seem to contribute to the development of plantar fasciitis. Other studies have also suggested that plantar fasciitis is not due to the inflamed plantar fascia but maybe a tendon injury involving the flexor digitorum brevis muscle located immediately deep to the plantar fascia. Diagnosis Plantar fasciitis is usually diagnosed by a health care provider after consideration of a person's presenting history, risk factors, and clinical examination. Palpation along the inner aspect of the heel bone on the sole may elicit tenderness during the physical examination. The foot may have limited dorsiflexion due to excessive tightness of the calf muscles or the Achilles tendon. Dorsiflexion of the foot may elicit the pain due to stretching of the plantar fascia with this motion. Diagnostic imaging studies are not usually needed to diagnose plantar fasciitis. Occasionally, a physician may decide imaging studies (such as X-rays, diagnostic ultrasound, or MRI) are warranted to rule out serious causes of foot pain. Other diagnoses that are typically considered include fractures, tumors, or systemic disease if plantar fasciitis pain fails to respond appropriately to conservative medical treatments. Bilateral heel pain or heel pain in the context of a systemic illness may indicate a need for a more in-depth diagnostic investigation. Under these circumstances, diagnostic tests such as a CBC or serological markers of inflammation, infection, or autoimmune disease such as C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, anti-nuclear antibodies, rheumatoid factor, HLA-B27, uric acid, or Lyme disease antibodies may also be obtained. Neurological deficits may prompt an investigation with electromyography to check for damage to the nerves or muscles. An incidental finding associated with this condition is a heel spur, a small bony calcification on the calcaneus (heel bone), which can be found in up to 50% of those with plantar fasciitis. In such cases, it is the underlying plantar fasciitis that produces the heel pain, and not the spur itself. The condition is responsible for the creation of the spur though the clinical significance of heel spurs in plantar fasciitis remains unclear. Imaging Medical imaging is not routinely needed. It is expensive and does not typically change how plantar fasciitis is managed. When the diagnosis is not clinically apparent, lateral view X-rays of the ankle are the recommended imaging modality to assess for other causes of heel pain, such as stress fractures or bone spur development. The plantar fascia has three fascicles-the central fascicle being the thickest at