Having a lengthened plantar ligament can be extremely painful. There are many causes for this, but the most common are improper shoes, birth defects or injuries with prolonged healing times. Whatever the cause, the impact on your health could be more devastating than you originally thought. Over time you may notice that you have pain in your knees or your hips and back. This is caused by an altered ‘gait’. Gait is characterized as a general ‘normal’ way of walking. When your gait is altered, it’s putting added strain onto parts of your body that aren’t used to being strained, hence the pain.
To treat the pain and help heal a lengthened plantar, there are three easy steps to follow:
Rest
Rest is very important. Your body naturally wants to heal itself, and too often we don’t give ourselves the time to heal. The feet especially take a beating and staying off your feet as much as possible during the first couple days of the healing process will greatly benefit your healing times. Crutches are a great alternative to stay off of your feet. The more you stay off of your feet, the quicker the plantar fascia can heal back to its original length.
Cold Compression
Having a treatment regimen that includes cold compression will help eliminate pain caused by an affected gait, as well as reduce inflammation, which makes way for nutrient rich blood to flood the area, helping heal the plantar fascia faster.
Optimal Blood Flow
This is the most important part of the treatment process that everyone forgets about. Blood has nutrients that feed the muscles, ligaments and tendons. It carries oxygen and removes waste. Creating situations where optimal blood flow is present will greatly increase the healing times, streamlining the recovery process.
Proper Shoes
Having a lengthened plantar, as mentioned can be from a birth defect or from repetitive injury. Having a birth defect, the person would benefit from having arch supports, only to correct their gait, to take strain off their hips, back and knees. The arch supports should only be used for a short periods of time as to not add any extra stress or damage to the plantar fascia. Having a lengthened plantar that is a result from repetitive injury, having shoes that do not have arch support is key. Any additional support to the plantar fascia will further damage the ligament. Proper foot support should only be on the balls and the heel of your foot. This will alleviate any additional shock your foot will endure.