Heel Pain and Sore Feet

You could have Plantar Fasciitis?

What is it?

Plantar Fasciitis is a condition that’s as hard to pronounce as it is to deal with. It describes an inflammation of the connective tissue along the bottom surface of your feet, characterised by intense pain on walking, particularly in the morning when taking your first steps. This inflammation is caused by overuse or over-stretching.

Here’s a list of those most at risk of developing Plantar Fasciitis and why:

Athletes and Dancers: sports that place a lot of stress on the heel bone (such as running, dance and aerobics) can irritate the plantar fascia. A sudden increase in activity levels or change in your running surface (grass to asphalt, etc.)
Flat-Footed or High Arches: if you have high arches, then the plantar fascia of your feet are already under tension before you’ve even started activity. Those with flat feet have compromised shock absorption through the heel, leading to similar strain on the connective tissues.
Middle-Aged or Older: heel pain becomes more prominent as we age due to weakness in the muscles supporting the arch.
Over-weight: extra weight places increased mechanical load through the ankle and plantar fascia. Coupled with inactivity, the pain of plantar fasciitis can be worse for those in this category due to bio-chemical damage.
Pregnancy: hormones, ligament laxity, swelling and weight-gain can have a direct affect on the plantar fascia.
Workers on their Feet All Day: occupations requiring a lot of standing or walking can cause heel pain.
Inappropriate Shoes: poor arch/ankle support or inflexible soles interrupt the biomechanics required for walking, causing excessive strain through the foot and ankle.

Treatment and Rehabilitation:

It is possible to make a full recovery from Plantar Fasciitis, though the ‘how long’ is dependent upon the cause of your discomfort and how diligently you comply with your home exercise program. Initial rehabilitation will include stretching the plantar fascia and Achilles tendon before introducing graded exercises to improve calf strength and ankle stability.

How Can We Help?

Remedial Massage and Myotherapy are recommended for this presentation. Your therapist will be able to: treat painful muscle and connective tissue, provide supportive taping, and advise on corrective exercise

The team at BMC are all experienced in treating plantar fasciitis. Through assessment, we’ll determine the cause of your heel pain and work with you to create a home-care management plan to get you back to what you love doing most

You can book an appointment online HERE

Understanding Anatomy: The Neck

Have you ever stopped to think about how many idioms there are in the English Language to do with necks?

The boss has been breathing down my neck to get this report finished. I’ve been breaking my neck studying for this exam. We can stick our neck out for someone, or go visit their neck of the woods.

And of course, pain in the neck, which if you’re still reading probably means this phrase is less idiomatic (and rather literal) for you.

Neck tension and discomfort are one of our most common presentations in clinic. The way that patients often talk about this issue has left me with the impression that our necks are something we tend to take for granted; our feelings towards this part of our anatomy is either met with ambivalence or resentment. There is much more to the neck than simply supporting the head or being the source of pain. As mammals with forward facing eyes, our evolution has favoured depth-perception over a panoramic view of the horizon, for which the neck has been crucial for our survival as a species.

The muscles in your neck:

support and protect important structures like: the windpipe, arteries transporting oxygen and blood to the brain, veins, the top of the spinal column and central nervous system.
keeps our line of vision parallel with the horizon
moves our head so that we can observe more of our environment.

Ideal Neck Function:

The vertebrae in our neck provide movement along 6 planes, though in normal day-to-day use the movements are usually a combination rather than singular. When you present to clinic with a neck issue, it is likely your therapist will take you through the following movements to assess neck function and mobility.

Flexion: tucking the chin to your chest and looking as far down as possible. From a neutral head position, your therapist is looking for 80-90 degrees of movement.
Extension: the opposite of flexion where the head tilts back 70 degrees, bringing your eyes towards the ceiling.
Lateral Flexion: tilting the head to the side to bring your ear towards your shoulder. This can range from 20-45 degrees, and your therapist will be looking for symmetry in this motion.
Left/Right Rotation: turning the head 90 degrees towards your shoulder as if you were to look back.

The muscles in the neck are small and powerful, which means a tiny dysfunction can have a massive affect. As you sit there reading this, take your neck through the above motions.
Do your movements reach ideal end range?

Are they symmetrical on both sides?

If you said “No” to either question, it might be worth booking an appointment to prevent the dysfunction becoming a diagnosis.

To book in for your assessment and treatment please click HERE

Forward Head & Rounded Shoulders – What does this mean?

Forward Head, Rounded Shoulders, Postural Dysfunction, Tension Headaches and Neuropathy.

What is it and what does this mean?

Rounded Shoulders and poor posture are common complaints that many clients present with in clinic. Here we’ll be taking a closer look at what practitioners refer to as “Upper Cross”, a postural dysfunction that is characterised by over and under active muscles in the neck, shoulders, and chest.

Those most susceptible are: Students, office workers & anyone who spends a lot of time sitting, particularly in front of a screen (Hmmm, who doesn’t these days. Right?!?)

If left untreated, the tension in the tissues can cause referral pain into the head or inhibit nerves leading to tingling and weakness in the fingers. This is on top of the usual aches and pains one experiences from tight muscles and compressed joints.

Some signs that you might have Upper Cross are:

Forward Head Position
Rounded or “hunched” back
Forward and/or elevated shoulders
Shoulder blades “stick out” and not flat against the rib cage

This is ME… How Long Will I Be Sore For?

Fortunately, most symptoms of Upper Cross can be addressed and alleviated during an appointment with a Remedial or Myotherapist. Many clients report instant relief through a combination of soft-tissue manipulation and trigger-point therapy.

Having said this, symptoms are likely to re-appear without on-going preventative measures such as:

Postural awareness and education
Stretching over active muscles at regular intervals
Strengthening the under active muscles

The time it takes for symptoms to re-emerge comes down to a number of factors like how long you’ve had symptoms prior to treatment, the severity of your symptoms, if your corrective program is suited to the level of load your muscles are under, and if the program is being practiced diligently.

Corrective Exercises for Rounded Shoulders

The key to good posture and avoiding Upper Cross is education and being aware of what your posture is doing when you’re seated for extended periods of time. For tips, check out Kate’s informative “Posture Power” video!

Once you’re aware of what ideal posture feels like, we can work on re-balancing your affected muscles by loosening what’s tight and strengthening what’s weak. In short, the treatment and prevention of Rounded Shoulders is possible with a multi-pronged approach of the following in addition to manual therapy:

Postural Awareness.
Stretching the neck and upper chest muscles.
Strengthening the shoulder and muscles of the upper back.

To book in for your postural assessment, Remedial Massage and management plan click HERE