Plantar Fasciitis 

Symptoms: Localized pain upon first rising in the morning or after a period of non-weightbearing. Throughout the course of the day the pain diminishes into a dull, throbbing pain.

Causes of  Plantar Fasciitis: One of the major causes of plantar fasciitis is the excessive pronation (rolling inward) of the foot. When the foot pronates, the arch collapses and the piece of connective tissue called the plantar fascia, which runs from the calcaneus (heel bone) to the metatarsal heads becomes stretched to the point where tiny tears occur at its origin at the heel. 

While your off your feet for a long period of time (such as sleeping) the plantar fascia is in a relaxed state, however when you take that first step with the excessive pronated foot, the plantar fascia gets stretched beyond its limits and causes a sharp pain.

Plantar Fasciitis can occur in both low arch foot and high arched feet. One of the main causes of foot pronation is a forefoot varus deformity(left picture). A forefoot varus deformity is defined as when the forefoot is inverted in relation to the rear foot. So when the foot makes contact with the ground during the gait cycle, the foot must collapse further to the ground so that the 1^st metatarsal head bone and push the foot off the ground.

Treatment: Short term treatment for plantar fasciitis can be accomplished by daily stretching of the plantar fascia, particularly before getting out of bed as well as icing and taping methods. However plantar fasciitis is best treated by addressing the cause of the problem which is excessive pronation of the foot. Orthotics works by bringing the ideal ground to your foot by limiting excessive pronation of the foot while allowing it to function normally.