When it comes to Plantar Fasciitis, there is a lot of misleading information online.
Many sources are focused on gaining followers or selling cheap gimmicks on platforms like Amazon.
Their priorities are often based on what benefits them, not what helps you.
To be clear, Plantar Fasciitis is caused by excessive strain on the arch of your foot - specifically, upward pressure on the plantar fascia from repetitive or high-impact activity.
In some cases, a bone spur may also be contributing to the condition.
The plantar fascia is a thick band of tissue that runs along the arch of your foot, connecting your heel bone to your metatarsal (the ball of your foot).
The plantar fascia is there to hold the bones in your foot in an arch.
That arch is important for proper balance and gait.
Plantar Fasciitis is an injury where the thick band of tissue stretches and the arch begins to fall.
You don't want your plantar to stretch, or your foot arch will collapse.
That's why people with flat feet or fallen arches have chronic foot pain.
It may have been a shorter amount of time, like a day, with a lot of pressure on the arch of your foot. (Maybe you were on your feet A LOT one day) Or, it may have been more but consistent gentle pressure on the arch of your foot over a longer time. (A month after you got those new 'comfortable' shoes) Something you were doing was pressing up on the arch of your foot long enough to damage it. Now that it's damaged, you're in a cycle of starting to recover overnight and reinjuring it when you get on you get back on your feet each day.
By far, the most common thing that aggravates a sore plantar is upward pressure on the arch of the foot.
When you press up on the plantar a little bit, that translates into a whole lot of tension and strain along its length.
So all those sites selling you 'arch support', be it in shoes, orthotics, or insoles, are actually just telling you a good story to get your money.
In reality, any item that puts upward pressure on the arch of your foot is only going to contribute to plantar fasciitis, not get rid of it.31x 32x
The plantar fascia is a special kind of ligament.
Like all ligaments, it is not supposed to stretch.
The job of ligaments, and your plantar, is to hold your bones firmly in place.
In this case, it's the arch of your foot.
The plantar is really not designed to bear any pressure on its surface.
Normally, about 80% of your weight is balanced on your heels, with the other 20% balanced on the balls of your feet.
There should be minimal upward pressure in the middle of your foot.
Putting pressure on the surface of the plantar fascia can cause microtears.
This is Plantar Fasciitis.
Heel spurs are tiny bony lumps that form on your heel near where the plantar attaches to the heel bone.
These little lumps irritate the plantar when you put pressure on the foot causing it some minor damage.
Some people are more prone to them than others, but they are generally not very common.
Heel spurs can come and go on their own.
There is often a correlation between excess calcium in the body and bone spurs so consider your diet.
Vitamin D supplements can also thought to be beneficial in managing bone spurs for some people.
If your plantar fasciitis is related to bone spurs the pain will likely very near the heal of your foot.
The challenge with Plantar Fasciitis is healing it.
Once you damage the plantar, your body tries to heal.
Over night, while there's no pressure on your feet, your body starts to pull the torn tissue back together and start the healing process.
But when you get up in the morning, and as you go through your day, even a bit of walking can cause the tears to get reopened.
That's why those first steps in the morning hurt so much.
Your body started healing over night, but those first steps sent you backward again.
That's why Plantar Fasciitis persists.
There's an initial injury, and as fast as your body tries to recover, it keeps getting re-strained.
When you can't get ahead of the healing and reinjury process, that's plantar fasciitis.
To get past the issue, your challenge is to make the healing steps as big as possible and the reinjury steps as small and few as possible.32x
There is so much misinformation out there about Plantar Fasciitis. Below are a bunch of the most common ones to be aware of:
Devices that are designed to stretch the plantar fascia, such as night splints, will only make your condition worse.32x Night splints actually harm your plantar every time that you wear them.
Leaving your foot in a permanently stretched position while you're sleeping will cause your foot to heal in a lengthened state.32x
While you're sleeping your body has a chance to try to repair the plantar by attempting to pull the ligament back together.
Wearing a night splint means that your plantar fascia doesn't get a chance to restore itself properly, because you're re-stretching it and re-tearing it.
This means more damage to the plantar fascia, more pain, and a longer recovery time.3x
When your plantar is on stretch, like it is while wearing a night splint, it's in an unnatural position.
You've already elongated your plantar by inflicting it with microtears.
You don't want to stretch it further with a night splint.
You want your plantar tissue to return back to its regular size.
That's what your body is trying to do at night.
When your plantar tissue tries to heal in a stretched position, this can lead to further problems down the line, such as gait issues, fallen arches, and flat feet.
It's a common misconception that arch supports (also called orthotic inserts) are needed to correct issues with the plantar fascia and arch of the foot.
With each step, you don't want pressure applied to the middle of your foot pushing up.
This will only cause further stress and harm to your plantar fascia.31xYour arch is there for a reason, and messing with this structure is not a good idea.
