Heel Pain: Advanced Treatments and Exercises
- Sara Becker, PT, DPT
- Apr 8
- 7 min read
Heel pain can start as a minor annoyance but quickly become a major disruption to your daily life—whether it hits during your morning walk, while standing at work, or even while lying in bed. From weekend warriors to desk-bound professionals, heel pain doesn’t discriminate. But the good news? Relief is absolutely possible, especially when we go beyond the basics.
Let’s dive into advanced heel pain treatments and exercises, including what to do when it stems from nerve, ligament, or tendon issues—and how to reclaim your footing for good.
Disclaimer: The content on this site and my posts are for educational and informational purposes only and not meant as medical advice. It is not intended as medical advice or to replace a relationship with a qualified healthcare professional. There is absolutely no assurance that any statement contained or cited in an article touching on medical matters is true, correct, precise, or up-to-date. Please consult a clinician that is familiar with your care, if you have specific questions for your own care.
Understanding Heel Pain: More than Just a "Foot Thing"
Heel pain can come from a variety of sources—nerve impingements, tight fascia, irritated tendons, compensatory contractile tissue, or even a sneaky case of sciatica. Here's a breakdown of some common heel pain types:
Plantar fasciitis – Inflammation of the ligament on the bottom of the foot
Heel spur – A bony outgrowth that aggravates the soft tissue
Achilles tendonitis – Pain and stiffness in the back of the heel
Heel pain nerve sciatic – When sciatic nerve irritation radiates down the leg into the heel
Heel pain from sciatica – Similar to above, but often misdiagnosed as a purely foot problem
Tarsal tunnel syndrome – A compressed nerve near the ankle causing radiating heel pain
Heel Pain Relief Exercises: Move Smarter, Not Harder
Forget generic stretches—targeted heel pain treatment exercises get to the source of your pain. These are a few of my go-to’s:
Heel Spur Exercises
Toe scrunches with a towel to engage intrinsic foot muscles
Sit in a chair with both feet flat on the floor.
Lay the towel on the floor in front of you, smoothing it out lengthwise.
Place your bare foot on the towel so your toes rest near the edge of the towel’s front.
Anchor your heel to the ground—it should stay flat and stable the entire time.
Begin scrunching the towel by curling your toes downward and pulling the towel toward you.
Use only your toes—no lifting the foot or sliding the heel.
Once you’ve scrunched a portion of the towel, reset it and repeat.
Aim to gather the entire towel toward your foot.
1–3 sets of towel scrunches
Repeat 2–3 times per week (or daily for chronic heel pain)
Calf eccentrics to offload the heel and build tendon tolerance. How to do it:
Stand on the edge of a step with your heels hanging off.
Rise up on both feet.
Shift your weight to one leg.
Slowly lower your heel down over 3–5 seconds.
Use both feet to return to the top.
3 sets of 8–12 reps per side
TIP: Keep your knee straight to target the gastrocnemius (big outer calf muscle).
Heel Pain Tendon & Ligament Focus
Single-leg balance to improve stability
Dynamic calf stretching to improve pliability in all ranges
Heel Pain Relief Exercises for Nerve-Related Pain
Piriformis release to reduce possible nerve compression
Heel Pain Remedy: Address the Root Cause
Advanced treatments look beyond symptom management. If you’re tired of foam rolling your foot to death with no lasting relief, you’re not alone.
This brain-based approach uncovers the why behind dysfunction. For example, your glutes might be weak, causing compensations down the leg and into the heel. For my own chronic heel pain, NKT found that my heel pain was actually coming from my inner thigh (which NEVER bothered me), but it was affecting how I was landing on my heel. Read more about NKT and find a practitioner near you in my blog
2. Manual Therapy & Heel Pain Massage
Targeted, hands-on techniques can decompress nerves, release tight fascia, and unstick adhered tissue. Heel pain massage goes far beyond a foot rub—it’s about accessing deep fascial lines and improving mobility throughout the posterior chain.
3. Dry Needling & Cupping
These tools help reduce inflammation, improve circulation, and provide pain relief for heel pain nerve or heel pain ligament issues—especially when other techniques stall.
