Anatomy of the foot

Your foot is made up of 3 sections. Your forefoot is comprised of 4 smaller toes (phalanges) and 1 big toe (hallux). Your midfoot (metatarsal bones) and hindfoot (tarsal bones) make up your foot arches, instep, heel and ankle; these are responsible for weight bearing and propulsion. Your arches contain bones, ligaments, muscles and tendons of your foot, which require a lot of stability and flexibility.

Your foot bones work with your foot muscles to move your foot in 4 directions: dorsiflexion (moving foot upward), plantar flexion (moving foot downward towards sole), abduction (moving foot outward) and adduction (moving foot inward). Your lower leg muscles have long tendons that cross your ankle and attach to your foot and toe bones to help move your foot. Your extensor muscles and tendons attach on the top of your foot, and your flexor, abductor and adductor muscles and tendons attach on the bottom of your foot. Your achilles tendon is the strongest and largest tendon in your body and it connects your calf muscles (gastrocnemius and soleus) to your heel bone (calcaneus), allowing your foot to push off when your calf muscles tighten. It is essential for walking, running and jumping.

Your plantar fascia (plantar aponeurosis) is a pearly white, sheet-like band of strong and fibrous connective tissue (collagen fibers) that resembles a flattened tendon or ligament which connects the bones and tissues on the sole of your foot. The plantar fascia starts from a nodule on the middle portion of your heel bone (medial calcaneal tubercle) - the largest bone in your foot, which transfers weight from your body to the ground. It then moves across the bottom of your foot and fans out around the ball of your foot attaching at the base of your toes forming the longitudinal arch. The plantar fascia cushions and provides shock absorption from pressure, acting like a rubber band that loosens and contracts with movement, supporting and stabilizing your medial and lateral foot arches, and locking your bones in place when you put weight on it. It is used during the "take-off" phase when you walk or run (heel-lift to toe-off).

The fat pad in your heel covers your plantar fascia to help with shock absorption.

The plantar and calcaneal nerves on the bottom of your foot are closely associated with your plantar fascia.

An Plantar/Heel Spur/Gout Radiant Energy Therapy Device is one of the most helpful tools for a plantar fasciitis injury. Through the absorption of infrared thermal energy, tissues are safely and gently heated - increasing blood flow within the plantar fascia area. Your body's natural response to this increased temperature is to try to maintain a condition of homeostasis - a balanced environment or state of equilibrium throughout the body. To do this, your body responds with a rapid increase in blood flow to the area (this is known as vasodilation), increasing the supply of nutrients to injured cells and flushing out toxins (including lactic acid, commonly found in trigger points) to promote healing. Our Thermotex Carpal Tunnel / Plantar Pain Relief Device provides effective, non-invasive, non-addictive pain relief with no side effects.

Our Cold Compression Wraps are recommended as the best by the Mayo Clinic, several professional sports organizations, and countless medical professionals. That's why we sell them, because they are the best. We have noticed over time that our customers are so fond of our cold wraps that they are frequently coming back and ordering a second one - this way they can cool one while wearing the other. The wraps are becoming very popular with baseball and soccer trainers, and the wraps can be conveniently stored in a cooler for quick application on the field when needed.

Ultrasound Therapy is also a helpful tool for pain prevention of tendonitis, and having a portable ultrasound device at home can be a powerful and convenient treatment tool. If you have symptoms or are recovering from a tendon injury, using ultrasound on a regular basis before your activity or throughout the day will help relax your tendons and muscles, diminish pain and inflammation, soften scar tissue and contribute greatly to the healing of your injury.

If you suffer from mild inflammation or pain after certain activities or movements use ultrasound therapy when you complete the activity and then rest and elevate your leg. Limit the application of ultrasound to a couple of treatments per day (the manual will recommend treatment frequency depending upon the injury). In between ultrasound treatments, maximize your pain relief and injury recovery by using the Thermotex Personal Therapy System. Proven Performance, Proven Relief - only found at MendMeShop.com. If you have been given a treatment plan by your health professional, make sure you adhere to it to ensure pain free living. In general, people who are committed to their therapies and exercises will have the best medical outcomes.