What Is Plantar Fasciitis and How Do You Get Relief?
If have ever stepped out of bed and felt a sharp, stabbing pain in your heel…you’re not alone. That’s one of the classic signs of plantar fasciitis, a condition that affects millions of runners, walkers, and anyone who spends a lot of time on their feet.
Let’s break down what it is, what causes it, and most importantly how you can stop just managing your foot pain and start reversing it so you can get back to moving pain-free.
What Is Plantar Fasciitis?
Your plantar fascia is a thick band of connective tissue that runs along the bottom of your foot, from your heel to the base of your toes. It acts like a shock absorber and helps support your arch with every step.
Plantar fasciitis happens when this tissue becomes irritated, inflamed, or overloaded, leading to:
Heel pain (especially in the morning or after rest)
Tightness in the foot or arch
Discomfort with walking, running, or prolonged standing
How Biomechanics and Repetitive Movement Play a Role
Most people don’t "injure" their plantar fascia in one dramatic moment. Instead, it is often the result of a slow build-up of stress — from how we move, stand, or train over time.
Common contributing factors:
Tight calves and hamstrings → which reduce ankle mobility and shift more strain to the plantar fascia
Poor foot mechanics → such as flat feet or high arches that have trouble transitioning from pronation (flattening for shock absorption) into supination (rebuilding the arch for push-off) during movement
Weak glutes or hips → which can reduce control and shift excess load to the lower legs and feet
Repetitive stress → from activities like running, walking on hard surfaces, or prolonged standing without recovery
These patterns create a tug-of-war on the plantar fascia especially during push-off in gait or running. This sets the stage for micro-tears, inflammation, and chronic pain.
Why Runners and Active People Are Prone to Plantar Fasciitis
Runners, dancers, hikers, and gym-goers often develop plantar fasciitis due to repetitive loading without adequate recovery or upstream stability.
Even small imbalances in stride mechanics, ankle mobility, or hip strength can lead to chronic overload, making the fascia increasingly irritated and sensitive over time.
Managing Symptoms and Reversing the Cause
If you’ve tried stretching, massage, or rest and the pain keeps coming back, it’s time to take a more complete approach - one that goes beyond temporary relief and actually addresses the root cause of plantar fasciitis.
Let’s break down the strategies:
Pain Management
Symptom Management
Active Rehabilitation
Dry Needling
Resetting the Muscle-Fascia System
Dry needling uses fine, sterile needles to release tight or overworked muscles and trigger points especially in the calves, foot, and fascia.
Here's how it supports healing:
- Releases tight muscles (like the calf, soleus, and intrinsic foot muscles) that are pulling on the plantar fascia
- Improves blood flow and reduces localized inflammation
- Resets neuromuscular patterns to calm overactive pain signals from foot to brain
- Restores healthy joint mechanics and movement patterns
Neuropuncture
The Nervous System Connection
Pain isn't just a tissue problem…it is a nervous system issue too. Chronic plantar fasciitis can sensitize the sensory nerves that innervate the bottom of the foot (like the medial and lateral plantar nerves), making the area hypersensitive and resistant to healing.
This is where Neuropuncture offers a powerful, modern intervention using targeted electrical stimulation to:
- Modulate central and peripheral nerve function
- Neuro-rehabilitate the sensory nerves innervating the sole of the foot
- Retrain how the brain interprets sensory input
- Desensitize the area and promote long-term resolution of pain
Supportive Tools
Acute Phase Support
Once you have found some pain relief method that is beginning to work, it is really only just the beginning. In the acute phase, use supportive tools in conjunction with your pain management like:
- Manual therapy to release tension and improve mobility
- Taping techniques to offload pressure
- Custom orthotics to provide temporary support
Long-term Recovery
Drills, Strengthening, Gait Patterns
Long-term recovery and prevention require a combination of symptom management and active rehabilitation. Your health care professional should recommend these active recovery approaches:
- Targeted mobility drills
- Strategic strengthening (especially the glutes, foot intrinsics, and abdominal core)
- Re-education of movement and gait patterns
Integrated Approach for Success
The goal with all 3 strategies is to give yourself the best chance at success in achieving management of the pain in a drug-free and long-term way. By combining targeted pain management, supportive symptom care, and active rehabilitation, you create the optimal environment for lasting recovery.
Final Thoughts
Plantar fasciitis may be common, but that does not mean it’s something you have to live with. If stretching, rolling, or rest haven’t given you lasting relief, it’s time to look deeper — at your nervous system, movement patterns, and muscular control.
Dry needling and Neuropuncture work together to not only reduce pain but also retrain your nervous system, rebuild your foot’s foundation, and help you move without fear.
You do not have to settle for temporary fixes. With the right tools and the right plan, healing is absolutely possible — and you can get back to doing what you love without thinking about your feet.
References
1. Rathleff MS, et al. (2015). High-load strength training improves outcome in patients with plantar fasciitis: A randomized controlled trial. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 25(3), e292–e300.
2. Cotchett MP, et al. (2014). Effectiveness of dry needling and injections of myofascial trigger points associated with plantar heel pain: A systematic review. Physical Therapy, 94(5), 633–643.
3. Brockschmidt BJ, et al. (2021). The role of neuromodulation and central sensitization in chronic plantar fasciitis. Foot & Ankle International, 42(6), 770–778.
4. Chao LL, et al. (2017). Electroacupuncture for plantar fasciitis: A randomized controlled trial. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Volume 2017, Article ID 7912129.
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