4. Other Alternative and Adjunct Therapies
Cold massage therapy reduces inflammation and promotes healing. Thermipaq has a a great cold pack that stays cold or purchase a cold massager to roll over the symptomatic area. You can also use a frozen plastic water bottle to roll your foot over
Heat Therapy: Applying heat to your calves is one of the simplest and most effective ways to ease muscle tension and stiffness. Heat increases blood flow, relaxes muscles, and reduces pain signals. Apply a moist heating pad for 15–20 minutes. Avoid excessive heat to prevent burns. NOTE that moist heating pads are the most effective. My favorite brands are Thermophore and Thermipaq
Please Note: Some links on my site are affiliate links, which means that I collect a small portion of your sale, at no extra cost to you. This helps with the cost of running a website, providing services, etc.
Topical Magnesium: our muscles use magnesium to contract and relax so using it topically can decrease muscle tightness (without upsetting your stomach). My favorite is Trace Minerals products, their Magnesium Lotion has been out of stock recently, as I think they're switching to this spray. You can get 20% off with my Fullscript link, you just need to sign-up for an account but can continue to use this indefinitely
CBD can work on both nervous system level and physical level of pain, making it super effective.
Arnica is anti-inflammatory and a fantastic use for pain, strains, sprains, bruising , carpel tunnel and swelling. You can use my Fullscripts link here as well for a discount on arnica
St. John's Wort can be used for nerve pain
Vagus Nerve Stimulation: Chronic pain often involves an overactive nervous system that is constantly living in fight-or-flight. Calming the nervous system can reduce pain intensity and promote healing. Society today is terrible to our nervous systems and the vagus nerve. It was not programmed to handle the frequency and intensity of the stressors of today’s world. Improving vagus nerve dysfunction teaches your system to be flexible when faced with a stressor or “trigger” and how to accurately “read” them and respond appropriately. I have many free resources for vagus nerve activation on my site at www.releaseology.com/vagus plus book with me with my services below. I ALWAYS recommend the NKT Vagus Nerve Combo to assess where the pain is coming from and then relieve you, but if you want full vagus nerve time, book the Vagus Nerve Harmony Massage. If you don't live locally, I also offer vagus nerve services virtually.
Heel Pain Support: You Don't Have to DIY This
Sometimes, you need more than exercises and stretches. Maybe you’ve tried the ice bottles, inserts, and every heel pain remedy under the sun—and still feel stuck. That’s when it's time to look into advanced care options with a heel pain specialist near me (hi, that’s me 👋).
The Releaseology Difference: A Whole-Body Heel Pain Solution
At Releaseology, I don’t just look at your foot—I assess your full movement story. Whether your pain is rooted in scar tissue, eyes, jaw, diaphragm, pelvic floor, ligaments or even a stress pattern in your nervous system, I find the real driver and work one-on-one to correct it. Our approach isn’t cookie-cutter. It’s deep, hands-on, and results-driven. You’ll leave your session not only feeling relief but understanding why the pain started and how to prevent it from coming back.
If you’re done with temporary fixes and want a true heel pain solution, let’s work together. Book a session now and discover how Releaseology helps you move better, feel better, and live pain-free—starting from the ground up.
👇 Click below to schedule your advanced heel pain session. Your feet will thank you.
Any of these services will include an assessment and evaluation into your plantar fasciitis or book a consultation below
Disclaimer: The content on this site and my posts are for educational and informational purposes only and not meant as medical advice. It is not intended as medical advice or to replace a relationship with a qualified healthcare professional. There is absolutely no assurance that any statement contained or cited in an article touching on medical matters is true, correct, precise, or up-to-date. Please consult a clinician that is familiar with your care, if you have specific questions for your own care.
Medical Disclaimer
The content on this site and my posts are for educational and informational purposes only and not meant as medical advice. It is not intended as medical advice or to replace a relationship with a qualified healthcare professional. There is absolutely no assurance that any statement contained or cited in an article touching on medical matters is true, correct, precise, or up-to-date. Please consult a clinician that is familiar with your care, if you have specific questions for your own care.
Essential Oils for Pain Relief
More from Releaseology
Don't forget to check out other resources on my site! You can book a session with me here, find a list of conditions I treat here, find more about me here, learn how to regulate your own vagus nerve and nervous system here and read more on my blog here. Lastly, follow me on my social channels: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok!
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