Plantar fasciitis causes about 80% of the heel pain we see, and it has a recognizable signature. Check your symptoms against these five signs. (And note the two red-flag exceptions at the end that mean it's probably something else.)
1. The first steps of the morning are the worst
The classic tell. Overnight, the injured fascia tightens and partially "sets." Your first steps re-stretch it, hence that stabbing, glass-in-the-heel sensation that eases as you warm up. If you dread the walk from bed to bathroom, think fasciitis first.
2. Sitting a while resets the pain
Same mechanism, smaller scale: after a long drive, a movie, or a desk session, standing up relights the heel. Pain that spikes after rest (rather than during activity) points strongly to the fascia.
3. The tender spot is at the inner front edge of your heel
Press where your heel pad meets your arch, slightly toward the inside of your foot. Plantar fasciitis is usually exquisitely tender right there, at the fascia's attachment point, rather than in the center of the heel pad or at the back of the heel.
4. It hurts more barefoot on hard floors
Tile and hardwood offer the fascia no help. If flip-flops and barefoot kitchen laps aggravate it while cushioned sneakers calm it, that's load sensitivity, very fasciitis-typical.
5. It tracks your time on your feet
Long workdays, big walking days, a return to running after time off, flare. Lazy Sundays, better. A heel that bills you by the hour of standing is telling you its support tissue is overloaded.
Two signs it's probably NOT plantar fasciitis
Burning, tingling, or numbness suggests a nerve problem, see our neuropathy guide. Pain at the back of the heel near the cord points to the Achilles. And pain with every single step that's worsening week over week deserves an exam to rule out a stress fracture. Full breakdown: every cause of heel pain.
What to do this week
- Swap the footwear: supportive shoes even at home; retire the dead sneakers and flat flip-flops.
- Stretch the chain: gentle calf and plantar fascia stretches morning and evening, before those first steps if you can.
- Manage load, don't zero it: trade some impact minutes for bike or pool time; total rest rarely fixes fasciitis.
- Book the exam if it's been more than 2–3 weeks: early plantar fasciitis is quick to treat; the 8-month version is not. Our treatment options, from laser to shockwave, work best before degeneration digs in.
Checked 3 or more boxes?
That's plantar fasciitis until proven otherwise, and it's very fixable.