that this was inflammatory condition induced by the irritation of plantar fascia, a fibrous band of connective tissue that originates in the heel bone, extends through the sole of the foot and finally inserts itself into the toes.

However, this standpoint has been somewhat abandoned after a few studies revealed that this is a non-inflammatory disease caused by micro-traumas that trigger the breakdown of the plantar fascia. Other pieces of research suggest the disease is prompted by the injured tendons. Whatever the root of plantar fasciitis is, ankles undoubtedly are its target along with heels.

Plantar fasciitis, ankle pain and being overweight

If you pay closer attention you’ll see many overweight people having problems such as the swollenness of the ankles or of the whole foot. This is just one of the examples of how the excess of kilograms can affect people’s feet.

Suffering from plantar fasciitis that causes ankle pain is well-known among them too. Too much weight puts too much pressure on the important tissue-band at the very bottom of their feet which, as we have noted, is the origin of the condition.

Plantar fasciitis, ankle pain, and your job

If you’re stuck with a job that entails a lot of ‘’standing” hours you’re probably more prone to the plantar fasciitis. This especially refers to teachers, waiters, and nurses who tend to strain their feet too much on daily basis without giving them enough rest. The incessant stress being put on their feet takes its toll after a certain period.

Be it earlier or later, people with these occupations end up with a stabbing pain in their ankles, especially after stepping on their feet after waking up. Athletes are not spared as well as their daily routine involves a lot of exhausting running which pressures the feet.

Plantar fasciitis, ankle pain, and foot mechanics

If Mother Nature gave you flat feet or high arch, the likelihood of you being stricken by the disease is very high. These factors cause the imbalance in weight that is distributed to the feet and consequently add stress to the plantar fascia. Even abnormal walking pattern is enough for you to develop plantar fasciitis and eventually wind up with abrupt ankle pain.

Plantar fasciitis and aging

Middle-aged people often complain about how less of physical activities they’re able to do. They are either inhibited by getting tired too fast or the pain in some body parts, especially ankles, which is usually accompanied by plantar fasciitis. Aging comes with many inconveniences and muscle deterioration is only one of them so it comes as no surprise that this natural process affects plantar fascia.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, plantar fasciitis is a condition affecting the whole foot rather than heels only as it is widely believed. It has often been associated with many cases of ankle pain in people with obesity, different foot, and walking deformities as well as in middle-aged and elderly people.

Getting over this is pretty painstaking as the heel spur (a bony growth) that forms due to the disease is hardly manageable.The treatment calls for a lot of patience and it starts with a chiropractor determining the primary cause of the disease after which he/she proceeds to ultrasound therapy, joint manipulation, muscles stretching and strengthening exercises, special strapping and in some cases orthotics.