My heel hurts...
And now my knees and lower back
are starting to hurt as well? Why?!
If you are dealing with plantar fasciitis for an extended duration, you may experience knee and back pain. If you are frustrated, read on...
The reason that pain can spread is because everything in the body is connected by a structural material called "fascia".
Fascia is a type of connective tissue that forms the framework of your body. It encapsulates muscles, can become a tendon or ligament, and fills bones in complex arrangements to give them their flexibility and tensional strength.
If you did not have fascia, your body would literally fall apart. Everything in the body is held in place with fascia. Fascia is continuous throughout the body. Fascia connects EVERYTHING.
All of the fascia in the body is connected, but in some areas, specific groups of fascia are more connected than others. These groups form to fulfill a specific function in the body.
Example: Muscle needs to connect to bone, to create movement. To connect the muscles of the body to the bones, the body uses fascia. In this structure, you will have a muscle, a bone, and a tendon to transmit the force of the muscle. The muscle, tendon, and bone, contain fascia. The fascia pervades and encapsulates all of these structures, and glue these structures to each other.
When a group of muscles/ligaments/tendons are connected with fascia, they are considered a "myofascial kinetic chain". These chains make movement possible. These chains distribute the contractile force created by muscle and turn it into usable motion by moving the bones they connect to.
The Plantar Fascia is connected to a myofascial kinetic chain that contains the structures listed below:
This chain works together to be strong. If any part of this chain is weak, the entire chain will be weak. To make the structures in this chain work together, they are held together with fascia (they would not be very useful if they were not connected!). They need to work in a synergistic fashion to be functional.
When you have a chronic injury anywhere in these muscles/ligaments/tendons (such as the plantar fascia), the rest of this fascia "chain" will be affected. The calves become extremely tight. The hamstrings slowly develop knots throughout. The back muscles start to react as well, and the tightness it can cause can produce a dull ache. The back of the neck muscles will also react and can cause headaches and other types of pain in the head/neck area.
The muscles of all of these structures primarily "knot up" to cause you pain so that you will be forced to rest. When the injury heals, the muscles "release" and you are good to go. If you have had plantar fasciitis for a long time, these muscles will stay dysfunctional, and cause problems in the joints that they attach to.
So how does my plantar fasciitis cause my knee pain?
The hamstrings are connected to the plantar fascia (same kinetic chain) and they are responsible for stabilizing the knee. When the hamstrings get tight and dysfunctional, they cannot contract as well (or know what position they are in), and the knee is free to hurt itself more easily. When these muscles cause dysfunction to the knee, it is unstable. An unstable joint is prone to injury.
Altered hamstring muscle activity causes dysfunction in the pelvis, back, and ankle. Simply because all of these structures are closely connected. When these joints are not working properly, other muscles must compensate. When the hamstrings are dysfunctional, the quadriceps will need to compensate. This further perpetuates the downward spiral and causes pain and problems to spread.
What about my back/neck pain?
Same thing as above. When any part of the chain is injured, the entire chain becomes weak and prone to degenerative processes. Combine this with a diet filled with processed foods and you are just asking for pain!
How the downward spiral develops:
Many people who have plantar fasciitis have to continue to work/move, so proper rest rarely occurs. This process can last for a very long time, which means that the muscles in the "fascia chain" stay tight, which then starts a whole lot of other problems.
The muscles of the body are pumps, and when they move, they pump nutrients into and out of tissues. When the muscles are tight, this pumping action is hindered. This will suffocate the tissues of nutrients and cause toxins to accumulate which will cause other forms of damage.
If you have had plantar fasciitis for a long time, every muscle in your myofascial kinetic chain that the plantar fascia connects to will be in a state of dysfunction. This can lead to the development of excessive scar tissue in the fascia that surrounds these muscles. This scar tissue will perpetuate the problem even further...
What is the root cause of this?
Is the plantar fascia injury causing the kinetic chain to become dysfunctional? Or is a dysfunctional kinetic chain causing your plantar fasciitis? This question is answered in detail in my book :) So check it out if you have not already!
My latest book "The Ultimate Guide to Strong Healthy Feet" will teach you how to avoid the development of these problems in the first place. Click here to learn more.
If you want to fix this downward spiral, check out my book, or try some of my Treatment Videos (By clicking here)
The reason that pain can spread is because everything in the body is connected by a structural material called "fascia".
