That sharp, stabbing pain in your heel with your first steps in the morning is the classic sign of Plantar Fasciitis. If your heel pain has become a chronic barrier to your daily walks or morning runs, you need more than just rest.
At Podiatry Quest, we specialise in comprehensive heel pain management, using advanced diagnostics to identify why your fascia is overloaded and providing a clear, evidence-based path to permanent relief.
Plantar Fasciitis often presents with very specific patterns. If you recognise two or more of the following signs, your heel pain is likely mechanical and requires a professional biomechanical assessment.
[ ] The “First Step” Stabbing: You feel a sharp, stabbing pain in the bottom of your heel during your first few steps out of bed in the morning.
[ ] The “Start-Stop” Ache: You feel intense pain when standing up after sitting for a long period (e.g., getting up from your office desk or a car ride).
[ ] Post-Exercise Throbbing: The pain doesn’t necessarily hurt during your run or walk, but it throbs and aches significantly once you stop and cool down.
[ ] Barefoot Sensitivity: Walking barefoot on hard tiles or floors (common in Singapore homes) feels much more painful than walking in supportive shoes.
[ ] The “Stone in Shoe” Sensation: You feel like there is a small stone or a bruise right at the base of your heel bone.
If so, your plantar fascia is likely under excessive strain. Leaving this untreated often leads to compensation injuries in the knees, hips, and lower back, adversely affecting your quality of life.
Don’t wait for it to become chronic! At Podiatry Quest, we use advanced tools such as the 3D Running Gait Analysis to see exactly why your heel is overloading, and Shockwave Therapy to kickstart the healing process, as well as important footwear advice and rehab exercises.
What causes it?
The plantar fascia is a thick band of tissue (called fascia) that connects your heel bone to the base of your toes, with the thickest band going into the base of your big toe. It supports the arch of the foot and absorbs shock when walking.
As we stand, walk and run, there is tension, pressure, and stress on the fascia. When the tension and stress is too high over a period of time, there is repeated stretching and pressure on the band which causes it to be irritated and injured.
Other conditions that Plantar Fasciitis is associated with:
Most clinics treat the symptom of heel pain. We treat the mechanical cause.
| Feature | Standard Treatment (GP/Generic) | The Podiatry Quest Approach |
| Diagnostics | Visual observation & “wait and see.” | Runeasi 3D Running Gait Analysis to measure exact impact forces. |
| Technology | Generic advice or basic stretching. | Shockwave Therapy (ESWT) to trigger biological healing. |
| Orthotics | “Off-the-shelf” foam or gel inserts. | Precision 3D-Printed Orthotics tailored to your specific arch profile. |
| Expertise | General medical advice. | Specialist Podiatrists focused exclusively on lower limb biomechanics. |
At Podiatry Quest, we use a multi-modal approach. We don’t just give you a device; we provide a clinical strategy to resolve your Plantar Fasciitis and ensure it stays away.
We begin by identifying exactly why your fascia is overloaded. Using Runeasi 3D Running Gait Analysis – the first and only of its kind in Singapore podiatry – we capture objective data on how your foot strikes the ground, and the way your body and tissues react to it. We measure:
Impact Loading: Are you hitting the ground too hard?
Asymmetry: Is one foot working harder than the other?
Stability: Is your foot and lower limb experiencing high internal rotation, “collapsing” and overstretching the fascia?
For chronic heel pain, stretching isn’t always enough. We utilise Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (ESWT). This non-invasive “gold standard” treatment sends acoustic pressure waves into the damaged fascia to:
Stimulate blood flow and nutrient delivery.
Break down scar tissue and calcifications.
Accelerate natural tissue regeneration, turning a “stuck” chronic injury into an active healing one.
To prevent the pain from returning, we must change how your foot interacts with the ground. Our Customised Foot Orthotics are not generic cushions; they are:
3D Scanned: Captured using sub-millimeter laser precision.
3D Printed: Engineered with specific flex zones to support your arch while allowing natural movement.
Evidence-Based: Designed to permanently reduce the tensile strain and compressive load on your plantar fascia.
Healing requires a balance. Your Podiatrist will design a tailored strengthening and stretching exercise rehab programme to strengthen the intrinsic muscles of your foot and calf. This ensures that as you return to running or long walks in Singapore, your body is resilient enough to handle the load.
In a world of “maximalist” cushions and “carbon-plated” runners, finding the right shoe for Plantar Fasciitis can be overwhelming. A shoe that works for one person may aggravate the heel pain of another. At Podiatry Quest, we provide evidence-based footwear advice that moves beyond brand names to focus on functional mechanics.
Personalised Selection: We don’t just look at the shoe; we use your clinical assessment results, including 3D Running Gait Analysis results, to determine the exact level of stability, heel-to-toe drop, and “rocker” geometry your foot requires to offload the fascia.
The “Activity Match”: Whether you need professional shoes for the office, high-mileage running shoes, or supportive footwear for home use on Singapore’s hard floors, we provide a specific list of models suited to your foot profile.
We have helped over 1000+ patients in Singapore return to pain-free walking. Let us help you!
With professional podiatry intervention, most patients experience significant relief within 4-6 weeks. However, chronic cases may take longer. We use Shockwave Therapy and 3D Printed Orthotics to accelerate the healing process compared to rest alone.
Yes, over 95% of Plantar Fasciitis cases are successfully treated with non-surgical methods. Our approach in Singapore focuses on biomechanical correction, load management, and Shockwave Therapy to heal the tissue without invasive procedures.
Overnight, the plantar fascia shortens and stiffens in a contracted position. Your first steps ‘re-tear’ and irritates that stiff fascia tissue, causing sharp pain. Our podiatrists provide specific stretching protocols and footwear recommendations to prevent this morning discomfort.
While good footwear is essential, shoes alone rarely fix the root cause. A clinical assessment is needed to create a personalised roadmap, combining strengthening and stretching exercises, shockwave therapy, insoles, and specific footwear advice, to give you long lasting permanent relief.
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Appointment basis; please reach out!
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Saturday: Closed
Sunday & Public Holidays: Closed
Appointment basis only; please reach out!
Monday: 9am – 6pm
Tuesday: Closed
Wednesday: Closed
Thursday: Closed
Friday: 9am – 6pm
Saturday: Closed
Sunday & Public Holidays: Closed