If you're going to use any kind of extra support, make sure it's applied to the heel and ball of the foot, because these are the areas of your foot that are actually designed to withstand pressure.
Extra support for the heel and ball is only required in rare circumstances, like in cases of fallen arches or flat feet.
Providing the heel and ball of your foot with added lift will help reduce the pressure on your plantar and reduce pain.
The idea here is to take more pressure off of the plantar - which is the opposite of the 'arch support' concept.
You want to remove the pressure from the plantar and put it where it's supposed to go - the heel and the ball.
Another popular treatment for Plantar Fasciitis is rolling the bottom of your foot over a ball. This is supposed to "massage" the plantar fascia ligament tissue to relieve pain. Again, like with arch supports, any upward force applied to the plantar fascia will only increase the chance of further pain and injury because the plantar was not designed to have this kind of force applied to it. You want to avoid putting pressure on the plantar. That's the path forward. Ball stretching will only undo your progress and make your Plantar Fasciitis worse.32x
When you have Plantar Fasciitis, you should be trying to rest your foot as much as possible. Your Plantar does not need to be "massaged", it needs to be rested. An injured Plantar should be treated in the same way as a broken bone in terms of physical activity. If one of the bones in your leg was broken, you wouldn't bear any weight on it, you'd use crutches. You also wouldn't treat a broken bone with a massage. While massages can stimulate blood flow, which is good, it's not worth risking the re-injury that could occur. A good indication of re-injury is pain. If you feel pain during a treatment like massage, it's time to stop.33x
Having your heel hang off the edge of a step puts maximum pressure directly on the plantar fascia. This is not a good idea. Step stretches can cause serious damage and put you all the way back to the beginning of the healing process. Again, the plantar should not have any upward pressure applied to it. Your plantar is not designed to sustain this type of pressure. When you have Plantar Fasciitis, steps should be taken very carefully and you should make sure your entire foot is planted on each step as you go. When your Plantar Fasciitis is almost completely healed, there is a benefit to doing step-up exercises using the ball of your foot.33x
Towel stretches are actually designed to stretch out your Achilles Tendon. They have no benefit for Plantar Fasciitis. If the towel is over the ball of your foot, there is not a concern. If the towel is wrapped around the arch of your foot, Towel stretches can also lead to further tearing of the plantar fascia. Towel stretches should be avoided if your plantar is in pain. They don't do anything to treat Plantar Fasciitis and actually put unneeded pressure on the plantar, which can lead to further damage.
In most cases of Plantar Fasciitis, surgery is not required.
Surgery should only be considered if your plantar is completely ruptured (in two separate pieces).
There are many risks and complications associated with Plantar Fasciitis surgery, including nerve damage, infection, blood clots, neuromas (benign cysts), and flattening of the arch.
There is also no guarantee that it will get rid of the problem for good.
According to a review of studies found on PubMed, the conclusion is that plantar fascia release was not found to be effective nor safe.42x
You need the plantar to remain tight, like the string on a bow.
Cutting out a part of the plantar can cause the plantar to loosen, which could lead to fallen arches or other issues.
Again, messing with the natural structure of the arch may only cause problems.
Rest is very important when recovering from plantar fasciitis.
Of course, resting completely isn't possible in our busy lives, but resting when you can will help you avoid further injury.
While it is true that moving promotes blood flow, and in turn blood flow promotes healing, too much movement too soon in the healing process is a bad thing, as it can result in re-injury and a much longer recovery time.
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Exercise and Stretches do nothing to help the plantar itself.
Don't misunderstand.
Motion is a very good thing.
Motion alone moves a lot of good stuff between the cells of your body.
But 'stretching' and 'exercise' suggest pushing limits and pushing limits puts you at high risk of reinjury.
While you're recovering, stick to motions and activity that don't cause you any pain or concern.
Pushing limits will not help you heal faster.
Pushing limits only risks your recovery.33x
You need to accept that for a short while, reducing your activity is important to letting your foot get over the hump in terms of healing.
You cannot keep doing the same level of activity you were doing before becoming injured.
You need to let your foot rest.
If you are driving through the pain, you are just making your situation worse.
This can't be stressed enough about plantar injuries because your initial injury has turned into a more significant injury.
Rest is critical. Give your foot a break.
You can gradually work your way back up to your regular activities, but this will take some time.
To minimize pain and swelling, use a ColdCure® any time your pain level increases, or if you have been active.
The ColdCure® Foot Wrap provides effective relief of the swelling and pain that comes with Plantar Fasciitis.
ColdCure® Wraps use cold and compression together, because cold and compression are the two things you need to help reduce pain and swelling as quickly and effectively as possible
27x 26x.
The application of cold compression must be uniform and complete if it's going to work the best.
