Plantar Fascia

Plantar Fascia

The plantar fascia is the thick connective tissue which supports the arch on the bottom of the foot. It runs from the tuberosity of the calcaneus (heel bone) forward to the heads of the metatarsal bones (the bone between each toe and the bones of the mid foot). The often painful condition plantar fasciitis is an inflammatory condition of the plantar fascia. The plantar fascia contributes to support of arch of the foot by acting as a tie-rod, where it undergoes tension when the foot bears weight. One biomechanical model estimated it carries as much as 14% of the total load of the foot. In an experiment using cadavers, it was found that failure of the plantar fascia averaged at loads of 1189 ± 244 newtons[1] (121 ± 24 kgf or 267 ± 55 ft-lb). Interestingly, failure most often occurred at the proximal attachment to the calcaneus, which is consistent with the usual location of symptoms (i.e. in plantar fasciitis)

Plantar Fascia

Plantar Fascia

Plantar Fascia

Plantar Fascia

Plantar Fascia

Plantar Fascia

Plantar Fascia

Plantar Fascia

Plantar Fascia