For any athlete, being sidelined by an injury is more than just a physical setback, it is a mental battle. When your passion, identity, and routine are built around movement, the sharp, persistent pain of plantar fasciitis can feel like a devastating blow. The fear of losing fitness, falling behind, and the simple frustration of not being able to do what you love can be overwhelming. Many athletes feel a loss of identity, as one kickboxer shared, “It feels like such a curse, my world was exercising barefoot. I still do it, but I’m in excruciating pain the whole time.”

But here is the good news, a diagnosis of plantar heel pain does not have to mean a full stop. With the right approach, you can continue to stay active, modify your training, and safely navigate your recovery without making the injury worse. This guide will provide you with the strategies to manage your symptoms, understand your body’s signals, and get back to performing at your best.

The “Relative Rest” Mindset: Why Complete Rest Is Not the Answer

For years, the standard advice for injuries was complete rest. However, modern sports medicine has shown that this approach can be counterproductive for conditions like plantar heel pain. Complete rest can lead to stiffness, muscle weakness, and a decrease in the tissue’s ability to tolerate load, ultimately prolonging recovery. A 2023 study in the Runner’s World journal highlighted that “dynamic rest,” which involves a break from the aggravating activity rather than a complete cessation of movement, is a more effective approach [1].

“The goal is to find a balance between offloading the irritated tissue and maintaining your fitness. We call this ‘relative rest.’ It’s about modifying your activity, not eliminating it. This could mean reducing your running mileage, switching to lower-impact cross-training, or adjusting the intensity of your workouts.” – Anthony Adesanmi, Chartered Physiotherapist.

Understanding what treatments actually work for plantar fasciitis is crucial for athletes who want to stay active. Our comprehensive guide What Actually Works for Plantar Fasciitis reviews evidence-based treatments that support continued activity rather than complete rest, helping you make informed decisions about your training modifications.

Your Pain Playbook: The Traffic Light System

One of the biggest challenges for athletes is knowing how much is too much. The fear of causing more damage can lead to inactivity, while the desire to push through can lead to setbacks. A pain monitoring system, like the traffic light guide, can provide a clear framework for making smart decisions during your training.

• Green Light (0-3/10 Pain): This is a safe zone. You can continue with your activity, but remain mindful of your body’s signals.
• Yellow Light (4-6/10 Pain): Proceed with caution. This level of pain is acceptable during a workout, but it should not increase during the session, and it should settle within 24 hours. If it lingers or worsens, you need to back off.
• Red Light (7-10/10 Pain): Stop. This is a sign that you are overloading the tissue. You need to end the activity and allow for more recovery time.

This system empowers you to take control of your recovery, allowing you to stay active while respecting your body’s limits. A 2024 article from Verywell Health reinforces this approach, suggesting that decreasing running intensity and avoiding uneven surfaces are key modifications for athletes with plantar fasciitis [2].

For a detailed framework on when it’s safe to push through discomfort and when you should stop, download our guide When to Push Through Plantar Fasciitis Pain and When to Back Off. This resource provides specific guidance on pain levels, activity modification, and how to use pain as a guide rather than a barrier to your training.

We also have a video to help you understand – What is good pain and what is bad pain? Watch it here.

A Runner’s Return: A Case Study

Mark, a competitive marathon runner, was devastated when he was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis six months before a major race. His initial instinct was to stop running altogether, but his physiotherapist introduced him to the concept of relative rest and the traffic light system. Mark reduced his running volume by 50% and incorporated cross-training activities like swimming and cycling to maintain his cardiovascular fitness. He used the traffic light system to guide his runs, ensuring his pain never went into the red zone.

He also began a targeted strengthening program for his feet and calves. Slowly and strategically, he was able to increase his running volume, and he successfully completed his marathon with a new personal best. Mark’s journey shows that with a smart and patient approach, you can continue to pursue your athletic goals while recovering from plantar heel pain.

Watch our video on foot pain in runners and the things you can do to recover from your injury.

Key Exercises for Active Recovery

Strengthening the muscles in your feet and lower legs is crucial for long-term recovery and preventing recurrence. Here is a simple yet effective exercise to incorporate into your routine.

