What To Do About Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis hurts like crazy. No. It hurts more than crazy. The inflammation of the plantar fascia — a band of tissue that connects the heel and toes and supports the arch — is perplexing in several ways. It arrives out of the blue, very often without any apparent trauma or other cause; and it goes away when it’s good and ready to go away. What can you do about it? Boston Globe health writer Courtney Humphries put that question to Naven Duggal, an orthopedic surgeon at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and got this answer: Try stretching the foot and calf, even it it means daily stretching for several weeks or months. Try changing your workout routines: run on a softer surface and wearing cushioned footwear. Surgery is an option, as always, but the doc says 90 percent of the problems clear up over time without cutting and pasting. Read more from Courtney Humphries.