Have you been suffering from foot pain and suddenly your neck begins to ache as well? You feel like you’re stuck in a cycle of pain with different parts of your body succumbing to more pain.
At Manual Physical Therapy, we’ve heard this story so many times, and what people don’t realize is, foot pain and neck pain are linked!
As crazy as it might sound, there’s a method to our madness and within this blog, we’re going to explain what your foot pain could be telling you, the connection between plantar fasciitis and neck pain, and our unique and holistic approach to treating your intertwined pain points.
So let’s begin!
What Is Plantar Fasciitis?
Plantar fasciitis is a very common reason someone like you might suffer from foot pain. It happens when the plantar fascia, a thick band of tissue that connects your heel bone to your toes, becomes inflamed and sore.
So if you’ve ever felt a tightness along the bottom of your foot or found it hard to put your weight onto the sole of your foot, plantar fasciitis could be the reason.
Plantar fasciitis can occur for a number of reasons but the most common include overuse or sports-related injuries that mainly come from running or walking.
It’s possible for anyone to develop plantar fasciitis and certain factors can increase your risk. People who stand for long periods of time or engage in high-impact activities are more likely to experience it.
Common treatments for plantar fasciitis include stretching exercises and it will usually subside in a matter of days or weeks. However, if left untreated and ignored, it could turn into chronic foot pain that you live with on a daily basis as well as other complications such as developing neck pain.
What’s The Connection Between Plantar Fasciitis And Neck Pain?
It seems like your feet and your neck are worlds apart, they couldn’t be further away from each other, right?
Wrong.
Your feet and your neck are interlinked by hundreds of tendons, ligaments, and muscles that are positioned around your body and they all have an effect on each other.
The thick band of tissue, plantar fascia, on your feet is linked to your calf muscles and your hamstrings, continuing up the body this muscle group is linked to the pelvis and lower back which can impact your posture and ultimately… lead to tension and muscle soreness in your neck.
Now that you know how connected your feet and your neck actually are, it’s important to understand that unaddressed pain in one part of your body can cause a never-ending cycle of pain.
We know that the last thing our patients want is to be in chronic pain for weeks, months, or even years. It can impact your social life and your enjoyment of the things you used to love doing once upon a time.
So now it’s vital to recognize the symptoms of plantar fasciitis that could be causing your neck pain.
Common Symptoms Of Plantar Fasciitis That Lead To Neck Pain
We’ve seen countless patients with plantar fasciitis and one of the most common symptoms we see is limping or favoring one foot over the other.
This alteration in weight distribution causes a ripple effect where you’re overusing and overworking muscles that shouldn’t take so much of the load. This is why you may start to feel pain in your lower back or on one side of your neck.
Often limping or weight shifting is done subconsciously and you might fail to notice it right at the beginning. However, over time your body will keep making these adjustments and they will only get worse and more noticeable.
We call these adjustments “compensations” and your body will begin to compensate for one of your feet not being able to distribute weight evenly.
Our Holistic Treatment Approach To Interlinked Pain
Often patients come to us with pain in all parts of their body from their neck to their shoulders and knees. But often, there is a root cause for all of the pain the patient is experiencing.
Our unique holistic approach means that we get to the root cause of ALL of your pain by tracing it back to the one part of the body that kickstarted it all.
During your treatment, we use manual therapy in 1:1 sessions to follow your pain around the body, fixing your compensations and eventually targeting the original problem. Once the original problem is targeted and treated, you have a better chance of becoming pain-free and staying out of pain for good!
This method is fantastic for patients like you who want to get back to doing their favorite activities and enjoy days out with the family without pain getting in your way or slowing you down.
Have You Been In Pain For Too Long?
We speak to so many patients who ignore little aches and pains and think they’ll go away, but weeks, months, or sometimes YEARS later they only turn into bigger problems with bigger consequences.
We’re here to tell you that it’s okay to ask for help when you’re in pain to look toward a brighter, pain-free future.
So throughout July, we’re offering a free plantar fasciitis assessment to anyone who has been struggling with aches in their feet or pain when they walk. No matter how small the pain, we want to hear about it before it gets worse!
During your free plantar fasciitis assessment, you will be able to talk 1 to 1 with a chronic pain specialist and ask any questions you may have, and receive reassuring answers so you can be confident about your next steps to becoming pain-free and be able to enjoy your favorite hobbies once again.
You can arrange your free plantar fasciitis assessment by filling in our simple web form or giving our Bradenton clinic a call at (941) 226-2605.
Other Free Resources For Chronic Pain
Read Our Blog – Why Is All Of My Pain On One Side Of My Body?
Read Our Blog – Take Control Of Your Chronic Pain With Total Body Stretch Therapy
Follow us on social media – Manual Physical Therapy and Concierge Services Facebook Page or Manual Concierge PT Instagram
