Plantar Fasciitis: The Silent Tug Beneath Your Foot

Dear reader,

There’s a quiet pain that sneaks in first thing in the morning. You take your first step out of bed—and there it is, sharp and unforgiving, slicing through your heel like a whispering blade. Clients describe it as stepping onto a stone, a burning rope beneath the foot, a silent punishment for simply walking.

Welcome to the mysterious world of plantar fasciitis.

However, in many of the cases I treat at JANMI, the root cause of plantar fasciitis is not in the fascia itself, but in the muscle trigger points—far beyond the sole of the foot. This revelation often surprises my clients, highlighting the complexity of this condition.

Let’s walk through it.

What Is a Trigger Point?

In the JANMI world, we speak of the body as a symphony of muscle tones. When one instrument goes rogue, it throws off the harmony. Trigger points are those rogue musicians—tight, hypersensitive knots in muscle tissue that refer pain to other areas. They are often overlooked, yet they’re responsible for most of the persistent, nagging pain that people assume must be coming from joints or bones.

In plantar fasciitis, the pain may scream from your foot—but the whisper often starts higher up.

Key Trigger Points That Refer Pain to the Heel and Arch

1. Gastrocnemius (Medial Head) The big calf muscle. Tense and shortened from long hours of standing, walking uphill, or simply wearing poor footwear. When it harbours a trigger point in the medial belly, it refers pain directly into the heel—mimicking classic plantar fasciitis.

2. Soleus The deeper, postural calf muscle—your endurance engine. Its trigger points also send pain into the heel, especially noticeable after long periods of inactivity (hello, morning pain). If your foot hurts on that first step out of bed, this guy might be guilty.

3. Tibialis Posterior The unsung hero of foot stability. When overloaded or weakened, it can generate referred pain along the inside of the arch. This muscle is often overlooked, but in many JANMI plantar fascia cases, I find it holding a stubborn trigger point that only releases with precise, intuitive pressure.

4. Flexor Digitorum Brevis (FDB) A small muscle within the foot itself. Tight, overused, or fatigued from compensating for weak glutes or poor biomechanics, it can knot up and cause searing pain at the base of the arch. Trigger points here can be elusive—hidden in plain sight beneath the heel pad.

5. Quadratus Plantae Buried within the foot, this muscle helps straighten the pull of the flexor tendons. Trigger points here can cause deep, burning heel pain that mimics nerve issues. It’s one of the trickiest—but when released, clients often feel immediate relief.

6. Gluteus Medius & Minimus (Yes—Your Bum!) Surprised? Many foot issues originate in hip weakness. These glutes stabilise the pelvis and influence lower limb alignment. When they weaken or tighten (usually from too much sitting and not enough walking), they can create a chain of dysfunction that ends in plantar tension. Trigger points here often refer to the lateral thigh, but more importantly—they disturb gait and overload the foot.

Why Do These Trigger Points Develop?

Like most modern muscle conditions, plantar fasciitis isn’t about sudden trauma—it’s about accumulation. Modern life gives us plenty of reasons to accumulate the wrong kind of tension:

• Wearing unsupportive shoes (or overly “supportive” ones that stiffen your step)

• Walking mostly on hard, flat surfaces

• Weak glutes from sitting too long

• Poor ankle mobility

• Over-reliance on one leg during standing or walking

• Running without proper recovery or foot conditioning

Each of these creates biomechanical compensation. Your foot starts doing work it was never meant to do alone. Muscles tighten to protect and support. Micro-knots (trigger points) form. And soon enough, you’re limping across your morning kitchen tiles.

How JANMI Trigger Point Therapy Helps

At JANMI, I don’t just rub where it hurts. I trace the pain upstream—along the kinetic chain—to find the tension that’s causing the distortion. Our therapy provides a ray of hope in the battle against plantar fasciitis.

For plantar fasciitis, I apply:

• Targeted trigger point release of the calf complex (gastrocnemius, soleus)

• Precise compression into the tibialis posterior and deeper flexors

• Myofascial release through the plantar fascia and Achilles tendon

• Structural work on hip and glute stabilisers

• Foot and ankle mobility drills

• 
  

But more importantly—each treatment is tailored. I don’t use a template. I use my hands, intuition, and 15 years of experience to listen to your body’s patterns. You are not just another client to us, but a unique individual with unique needs.

Aftercare Makes It Stick

After release comes re-patterning.

Clients leave JANMI with more than relief. They leave with a plan: personalised stretch and strengthening routines, video guidance for home therapy, and tailored advice on footwear, posture, and training habits. Our aftercare is designed to ensure that the relief you experience is long-lasting and effective.

Exercises often include:

• Toe curls and marble pickups

• Calf raises and soleus stretches

• Deep glute activation (especially in side-lying)

• Foot rolling with a small ball (to maintain fascia mobility)

• Ankle mobility flows

Each one chosen specifically for your lifestyle, posture, and recovery goals.

Final Words: The Body Remembers Everything

Plantar fasciitis isn’t just a foot problem. It’s a memory—of tension, imbalance, compensation. Your body stores that memory in its soft tissues. But just as it remembers pain, it can also remember ease.

At JANMI, I help people reintroduce ease into their systems. Through hands that know where to press and when to pause. Through movement plans that empower. Through understanding that pain is a message, not a life sentence.

If you feel that burning thread under your foot, don’t ignore it. It may be speaking on behalf of your whole lower body.

Let’s listen together—and then reset.