Fascia is a type of connective tissue that forms the framework of your body. It encapsulates muscles, can become a tendon or ligament, and fills bones in complex arrangements to give them their flexibility and tensional strength.
If you did not have fascia, your body would literally fall apart. Everything in the body is held in place with fascia. Fascia is continuous throughout the body. Fascia connects EVERYTHING.
All of the fascia in the body is connected, but in some areas, specific groups of fascia are more connected than others. These groups form to fulfill a specific function in the body.
Example: Muscle needs to connect to bone, to create movement. To connect the muscles of the body to the bones, the body uses fascia. In this structure, you will have a muscle, a bone, and a tendon to transmit the force of the muscle. The muscle, tendon, and bone, contain fascia. The fascia pervades and encapsulates all of these structures, and glue these structures to each other.
When a group of muscles/ligaments/tendons are connected with fascia, they are considered a "myofascial kinetic chain". These chains make movement possible. These chains distribute the contractile force created by muscle and turn it into usable motion by moving the bones they connect to.
The Plantar Fascia is connected to a myofascial kinetic chain that contains the structures listed below:
- Foot Flexors (bottom of foot muscles responsible for supporting the arch and "clenching" the toes)
- Calf Muscles
- Hamstring Muscles
- Sacrotuberous ligament (connects your sit bones to your back muscles)
- Back Muscles
- Back of Neck Muscles
This chain works together to be strong. If any part of this chain is weak, the entire chain will be weak. To make the structures in this chain work together, they are held together with fascia (they would not be very useful if they were not connected!). They need to work in a synergistic fashion to be functional.
When you have a chronic injury anywhere in these muscles/ligaments/tendons (such as the plantar fascia), the rest of this fascia "chain" will be affected. The calves become extremely tight. The hamstrings slowly develop knots throughout. The back muscles start to react as well, and the tightness it can cause can produce a dull ache. The back of the neck muscles will also react and can cause headaches and other types of pain in the head/neck area.
The muscles of all of these structures primarily "knot up" to cause you pain so that you will be forced to rest. When the injury heals, the muscles "release" and you are good to go. If you have had plantar fasciitis for a long time, these muscles will stay dysfunctional, and cause problems in the joints that they attach to.
So how does my plantar fasciitis cause my knee pain?
The hamstrings are connected to the plantar fascia (same kinetic chain) and they are responsible for stabilizing the knee. When the hamstrings get tight and dysfunctional, they cannot contract as well (or know what position they are in), and the knee is free to hurt itself more easily. When these muscles cause dysfunction to the knee, it is unstable. An unstable joint is prone to injury.
Altered hamstring muscle activity causes dysfunction in the pelvis, back, and ankle. Simply because all of these structures are closely connected. When these joints are not working properly, other muscles must compensate. When the hamstrings are dysfunctional, the quadriceps will need to compensate. This further perpetuates the downward spiral and causes pain and problems to spread.
What about my back/neck pain?
Same thing as above. When any part of the chain is injured, the entire chain becomes weak and prone to degenerative processes. Combine this with a diet filled with processed foods and you are just asking for pain!
How the downward spiral develops:
Many people who have plantar fasciitis have to continue to work/move, so proper rest rarely occurs. This process can last for a very long time, which means that the muscles in the "fascia chain" stay tight, which then starts a whole lot of other problems.
The muscles of the body are pumps, and when they move, they pump nutrients into and out of tissues. When the muscles are tight, this pumping action is hindered. This will suffocate the tissues of nutrients and cause toxins to accumulate which will cause other forms of damage.
If you have had plantar fasciitis for a long time, every muscle in your myofascial kinetic chain that the plantar fascia connects to will be in a state of dysfunction. This can lead to the development of excessive scar tissue in the fascia that surrounds these muscles. This scar tissue will perpetuate the problem even further...
What is the root cause of this?
Is the plantar fascia injury causing the kinetic chain to become dysfunctional? Or is a dysfunctional kinetic chain causing your plantar fasciitis? This question is answered in detail in my book :) So check it out if you have not already!
My latest book "The Ultimate Guide to Strong Healthy Feet" will teach you how to avoid the development of these problems in the first place. Click here to learn more.
If you want to fix this downward spiral, check out my book, or try some of my Treatment Videos (By clicking here)