Did you know that your heel pain could be related to your hamstring muscles being in dysfunction? The hamstring muscles are the muscles on the backside of your thigh, and they help to pull you across the ground when they are working correctly. When they are not working correctly a variety of dysfunctions can develop. One of these problems includes plantar fasciitis heel pain.

How? Great question. Imagine if the wheels on your car didn’t turn, and they just skidded across the hard asphalt. This would wear your tires out pretty fast. 

If your hamstrings are unable to engage during walking in such a way as to pull your body across the floor, then your calf muscle has to work much harder to push your body across the floor. Your calf muscle is very strong and an incredible organ, but it is not able to maintain normal function while performing the job of the hamstrings as well as its own job. The fascial fibers of the calf muscle run into the plantar fascia. This passive tension on the fibers results in the plantar fascia getting irritated. Back to the car analogy, the wear and tear happening at one spot on the tire is like the wear and tear occurring on those fascial fibers as they run across the heel bone. 

Now, why would your hamstring muscles be in dysfunction? Good question. There are several different answers. I’ll mention two: 1) It could be that the way you walk and have learned to walk does not include using your hamstrings to pull yourself forward. 2) Or It could also be that the nerve that feeds the hamstring muscles is not functioning correctly and this is resulting in the hamstring muscles not doing their job well. 

So, how do you fix it? It could be as simple as giving the hamstring muscles some mechanical input (ie massage or self massage), or it could be more complicated and require a skilled movement professional to give you a full assessment to determine why your hamstrings aren’t doing their job, and whether or not your hamstrings are the main culprit in your plantar fasciitis heel pain.

If you would like a free tool to improve hamstring mobility and function reach out to us here! You don’t have to live with plantar fasciitis heel pain. You are the boss of your pain. Not the other way around.  

Soli Deo Gloria,

Todd Rundell

P.S.

At Renewal Physical Therapy we want to give our patients the tools to take care of their body so they can spend less on medical professionals and more on the rest of their lives. The first step in this process is making sure our patients are well educated. We are happy to answer your questions or to send you more material to help you better understand your condition. Just reach out to us!