What causes Plantar Fasciitis?

• Plantar fasciitis is most seen in people with poor foot biomechanics that put stress on the plantar fascia.  Flat feet, weak foot arches and over-pronation are common causes due to over-stretching of the plantar fascia.
• Common risk factors include:
• Activity
• Sports such as running, walking or dance that place stress on the heel bone and attached tissue increase the risk of plantar fasciitis, especially if the intensity of exercise is increased.
• Extended standing or on-feet
• Activities or jobs that require a lot of walking or standing on hard surfaces can lead to stress and fatigue of foot muscles.
• Weight and pregnancy
• Additional weight, even through latter stages of pregnancy, increases strain and stress on plantar fascia.
• Flat feet, over-pronation
• Arches are the foot’s shock absorber.  With lack of arch, or arches that are weak and/or over-pronate, additional strain is placed on the plantar fascia, which absorbs the force.
• Shoes with poor support
• Shoes that provide no support put strain on the plantar fascia. Ballet flats, converse sneakers and flip-flops are not good for feet.  All these shoes are thin-soles and provide no arch support. High heels can also encourage the achilles tendon to shorten, adding additional strain on heel tissue.

What are the symptoms of Plantar Fasciitis?

Plantar fasciitis usually causes pain in the heel of the foot.  For some, it may be felt in the arch area or other parts of the sole of the foot, although heel pain is the most common location.  The heel may also have mild swelling.

The pain tends to be worse in the mornings or after resting.  The first few steps out of bed can feel intense, like a knife sticking into the bottom of the foot but improves with activity as feet warm up.  For many, pain may also be felt after long periods of standing or starting to move after being seated for a time.

For those doing sport, the heel pain usually makes itself known after exercise, but not normally during.

To find out tips for helping Plantar Fasciitis please read my blog.

Lack of sleep can disturb the hormone balance in our bodies which in turn can cause a poor immune system, stress, weight gain, sugar cravings, high blood pressure, it can impair cognitive ability and increase risk of injury.

How to help get a good night’s sleep
1 Routine – go to bed the same time each night and get up at the same time.
2 Avoid over stimulation before bedtime. Screens are known to disrupt sleep so instead of looking at a laptop, mobile or tv try reading a
book.
3 Create a calming environment and avoid wi fi lights. An old fashioned clock is better than using a mobile for an alarm. Diffusing essential
oils such as Lavender can aid relaxation and sleep as can meditation.
4 Avoid caffeine from late in the afternoon. There are many calming herbal teas available such as chamomile or specific night time ones.
Avoid things like hot chocolate as the sugar content can create spikes.
5 An obvious one – get comfy and be at the right temperature.
6 Have a Bowen Treatment.

How Does Bowen Therapy help with Insomnia

It has been proven touch can stimulate serotonin production which helps to regulate temperature, mood and appetitive.
Pain can prohibit sleep and Bowen therapy addresses the musculoskeletal issues helping to prevent pain. The gentle Bowen moves help the body’s nerve receptors to calm down the nervous system and reduce pain and anxiety which in turn aids a good night’s sleep.

To find out more about Insomnia please CLICK HERE

What can cause Anxiety

People can react differently to different life events situations. For example job changes and work stress, Family and relationship problems can cause anxiety in some people whereas others sail through these problems. Recently I have been treating a number of people for driving anxiety after being involved in a car accident, whereas many of us would get back in the car with no problem. Health problems can also cause anxiety such as asthma, heart disease, it’s unpleasant and worrying not being able to breathe easily, something many of us take for granted. Unfortunately I am seeing more and more young people with anxiety due to pressure of school work and the impact social media is having on their lives. I recently shared an article about the impact of technology on children. Just click CLICK HERE to see this.

Different types of anxiety:

Generalised Anxiety Disorder This is when people feel worried most of the time and is not related to specific life event triggers. This can interfere with their normal everyday lives.

Social Phobia This often affects people who have a fear of being criticized, embarrassed or humiliated. These people will have anxious feelings around social events and not like speaking in public, being assertive or making small talk.

Specific Phobias There are a huge variety of phobias, such as heights, spiders, flying Most of the time these can be avoided but some can be difficult to avoid and bring on panic attacks even with the smallest of triggers.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (also known as OCD) These people have ongoing fears which can often lead to the obsession of carrying out certain rituals or behaviour. Such as a fear of germs, so constantly washing hands or safety so a ritual of keep checking doors are locked and things turned off. Most people accept their behavior appears silly but continue with it irrespectively.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)This can happen after someone experiences a traumatic event. Often their life, and safety of themselves or others around them. This often manifests in re-experiencing the past such as flashbacks of the event and avoidance of anything related. It is worth noting here that everyone is individual and what one person will feel is a traumatic event, another might not see it that way.

Panic Attacks These are often a common symptom for people with an anxiety disorder and can happen for no apparent reason. They can be very frightening as often there is a shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness and sweating.

Things that can help with Anxiety

There are many things which can help with anxiety. Breathing techniques, restorative yoga, mindfulness, hypnotherapy, cbt, good nutrition, regular exercise, homeopathy and bowen therapy to name just a few.

Here is a useful video to watch about Anxiety.

Bowen Therapy for Anxiety

Bowen Therapy for anxiety works with the body’s nerve receptors to calm down the nervous system. This prompts the body to move from the fight, flight, freeze mode to the parasympathetic mode. Bowen Therapy works with the fascia which holds onto trauma throughout the person’s lifetime and can help to release these emotions. It is common not only for a person to feel very relaxed but to experience a release of emotions, either during or following a Bowen treatment. Some other benefits that make Bowen Therapy a good choice is that the treatment is very gentle and can be carried out through light clothing so there is no need to undress. There is no force, or manipulation during treatment and after a few moves there is a break allowing the body to do the work.

A common feature of people with anxiety is poor posture as people hunch over and cross legs and arms to make themselves as small as possible so that they feel safer. This inhibits breathing which in turn can make the anxiety worse and can cause misalignment in the body which can cause pain thus compounding the problem. Bowen Therapy can help address the misalignment problem and there are specific moves to help with breathing.

There is a wealth of advice about anxiety available now. I have put some links below for your reference.

For information from the charity "MIND" CLICK HERE
For information from the "Mental Health Organisation" CLICK HERE

There are also meditation and mindfulness apps on mobiles such as “Calm”, Headspace and “The Mindfulness App”