Perimenopause and menopause can bring about a variety of symptoms, including some unexpected foot problems like plantar fasciitis. It’s the most common cause of heel pain for adults, especially in women.

Here’s what you should know about plantar fasciitis and how it may relate to perimenopause.

How Does Perimenopause Affect Your Feet?

Hormonal shifts during perimenopause, specifically fluctuating estrogen levels, can affect your whole body, including the bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, and skin of the feet.

Increased Inflammation

Estrogen helps keep inflammation down. Therefore, less estrogen can mean more inflammation in the body. Inflammation can reduce the elasticity of connective tissues, making the fascia more likely to tear.

Slower Healing

As estrogen decreases, so does collagen production. As a result, your body may not heal from overuse or injuries as quickly. If you exercise or walk barefoot on hard surfaces, the impact can be hard on your feet, leading to microtears and stress fractures. Over time, there might be more strain on your plantar fascia than your body can keep up with.

Sudden Weight Gain

Low estrogen levels may also promote weight gain and a change in metabolism. For most women, this may be just a couple of pounds a year. But a rapid weight gain of 15 pounds in a few months can raise the risk of plantar fasciitis. This sudden weight gain can put a lot of stress on the arches of your feet and the plantar fascia.

Higher Injury Risk

Low estrogen also reduces bone density, raising the risk of osteoporosis and bone fractures (including the tiny bones in your feet).

How Is Plantar Fasciitis Diagnosed?

Diagnosing plantar fasciitis may only require a physical exam. Your healthcare provider will want to know what the pain feels like and when it hurts most.

In some cases, you may also need an X-ray or other imaging tests to take a closer look and check for bone injuries or joint inflammation. These imaging tests can help rule out other foot problems that can cause similar symptoms.

New aches and pains can also be a sign of general aging or an injury that’s not related to menopause.

Can You Prevent Plantar Fasciitis?

About 10 percent of people will eventually develop plantar fasciitis. Some women are more likely to get plantar fasciitis because of the shape of their feet. If you have feet with high arches or low arches (flat feet), there’s a higher risk of plantar fasciitis, regardless of your hormones.

Working on your feet for long periods also increases your risk. Choosing supportive shoes and replacing them when they wear out (every six to nine months) can help protect your feet. You may also benefit from stretching your feet and resting them after activity.

How Do You Treat Plantar Fasciitis?

You may be able to treat plantar fasciitis at home. Resting and icing your foot, taking over-the-counter pain relievers, and wearing more supportive shoes can help.

But you shouldn’t try to treat plantar fasciitis without getting advice from a podiatrist (foot doctor) or other healthcare professional. They may teach you how to stretch and massage your foot or recommend arch support insoles for your shoes.

Other treatment options for plantar fasciitis include:

• Injections (corticosteroids, plasma, or dextrose)
• Physical therapy
• Laser treatments
• Shock wave therapy
• Therapeutic ultrasounds
• Transcatheter arterial embolization (blocking blood flow to the area)

These nonsurgical treatments are effective in over 80 percent of cases. However, surgery can treat stubborn cases that don’t respond to other treatments.

Treating Menopause-Related Foot Issues

If your recurring foot issues are part of a group of menopause symptoms, your healthcare provider may recommend menopause hormone therapy (also called hormone replacement therapy or HRT). Menopause hormone therapy is not recommended for foot pain alone.

You can also talk to your doctor about other treatments for any related issues, such as weakened bones, joint pain, or sudden weight gain.