Plantar Fasciitis

So what's the story with Plantar Fascia tightness this week? Maybe it's the latent effects of a summer of flip flop wearing. But a lot of my clients are coming close to tears this week with just my little old thumb applying some basic pressure (and No, I DON'T get enjoyment in making grown men cry:-)). 
The plantar fascia is a thick band of tissue which runs from under the heel to the front of the foot. It is an injury caused by overuse and the resulting strain placed on the collagen fibres close to the plantar fascias attachment to the heel bone. Over stretching leads to thickening of the tendon and damage to the surrounding fibres.  As the fascia thickens it loses flexibility. It's particularly prevalent to those who run, dance or jump a lot and manifests as a pain in the heel, particularly worse in the morning.  
But you can help yourself with this.
The immediate thing to do is rest and ice to reduce pain and swelling in the surrounding tissue. I know it's hard to rest your feet as most of us can't lie with our feet up all day (but I'm thinking we could explore this excuse further with our loved ones...) so please make sure you get some supportive footwear. Ie it's time to get out of those flip flops!
Rolling your foot over a hard ball (eg a golf ball) can help stretch out the plantar fascia and get more flexibility into it, taking some pressure off the surrounding fibres. It's simple and really quite effective. Also stretch out your calf muscles. Tight calves can lead to a prolonged pronation of the foot which can exacerbate the condition. 
Finally some deep massage into the foot and legs will help alleviate the pain associated with this condition (although not necessarily whilst it's being done on you...but after...I promise...after!!)
These are just a few suggestions to help. There are other things you can have, like injections into the foot but let's start with the basics. Good luck