Think that foot pain is heel spur? It might be plantar fasciitis

Heel pain is something that affects many of us as we get older. It's typically blamed on a so-called heel spur, and yet plantar fasciitis can also be the culprit. — Photo: dpa

MANY people’s day literally gets off on the wrong foot: A sharp pain shoots through their heel. “Heel spur” is often their self-diagnosis, but the culprit can be – or be due to – a related condition that’s a very common cause of heel pain, namely plantar fasciitis.

“If you looked only at the bones of the foot, you’d think it must be flat,” says orthopaedist Dr Achim Bitschnau. “That it’s not and can act as a shock absorber of sorts is due in part to the plantar fascia,” the thick band of tissue that runs between the heel and ball of the foot and forms its arch.