Seated Heel Raises

Difficulty: Beginner
Time Required: 2 minutes
Equipment: A chair and a towel

Why it works: This exercise strengthens the intrinsic muscles of the foot, which helps to support the arch and reduce the load on the plantar fascia.

How to perform:

1. Sit in a chair with your feet flat on the floor.

2. Place a rolled-up towel under your toes, so that your toes are extended upwards.

3. Slowly raise your heels off the floor, keeping the balls of your feet on the ground.

4. Hold for 3-5 seconds, then slowly lower your heels back down.

5. Aim for 3 sets of 10-15 repetitions.

Common mistake to avoid: Do not let your ankles roll outwards. Keep the movement controlled and focused on lifting the heels.

Progression: As you get stronger, you can perform this exercise standing up, and eventually progress to single-leg heel raises.

For a complete daily routine that takes just five minutes and can easily fit into your training schedule, try our 5-Minute Daily Routine for Plantar Fasciitis. This structured routine combines stretching, mobility work, and strengthening exercises specifically designed for busy athletes.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can I still run with plantar fasciitis?

In many cases, yes. By modifying your training, using a pain monitoring system, and incorporating strengthening exercises, you can often continue to run in a limited capacity.

2. What are the best cross-training activities for athletes with plantar fasciitis?

Low-impact activities like swimming, cycling, and using the elliptical trainer are excellent options for maintaining cardiovascular fitness without overloading your feet.

3. How long will it take to get back to my full training schedule?

Recovery is individual and depends on the severity of your condition and your commitment to your rehabilitation program. It is a gradual process, but with consistency, you will get there.

4. Should I wear orthotics in my running shoes?

Orthotics can be helpful for some athletes by providing additional support and cushioning. A professional can assess your foot mechanics and determine if orthotics are right for you.

5. What is the single most important thing I can do to prevent plantar fasciitis from coming back?

Consistent strength training for your feet and calves is the key to building resilience and preventing recurrence. Do not stop your exercises just because the pain is gone. Understanding why plantar fasciitis returns is crucial for long-term success. Our guide Plantar Fasciitis – Why It Keeps Coming Back and How to Stop the Cycle explains the common reasons for recurrence and provides strategies to break the cycle permanently.

References

[1] Ask the physio: plantar fasciitis (2023). Available at: https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/health/injury/a771593/ask-the-physio-plantar-fasciitis/ (Accessed: 18 September 2025).

[2] Running With Plantar Fasciitis (2024). Available at: https://www.verywellhealth.com/running-with-plantar-fasciitis-5224398 (Accessed: 18 September 2025).

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A running assessment with a trained physiotherapist helps identify these hidden problems by analyzing your running technique, strength, and movement patterns. Whether you’re recovering from marathon training or preparing for your next race, this personalized evaluation can:

• Prevent injuries by correcting inefficient mechanics
• Enhance your running efficiency for better endurance and speed
• Support faster recovery from any aches or niggles you may have

If you’ve taken part in a marathon or are training for one, investing in a running assessment is a smart step to keep you running strong and pain-free for many more miles to come.

if you have any questions and would like to speak to one of our unresolved injury specialists, please get in touch by calling us on 0207 583 8288.

Alternatively, you can email info@octopusclinic.com to book or book online.

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Would you like to find out how you or a loved one can recover from your unresolved injury or pain?

We would like to restore your hope for recovery, so part of the launch of our Unresolved Injury Clinic this week, we are offering free phone consultations with our specialist physiotherapists and osteopaths.

You can read inspiring testimonials from people who have recovered with us from previously unresolved injuries here.

Get on the road to recovery and start 2023 in a better place. Email info@octopusclinic.com or call 02075838288 now.

We look forward to speaking to you soon.

The Octopus Clinic Team

02075838288

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We have put together some testimonials that should restore hope for recovery, hope that you are able to get back to doing the things you enjoy and hope that you can be the person you want to be.

We have a team of physiotherapists and osteopaths who specialise in the treatment of unresolved injuries and persistent pain and it would be our pleasure to enable you to recover.

