“What if this never goes away? If it gets worse, it could start affecting my everyday life…”
Mr M, a desk worker in his 50s who rides a road bike as a hobby, had been troubled for six months by pain in his left heel — worst with the first step in the morning. Rather than treating the sole of the foot, we looked for the cause in the load that cycling places on the fascia of the whole leg. After one session, the pain on his first steps no longer bothered him.
The patient
- Age/sex: 50s, male
- Work: desk work
- Hobby: road cycling
- Problem: pain under the left foot for six months — the first step in the morning and the first steps after rest; tender when pressed
- History: no previous fractures, sprains or muscle strains
Six months of pain and worry
The pain began six months before his visit, with no clear trigger. The first step out of bed hurt, and the first steps after sitting were uncomfortable. An orthopedic diagnosis of plantar fasciitis led to prescribed rehabilitation, but it brought no real change.
“Every day hurts. It’s so frustrating.” “It’s been six months already. Will this ever get better?” “What if it keeps getting worse?” As the worry grew, it cast a shadow over his cycling and daily life.
Why working on the sole alone may not be enough
The painful spot is where the load ended up — the result — and the cause is often elsewhere. The fascia of the sole connects upward through the calf and thigh. If stiffness pulling from elsewhere remains, working only on the painful spot may not hold.
What we focused on: the ongoing load on the whole leg
Fascial Manipulation®, the Italian method, reads the body through its fascial connections. Mr M had no major injury history, but road cycling loads the whole leg continuously for hours. Fascia is like a wetsuit covering the whole body, and years of pedaling had built up stiffness, with the tension transmitted to the sole as pain.
The course of treatment
First session: we assessed the fascia of the whole left leg, found four points with restricted movement, and treated them. The tenderness on pressure was gone immediately. “Where did my six months of pain go?”
Second visit — five years later, for wrist (de Quervain’s) and shoulder pain — he had never needed to return for the heel. “It has never hurt since. I’m just grateful.”
Back to daily life
Freed from the morning pain, he could walk without worry and enjoy his road bike as before.
Before you give up on it
The cause may not be where you touch it. If treating the painful spot hasn’t changed anything, it is worth tracing the fascial connections through the whole body.
Individual results vary.