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Plantar fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis is a painful inflammatory process of the connective tissue on the sole of the foot. It is often caused by overuse of the plantar fascia or arch tendon of the foot. It is a very common condition and can be difficult to treat if not looked after properly. Another common term for the affliction is "policeman's heel".
Longstanding cases of plantar fasciitis often demonstrate more degenerative changes than inflammatory changes, in which case they are termed plantar fasciosis.
The pain is usually felt on the underside of the heel and is often most intense with the first steps of the day. Another symptom is that the sufferer has difficulty bending the foot so that the toes are brought toward the shin. A symptom commonly recognized among sufferers of plantar fasciitis is an increased probability of knee pains, especially among runners.
An incidental finding associated with this condition is a heel spur, a small bony calcification on the heel bone, in which case it is the underlying plantar fasciitis that produces the pain, and not the spur itself. The condition is responsible for the creation of the spur; the plantar fasciitis is not caused by the spur.