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Footmech Podiatry, Chart Lane
The Close, Reigate RH2 7BN
Sunday - CLOSED
The Close, Reigate RH2 7BN
The plantar fascia is a thick band of tissue that runs along the sole of your foot, from your heel to your toes. It supports your arch with every step. Plantar fasciitis is pain where this band attaches to the base of your heel.
The fascia becomes irritated and can thicken over time. Pain is usually worst with your first steps in the morning or after sitting for a while. Everyday strain keeps irritating it, which slows or stops healing. To get better, you need to reduce that strain and find out where it’s coming from.
Long-standing cases are often less about inflammation and more about the tissue struggling to heal. That’s why you may also see it called plantar fasciopathy.
Recent onset
You may feel an ache at the base of your heel, or tightness and pulling along the sole. Some people say it feels like stepping on a stone. This is the best time to act, before it becomes long-standing.
Established
The tightness has become real pain, and it keeps coming back. Your first steps in the morning are very painful, and it can take a while to get going. The pain usually eases as you move, but it returns later in the afternoon or evening after time on your feet, often with tired, aching feet.
Severe
Pain is present for most of the day, and everyday walking becomes a struggle. Many people have had to stop sport or exercise. In some cases, small tears can develop in the fascia. If your heel throbs at rest or wakes you at night, get it checked, because something else may be going on.
Self-care has one goal: take the strain off the fascia so it can settle. Some of our advice differs from what you’ll read elsewhere online, and we explain why.
Firm-soled, supportive shoes. Choose shoes with a firm sole that doesn’t bend too easily at the toes or twist through the middle. A slight heel-to-toe drop also helps, because it eases the pull from your calf onto your heel. Together these limit how much your foot bends and twists, which takes strain off the fascia. Avoid flimsy, flat or zero-drop shoes and flip-flops.
A word on barefoot shoes: Barefoot or minimalist shoes are popular right now, and they have their place for strong, healthy feet. But they’re flexible, flat and have no heel drop, the opposite of what an irritated plantar fascia needs. Put them aside while your heel settles. If you want to go back to them, build up gradually once you’re pain-free.
Calf stretches. Tight calves pull on the heel and limit ankle movement, which adds strain to the fascia. Stretch them in two ways: with your back knee straight, then with it slightly bent, to reach both the upper and lower calf muscles. Keep your heel on the floor and hold each stretch gently for about 30 seconds, a few times a day.
Set your foot in a neutral position first. Many people let the foot roll in and flatten as they lean forward. Tilt it slightly towards the outer edge so the arch lifts and the foot isn’t collapsed. That keeps the stretch in the calf, where you want it, rather than straining your arch and the fascia. Stretch the calf, not the sole.
Ice in the evening. Wrap an ice pack in a cloth and hold it on the heel and arch for 15 to 20 minutes, at least once every evening. Never put ice directly on your skin.
Rolling, with the right technique. Gently rolling your foot over a frozen water bottle or a ball can ease pain and soreness. Technique matters, though, because pressing too hard or in the wrong place can aggravate it. We’ll show you how to do it properly at your appointment.
Orthotics, when they’re right for you. Orthotics have a place, but they’re not the starting point. If your ankle is stiff or held tight by tension elsewhere in the body, the foot compensates and strains the fascia, and an insole on its own won’t change that. We restore movement and ease the tension first, so your feet can accept and benefit from orthotics. Then, if you need them, they help your foot work with better timing and take ongoing strain off the fascia. They support the foot, but they don’t fix the cause on their own.
Anyone can develop plantar fasciitis, men and women alike. It’s most common between about 40 and 60, and in people who are active or spend long hours on their feet.
There’s no single cause. Footwear, high arches, flat feet, a sudden increase in activity, overstretching and body weight can all play a part.
In our experience, though, these factors are rarely the whole story. The real question is why your fascia is under so much strain in the first place. Often the ankle has become stiff, held tight by tension further up the body, in the hips, lower back or posture. Long hours at a desk or on a phone can add to it. When the ankle can’t move freely, the foot compensates by flattening, which pulls on the fascia with every step. Old injuries can be part of it too, even a sprained ankle from 20 or 30 years ago.
Not all heel pain comes from the fascia being pulled, either. Some of it comes from irritated nerves around the heel, which needs a different approach. That’s why a thorough assessment matters.
Treatment depends on both the stage and the cause.
You may have heard of shockwave therapy for heel pain. We don’t offer it at FootMech. It helps some people, but it treats the sore spot rather than the reason the fascia is under strain. When that reason is missed, the pain often comes back or never fully settles.
When heel pain drags on, the fascia is usually the victim rather than de the cause. We start with a detailed history, including old injuries from years ago. Then we use gentle, hands-on treatment to restore movement and ease tension, and add orthotics only where they’ll help.
Many of the patients we see have already tried stretching, injections, shockwave or insoles. If that sounds like you, read Tried Everything for Your Heel Pain? Here’s What Might Have Been Missed.
We are dedicated to provide the most up to date approaches in functional foot care foot available for residents in Reigate and the surrounding Surrey towns.
Footmech has a wide scope of practice that encompass all aspects of footcare. The main areas of focus are functional bio-mechanics which encompasses assessing and treating Musculoskeletal conditions that manifest in the foot, ankles, legs, knees, hips and back.
Other areas of focus are nail and skin conditions such as in-growing toe nails, fungal nail infections, verrucae, corns and calluses.
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