Corbin Holzapfel

Composition 11

Lit Review

9 July 2020

Literature Review of Plantar Fasciitis

Physical pain can originate in various parts of the body. One physical pain in the feet can

be caused by what is called Plantar Fasciitis. Many do not know that they have this foot problem

until pain starts to occur in the arches of the feet or lack of arches. This pain as described by

doctors causes a surge of pain and hurts to even stand in the morning or walk. Various treatments

for this issue veer toward shoe inserts, feet stretching, and other exercises. One question that can

be brought to light is, “why do these shoe inserts help this condition?” From learning more about

the tendons in the feet and how other parts of the body move to put pressure on the feet, this

leads to more questions about why these arch support shoe inserts are even helpful or just not

allowing pressure to the area. These are still questions that need answered.

From reading these sources, there is some disagreement as to how much these shoe

inserts help. Some call these items a crutch and only alleviate pain and not the actual problem. In

the article, “LOW-COST ORTHOPEDIC SHOES BASED ON RECYCLED MATERIALS:

MANUFACTURING, PLANTAR CORRECTION EVALUATION,” it states that “Wearing

such orthopedic shoes for a period of time can lead to a plantar correction and postural control

improvement even for adults. As a result, future research will be focused on athlete children.”

This article by Barbu Braun and all explains the results of how plantar correction is had and can

even improve posture with shoe inserts. The question that one doctor has posed in another article

refutes this argument that correction can be made by first doing the insert. In this blog by
Dr.Patrick Deheer, he explains that “shoe inserts are there not to treat the condition but to

prevent the condition from recurring once the patient is asymptomatic and the equinus deformity

has resolved. Patients with an inflamed heel do not tolerate a rigid or semi-rigid orthotic well.”

Mr. Deheer is explaining that this two stage process occurs with other treatment first before

putting in a shoe insert.

The first article, “LOW COST…” tells that the insert can improve posture but does not go deeper

into what will happen when the orthotic shoe insert is tried first before any stretching other

treatment. What both of these articles seemed to capture was the attention of the muscles and

joints but forgot to focus on the rest of the body. Gutteck and others get deeper in the article,

“Pain on the Plantar Surface of the Foot.” Gutteck and all explain how the plantar is effecting

the rest of the body and explain that “around 83% of cases the PF was associated with shortened

calf muscles. The resulting restriction of dorsal flexion in the ankle joint (AJ) forces the

calcaneus into excessive pronation, thus increasing the distance between the calcaneus and the

toes.” This distinction allows the realization that other parts of the body are affected by the way

one stands and steps when walking. The gait changes and posture is a part of this as briefly

mentioned by Braun and all.

Learning more about the gait and hip movement affecting leg movement could be helpful

to investigating more about if posture was corrected in a different form through hip movement if

this might help. Also, the idea of insoles being a treatment could be classified as keeping the

arches from falling and encouraging the feet to want to stay in a neutral position with cushion if

the step is still made to the inside of the foot. Can there be ways to change the gait in order to not

step on the inside and not put any pressure on the orthodic shoe insert? Some of the articles
mention short term and long term solutions. One short term solution was stretching that has to be

done every 12 weeks according to Michelle Drake and et al in the article “The short term effects

of treating Plantar Fasciitis with a temporary foot orthosis and stretching.” These were programs

and solutions that were combined rather than just recommended.

 Works Cited

Braun, Barbu, et al. “LOW-COST ORTHOPEDIC SHOES BASED ON RECYCLED

MATERIALS: MANUFACTURING, PLANTAR CORRECTION EVALUATION.”
Shibboleth Authentication Request Sinclair University, Environmental Engineering &
Management Journal, Aug. 2018, eds-b-ebscohost-
com.sinclair.ohionet.org/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5.

Cutts, S, et al. “Plantar Fasciitis.” The Annals of The Royal College of Surgeons of England, Mar.
2015, publishing.rcseng.ac.uk/doi/citedby/10.1308/003588412X13171221592456.

DeHeer DPM, Patrick. “Why Orthotics Are Not The Answer For Plantar Fasciitis.” Podiatry
Today, 23 May 2011, www.podiatrytoday.com/blogged/why-orthotics-are-not-answer-
plantar-fasciitis.

Gutteck, Natalia, et al. “Pain on the Plantar Surface of the Foot” Deutsches Aerzteblatt Online,
2019, doi:10.3238/arztebl.2019.0083.

Drake and et al. Jospt.org. 2011. The short term effects of treating Plantar Fasciitis with a
temporary foot orthosis and stretching.”
https://www.jospt.org/doi/abs/10.2519/jospt.2011.3348