To enable you to start 2023 with hope we are launching our Unresolved Injury Clinic the week beginning 21st November 2022. During the week we are offering free phone consultations to anyone who has an unresolved injury or pain that would like to discuss self help strategies and how our physiotherapists can help. To find out other free events during our Unresolved Injuries week please click here.

You can call us on 02075838288 to have a conversation with one of lead physiotherapist who can explain how we can help you recover. Alternatively you can book online or email info@octopusclinic.com.

We look forward to seeing you soon.

The Octopus Clinic Team

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Do you, a colleague, or a loved one have an unresolved injury or persistent pain that is having an effect on your/their ability to do the things you/they love? Has it been going on for a while despite seeing various physios, osteopaths, chiropractors, and doctors? At Octopus Clinic we have a specialist team dedicated to treating people with injuries and pain that have not responded to treatment elsewhere. We know that feeling like no one understands what is going on can be frustrating and lead to a decline in hope for recovery. We also know that we can restore hope from the very first consultation and that people go on to regain the aspects of their life and identity that have been restricted or, in some cases, completely put on hold.

You can read many case studies in the words of these people in some of our 300+ google reviews or read some of them on our: Restoring Hope Testimonials page.

We are launching our Unresolved Pain Clinic on 21st November 2022 so that you, your colleagues, or loved ones can start 2023 with hope restored. We will be running free taster sessions, virtual events, blogs on the science of recovery, opportunities to meet the team, and self-help videos from 21st November 2022. We will be sharing the timetable of events at the end of this week so please keep an eye out on social media or subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

In the meantime, if you have any questions and would like to speak to one of our unresolved injury specialists please get in touch with Lead Physiotherapist Lucy Macdonald info@octopusclinic.com.

Alternatively, you can email info@octopusclinic.com to book or book online.

We look forward to seeing you soon.

The Octopus Clinic Team

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As a physiotherapist specialising in unresolved injures and persistent pain I would love to hear what ‘a place of care’ means to you – how the term makes you feel and what visions, stories or words it conjures up.

I was tasked with writing for five minutes on this topic when I attended a workshop on ‘narrative medicine’ this morning held by ‘Le Pub Scientifique’ a fabulous bunch of physiotherapists, osteopaths and other healthcare professionals with a special interest in persistent pain.

When I wrote it I had no intention on sharing it on social media but I thought it might be a good way of opening up the topic for discussion, so please do let me know your thoughts and how you’d define ‘a place of care.’ I chose ‘My treatment room’ but there could be many many different integrations. It feels quite vulnerable (not least because I’d the bad grammar) and self indulgent to do this but here goes…

My treatment room

A place where people come for answers. They are vulnerable and want to feel safe. A place that is calm and supportive and where relationships are built on trust and understanding. Where fear subsides, confidence grows and hope is nurtured. A treatment room could hold bad memories and therefore start as a place of fear or confusion but soon becomes a place of safety and connection. My treatment room holds laughter and tears because emotion is given space to be accepted. It is a place where I feel calm. It feels like the place I should be, where things makes sense in an otherwise confusing world.

Please do share your thoughts and feelings, I’ll be really interested to hear from you.

All the best,

Lucy Macdonald

info@octopusclinic.com

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As a physiotherapist working with people with persistent pain and unresolved injures, ensuring that my empathy antennae are on full beam is very important. I work with people whose lives have been thrown upside down by pain and the restrictions that come with it and, although I absolutely love my job, there are times when it can be mentally and emotionally tiring. I believe that the best things in life often involve hard work but I also have to be careful not to end up with empathy burnout, and that’s where boundaries come in… or so I thought.

I got thinking about all this after a recent persistent pain workshop with the fabulous ‘Pub Scientifique.’ We spent time exploring the importance of constantly questioning our own perspectives, biases and assumptions when trying to understand a persons experience of their pain.

This topic is right up my street and fitted nicely into my comfort zone. The bit about ‘showing up’ as an individual and not hiding behind my professional title/knowledge was less comfortable and I’d be interested to hear your perspective on this.

