If the first step out of bed sends a sharp pain through your heel, you probably know the name already. Plantar fasciitis is inflammation and strain where the thick band of tissue along the sole of the foot attaches at the heel. It comes from overuse, from long hours standing, from a change in shoes or surface, from tight calves, or from a combination of all of them.

Cara spent twenty years as a professional dancer before she trained in acupuncture, and feet were the whole job. She has a particular respect for this injury.

The usual path

Standard care is rest, stretching, orthotics or supportive shoes, ice, and sometimes a cortisone injection. Most cases improve over months. The frustration is the pace, and the way it interrupts everything from a morning run to a day on your feet at work.

Where acupuncture and dry needling fit

Acupuncture around the heel and arch, along with points on the calf and lower leg, increases blood flow to tissue that does not get much of it, eases the protective tightness in the surrounding muscles, and settles pain signaling. Dry needling adds a more direct approach to the calf and the small muscles of the foot, releasing trigger points that keep pulling on the fascia.

Reviews of clinical trials have found that acupuncture reduces plantar heel pain for many people, especially in the first several weeks of treatment. It works well alongside stretching and footwear changes rather than instead of them.

Needles in the foot sound worse than they feel. The needles are very fine, Cara works gently, and most people describe the sensation as a dull ache that eases into relief.

Between visits

  • Calf stretch, twice daily. Tight calves load the fascia. Stretch with the knee straight and again with it bent.
  • Roll the arch. A frozen water bottle or a firm ball under the foot for a few minutes.
  • Morning warm-up. Before standing, point and flex the foot ten times and write the alphabet with your toes. Dancers do this in the wings.
  • Shoes matter. Barefoot on hard floors is the enemy while healing.

If heel pain has been running your mornings, talk with Cara about whether acupuncture or dry needling suits you.