A little over a week ago I started having pain in my right plantar fascia (right where my arch is) then over the past week it's just gotten worse... to the point where when I walk I feel like it's gonna tear because it's so tight. I've been trying to rest it with some light stretching, but I have to walk on it to go to class and work. Now I'm starting to get pain in my ankle. Should I go see a dr. or keep treating it at home? I've had mild plantar fasciitis before but it's always gone away after a day or two... it's never been this bad. thanks:)
Frodo2012-11-14T13:07:20Z
Favorite Answer
Hello,
First of all I am sorry that you have this pain/soreness, it must be frustrating.
From my experience Plantar Fasciitis is not related to ankle pain. There are many factors for Plantar Fasciitis in general, the most common one is bad footwear and a combination of specific foot bio-mechanics which are faulty, like flat feet or over pronation. In order to diagnose you better please answer these questions:
1) Do you have high or low arches? 2) Is there any bruising or swelling visible? 3) Is it painful to the touch? 4) Are you still active in sports? 5) Where is the pain located exactly in the arch exactly (closer to the heel)? 6) What kind of shoes you usually wear?
Here are a few things you can do right now:
1) Ice your arch at least 4 times a day, either by applying ice directly or by rolling a frozen bottle under your heel and arch when you sit down.
2) Rest and elevate your foot for a couple of days.
3) Massage and stretch your foot in the morning and evening
4) Stand on a rubber pad or carpet, if possible.
5) Wear good supportive shoes around the house as well and never walk in flip flops.
Again, if you can answer my questions I would be happy to assist you further. You can write to me directly if you prefer, my email is in my Yahoo profile or itaiw@yahoo.com
No, Plantar Fasciitis should not/would not cause ankle pain. It's an inflammation of the plantar fascia (connective tissue) that stretches from the base of the toes, across the arch of the foot, to the point at which it inserts into the heel bone. Therefore the pain it causes would be localized to the bottom of the foot (heel, arch, ball of the foot). If it started hurting after a basketball game, you may of twisted, sprained or strained it. Go to your Podiatrist to have it checked out/x-rayed if the pain doesn't go away with RICE (Rest Ice Compression Elevation). Good luck! Oh, and as an extra note, although tendons & ligaments can not be seen on x-rays, your Podiatrist should have an Ultrasound machine on site (which they probably used in your original diagnosis of Plantar Fasciitis-after they took x-rays). X-rays are generally taken first to see if there has been any damage done to the bones. The next step would be Ultrasound for examining soft tissue. True enough that an MRI would be the final step, but most Podiatrists will use everything available to them in house before sending you elsewhere.
For the best answers, search on this site https://smarturl.im/aDSJ8
While plantar fasciitis doesn't "cause" ankle pain, the issues that are giving you foot pain can be affecting your ankle as well.
I'd encourage you to do some exercises to stretch your calf muscles before and after walking to class as well as right when you get up in the morning and anytime after prolonged sitting. Avoid any and all shoes with heels if at all possible but this might increase your arch pain at first if you've been wearing heels a lot.
For your ankle you can do some gentle stretching to help improve their as well. I did a series of blog posts regarding college students - see below in the "source" section.