In the first decade of my career I was regularly advised to set boundaries with my patients, in the form of an imaginary barrier. This was supposed to benefit of my patients and save me from empathy burn out. In fact, whenever I tried to do this, to my confusion, it achieved the opposite. I felt I was a less effective clinician and was more exhausted.

I think creating boundaries in this way could inhibit patients from sharing their full experience and therefore prevent useful information being communicated that could be used to make their treatment plan more effective. It also hindered my ability to be empathetic and prevented me from enjoying the freedom and comfort that comes with being authentic.

I believe boundaries are essential in all healthy relationships, whether professional or personal. It’s taken me a long time to get there but finally I think I’m realising that boundaries should be created for each individual therapeutic relationship.

Going forwards I’m going to consider boundaries not in terms of ‘me clinician’ ‘you patient’ and instead in terms of ‘me individual’ ‘you individual.’ I have a sneaking suspicion this is going to make me a more effective clinician and reduce empathy burnout.

I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on this too. If you are a clinician then is it something you’ve always done without thinking about it or do you also find setting boundaries challenging? If you are not a clinician how does all this resonate with you? I’d love to know.

All the best,

Lucy Macdonald

info@octopusclinic.com

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As a female physio it’s not hard to feel affinity with the wonderful women who practiced the medicine of their time and were labelled witches.

I’ve had the great pleasure of working with a many exceptional clinicians who I would consider to be the very best modern day witches. Women who follow the latest scientific research, hone the essential skill of empathy, are driven by a purpose to help humanity and still have a sense of humour at the end of it all.

So this little blog is to say thank you to all of you for your support, guidance, inspiration and for making our wacky world a better place.

Last but not least I’d like to thank my colleague and friend Marni Cochrane. We’ve been through a lot in the ten years we’ve worked together at Octopus Clinic, I respect her deeply as a clinician and as a person and am incredibly grateful for her loyalty and dedication over the years, not to mention her silly sense of humour… dressing up pumpkins in the clinic today for example was wonderfully cacklesome.

Happy halloween folks.

Lucy Macdonald

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What should I be doing to recover from my marathon?

In this video, physiotherapist Lucy Macdonald explains what you can do to recover from your marathon. She discusses blister management, foam rolling, nutrition and the best stretches you can do.

She also refers to this video which goes into recovery in more detail: https://youtu.be/r6fudRw-RHw

Join our online community for all the latest advice and exercises

Come and join us on our growing Facebook community for all the latest videos and news on how to stay healthy over the next few months. Just find the page ‘Octopus Clinic’ and click on the like button. 

Get in contact

You can contact Lucy directly on info@octopusclinic.com, via this website (where you can also find lots of free running exercise videos) and on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. 

You can book an appointment online here, email info@octopusclinic.com or call 020 7583 8288.

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Many people are unsure of the difference between physiotherapy and osteopathy and quite rightly so, because all the best physios and all the best osteopaths will treat your neck pain with a combination of hands-on techniques and the best stretches and exercises to relieve your neck pain.

As a physio, you may think I could be biased towards physiotherapy, but I have had the pleasure of working with the best osteopaths here at Octopus Clinic and I can assure you that I would not hesitate to recommend my friends and family to them. I will try and unpack why I think they are the best osteopaths in London.

1. They have calm confidence and when they describe what the problem is and what they are going to do to solve the problem it makes total sense
2. When they put their hands on they hit the right balance of being firm but not at all painful which immediately puts you at ease. They are often described as having ‘magic hands.’
3. They give advice and self-management techniques so that you can maintain the improvements at home
4. They give clear guidance on when things should be fully recovered
5. They teach exercises to gain strength to reduce the risk of the problem recurring

If you would like to read osteopath David Canevero’s bio you can click here.

If you want to find out more about what makes a good physiotherapist you can click here.

I would love to hear your opinion on what makes the best osteopath, physiotherapist, chiropractor or sports therapist in the comments below.

If you or a loved one has a painful or injured neck, you can book online now, email info@octopusclinic.com or call 02075838288.

See you soon 🙂

The Octopus Clinic Team

Book: Online bookings

Email info@octopusclinic.com

Call 02075838288.

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