This is why the ColdCure® Foot Wrap has been custom designed to perfectly fit the bottom and sides of the foot, to ensure that your injury receives an even distribution of cooling power.
ColdCure® Foot Wrap - Stop the Pain
If your biggest issue is the pain, then you definitely want the ColdCure® wrap. The ColdCure® Foot Wrap comes with 3 swappable cold packs that contain our unique XC RigiGel® formula. This isn't that 'blue goo' that you get from the drug store, no way. This is super gel. It holds tons more cold and stays cold much longer. It's ice that bends like rubber. It's amazing. The elasticized wrap holds the cold firmly in place against your injury sucking away the pain while it gently reduces swelling. If pain is your #1 concern, this is your #1 solution. With extra gel packs included you can treat the pain over and over again, never running out of ice.
KB Basics Foot Cold Pack - An Economical Alternative to ColdCure
This little gem is our low cost alternative to the ColdCure wrap.
The ColdCure wrap fully opens and straps in place with Velcro closures.
By comparison, this economical wrap is made of stretchy material and it slips on like a sleeve without adjustable straps.
It fits most feet, except for really large or very small ones.
Where the ColdCure has 3 replaceable gel packs that you insert into the wrap, this basics version has just one gel pack that is sewn right into the wrap.
In between uses you will put the entire wrap in the freezer, not just the gel pack like you do with the ColdCure version.
For the price, though, this is a super high quality and effective little wrap for your foot.
It's not quite ColdCure quality, but it sure is good!
Your foot is constantly under load throughout the day, and when you're struggling with Plantar Fasciitis, you feel every step.
You can't stop everything and wait for your foot to heal, so let's provide some support for your foot, without restricting your movement.
KB Support Tape™ is designed to protect your plantar and help prevent further damage as you go through your day.
It does this all without restricting your range of motion.
Put the piece along the bottom on stretched fairly tight, and it starts doing what your plantar does, taking off a bit of the load.
Every little bit helps!
Our skin is soft and elastic and can stretch much more than the tissue underneath.
When you apply Support Tape™ to your skin, it becomes a much more rigid surface than before; serving to limit how much the skin can stretch.
Support Tape™ makes your skin a source of outside support to hold your damaged tissue beneath it in place, helping you avoid re-injury.
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That's why we call it armor for your injury.
Support Tape™ - Protection from Re-Injury
Too busy to be injured? Have to keep going? Then Support Tape™ is your "must have".
Constant re-injury is often the biggest reason the plantar fascia does not heal.
It heals when at rest but gets worse when you move again.
Athletes are always taped up. That's to prevent against re-injury while they are active.
And King Brand Support Tape™ is made for that purpose.
Taping is very underappreciated and very effective.
If you have to keep moving, you have to tape.
There's one big difference between King Brand Support Tape and the kinesiology tapes and athletic tapes you find in drug stores:
Kinesiology Tapes are not medical grade - even though the name "kinesiology" makes them sound clinical.
King Brand tape is real medical grade, designed to be worn all day long, day after day, especially when recovering from Plantar Fasciitis.
Don't be misled by appearances.
These other tapes may look similar, but the materials are entirely different.
Athletic and kinesiology tapes are typically made for short-term, occasional use - maybe an hour or two here and there.
They're made with lower-grade adhesives and fabrics that can irritate your skin and even contain carcinogenic materials if worn too long.
King Brand Support Tape is built for healing.
It's safe, durable, and optimized for long-term use during real injury recovery - not just while playing a game.
Choose medical grade. Choose wisely. Stay safe.
The color is purely your sense of style.
The Pre-Cut Strips are super convenient; they're really the right length for most foot taping.
You still may cut one piece in half though.
The Continuous Roll gives you more control over how you tape your foot and you get the most use out of a single roll.
The protocol we recommend most for Plantar Fasciitis is rest, along with ColdCure® and BFST® at appropriate intervals.
Try to rest your affected foot as much as possible.
Consider using crutches to keep the weight off your injured foot.
Use the ColdCure® Foot Wrap to relieve your pain and internal inflammation.26x
ColdCure® can also be used to treat any flare ups of pain that occur during the healing process.27x
We strongly recommend against the use of painkillers - they reduce the pain but make you prone to more damage.25x Avoid using them when you're active, as this can also lead to further injury because you don't feel the pain when you're straining your injury.33x
You can take them to help you sleep at night, if that's required.
Use the BFST® Foot Wrap 3x per day: in the morning, evening and before any long or strenuous activites.
Increasing blood flow works to heal your damaged tissue, accelerating the recovery process.
Keep using your BFST® for several months after the pain is gone.
The healing process takes much longer than most people think.
Even once the pain has disappeared, your plantar may only be 20% or 30% healed.
Make sure you don't secure the Foot Wraps too tightly during use, as you don't want to strain the plantar.
