That sharp stab under your heel with the first steps of the morning is hard to ignore. If plantar fasciitis has made walking feel like a decision, or you have been skipping runs and hoping time does the fixing, you are dealing with one of the most common foot complaints we treat at ActiveX Physio in Singapore.
Why won't my plantar fasciitis go away?
Most people who come in have already rolled a frozen bottle under the arch, tried orthotics, rested for weeks. Those take the edge off. They do not rebuild anything, so the heel feels fine right up until you load it again. Orthotics and the frozen bottle still have a place early on, when the heel is too irritable to load properly, but they are the holding pattern, and the holding pattern is where most people get stuck. The fascia has lost capacity, and capacity comes back one way: progressive loading. We assess how your calf complex handles load and whether the small muscles of the foot are pulling their weight, and we ask what changed in your training or footwear just before the heel started complaining.
What does plantar fasciitis treatment involve?
Treatment rebuilds load tolerance through the plantar fascia itself. Calf raises over a rolled towel to engage the windlass mechanism. Forefoot-elevated split squats. Strengthening for the small muscles of the foot, which usually get ignored entirely. Low-dye taping can support the arch in the short term while the fascia adapts, and for stubborn cases past six weeks, shockwave therapy is an option we use to speed the process along.
Who can help
Any of our physiotherapists can assess and treat plantar fasciitis. If foot mechanics are the main concern, Ivan Tam specialises in this area and can look at how your foot handles ground contact. If the heel pain tracks with your running load, Nicholas Ho and Isabelle Chow both work with runners and can find what is driving the overload.
Go deeper
Our full guide on plantar fasciitis covers the loading science, the rehab progressions, and what to do when it is not responding. Read the full guide on plantar fasciitis →