Plantar Fasciitis

Cole Gibbens

Plantar fasciitis is one of those injuries that sounds niche… until you’ve had it. Then suddenly, every step first thing in the morning feels like you’ve stood on a drawing pin and your foot is personally offended by your life choices.

In simple terms, it’s irritation of the plantar fascia-the thick band of tissue under your foot that helps support your arch and absorb load. And if you’re a runner (guilty), it tends to show up when load management hasn’t quite gone to plan. Too much, too soon, too often… or sometimes just a subtle change that your body wasn’t quite ready for.

From an osteopath’s point of view, it’s rarely just about the foot. The foot is just the one complaining loudest. I’ll be looking at how everything above it is behaving-ankle mobility, calf strength, even what your hips are doing. If those aren’t pulling their weight, your plantar fascia ends up doing overtime.

Treatment-wise, I like to keep things practical. Hands-on work to ease tension through the foot and calf, some targeted joint work to improve movement, and yes-sometimes a bit of discomfort in the name of progress. Add in the right loading exercises and you’ve got a much better long-term fix than just hoping it “rests off.”

And speaking as someone who’s put themselves through a 2:16 marathon, I get the frustration. Being told to “just stop running” isn’t exactly helpful. The aim is to keep you moving where possible, adjust the load intelligently, and build things back up so your foot can actually tolerate what you’re asking of it.

Because plantar fasciitis isn’t usually about damage-it’s about capacity. Build that back up properly, and your foot stops shouting at you every time you get out of bed or head out for a run.