Why Your Heel Pain May Be More Than “Just Sore Feet”
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 8 hours ago
Have you ever stepped out of bed in the morning and felt a sharp pain under your heel with your first few steps?
If so, you may be dealing with plantar fasciitis—one of the most common causes of heel pain we see in practice.
Plantar fasciitis involves irritation of the plantar fascia. This is the strong fibrous band that runs from your heel to the ball of your foot and helps support your arch. When this tissue becomes overloaded, overstretched, or irritated, every step can become uncomfortable.
Who Gets Plantar Fasciitis?
We commonly see it in:
Runners and active people
People who stand for long hours at work
CrossFitters and gym-goers
Adults with fallen arches or poor foot mechanics
People wearing unsupportive footwear regularly
Those carrying extra body weight
Note: One of the hallmark signs is heel or arch pain first thing in the morning or after sitting for long periods.
Why Does It Often Hang Around?
Plantar fasciitis can become frustrating because the tissue is under load every time you walk. Many people try to “push through it” and hope it settles on its own.
Unfortunately, this often prolongs recovery. The report highlights that symptoms may persist for many months if left untreated.
The good news is that the right combination of treatment, exercise, footwear advice, and load management often helps people improve significantly.
What Helps Recovery?
One of the biggest mistakes we see is people continuing to wear flat, unsupportive shoes or walking barefoot on hard floors. Supportive footwear matters.
The report recommends:
Shoes with good arch support
Avoiding worn-out shoes
Limiting barefoot walking on hard surfaces
Avoiding poorly supportive footwear such as thongs
For runners and active adults, temporary training modification is often important too. Sometimes reducing running mileage or swapping to lower-impact exercise such as cycling, swimming, or elliptical training helps calm the tissue while it heals.
How Chiropractic and Rehabilitation Care May Help
At our practice, we look beyond the painful spot itself. We assess how your feet, ankles, calves, knees, hips, and pelvis are functioning together. Poor movement patterns higher up the chain often place more stress on the foot.
Management may include:
Joint mobilisation or adjustments to improve foot and ankle mechanics
Soft tissue and myofascial release for tight calf and foot muscles
Stretching and strengthening exercises
Footwear advice
Load management strategies for active people
Rehabilitation exercises to improve long-term foot function
The report also emphasises strengthening exercises and mobility work to restore flexibility and reduce reinjury risk.
Simple Exercises That Often Help
Several exercises highlighted in the report include:
Rolling the foot over a golf ball
Plantar fascia stretching
Calf and Achilles strengthening
Foot intrinsic muscle strengthening
Hamstring mobility exercises
These exercises aim to improve tissue capacity and reduce strain through the foot.
(Click here for the full exercise)
The Bigger Picture
Heel pain is rarely random. Often it reflects how your body is handling load, movement, recovery, footwear, and training demands.
The earlier plantar fasciitis is addressed, the easier it usually is to settle down. If heel pain is limiting your walking, running, training, or daily activities, getting assessed early may help prevent it becoming a long-term issue.
Your feet carry you through life. They deserve attention before small problems become bigger ones.
Dr Mark has a special interest in helping recreational athletes of all ages perform better and prevent injury. Correct breathing and postural alignment are critical for top performance and injury prevention and is an integral part of “The Over 40 Athlete System” that Mark has developed.
Dr Julie has a special interest in helping mothers and “mothers to be”. Her Post Graduate qualifications in Paediatric Chiropractic and as an ex-midwife give her a unique ability to help pregnant women, new mums and their young children.
Yours in Health,
Dr's Mark & Julie
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