Runner’s Guide to Plantar Fasciitis: Relief with Functional Rehab in Bend
When Every Step Hurts
Heel pain in the morning, post-run tightness, and stabbing pain with each step—these are the hallmark symptoms of plantar fasciitis.
It’s one of the most common (and frustrating) injuries for casual and competitive runners. Left unaddressed, it can derail training and make even simple daily movement uncomfortable, especially when hitting the road or trails.
At Power Performance Chiropractic (PPC), we take a comprehensive approach to get runners back on track: chiropractic care, functional rehab, and soft tissue therapy to reduce strain. We don’t just ease symptoms. Our approach targets the root cause.
In this blog, we’ll share Dr. Chandler’s practical solutions and a clear recovery roadmap. Keep reading to learn more about running injury treatment and sign up for our mailing list for more expert insights, recovery tips, and performance hacks straight from your trusted running injury chiropractor in Bend, Oregon.
What Is Plantar Fasciitis?
Plantar fasciitis is a painful condition involving inflammation or degeneration of the plantar fascia, connective tissue running along the bottom of the foot. This tissue supports the arch and absorbs shock during movement. But when overstressed, it can become irritated or damaged.
Several factors can contribute to plantar fasciitis, including overuse from repetitive activities like running, poor foot mechanics like high arches, tight calf muscles, weak glutes or core, and inadequate footwear, especially shoes without proper cushioning or support.
Common symptoms of plantar fasciitis include:
Sharp heel pain, with pain worse in the morning or after sitting for a while
Many people also experience tenderness through the arch or a lingering ache after activity
Runners are especially prone to plantar fasciitis because of the repetitive ground impact with each stride, combined with poor mobility.
The best way for runners with foot or heel pain in Bend to get back on their feet is functional rehab specifically for runners.
Manual Adjustments: Improving Lower Limb Mechanics
When dealing with plantar fasciitis, it’s important to look beyond the foot itself.
A plantar fascia treatment chiropractor like Dr. Chandler can provide manual adjustments that play a key role by addressing restrictions throughout the lower limb and spine. The ankle and subtalar joint, for example, are crucial for smooth foot movement and shock absorption. When these joints are stiff or misaligned, the plantar fascia often takes on more stress than it should.
Similarly, restrictions in the hips or spine can alter mechanics further up the kinetic chain, changing how forces are transferred down to the foot. This imbalance can create compensations in gait that overload the plantar fascia with each step.
By restoring proper joint mobility through precise chiropractic adjustments, movement becomes more efficient and balanced. Improved gait mechanics mean less strain on the plantar fascia and surrounding tissues, allowing healing to occur.
For runners and active individuals, these adjustments not only relieve current symptoms but also help prevent recurring injury by promoting smoother, more natural movement patterns throughout the body.
Soft Tissue Therapy for the Foot & Lower Leg
Soft tissue therapy is a cornerstone of plantar fasciitis care, addressing the overloaded and tight structures that contribute to pain.
One of the most effective methods is Active Release Technique (ART), a hands-on approach that targets adhesions within the plantar fascia, calves, and Achilles tendon. ART identifies and treats muscle adhesions causing pain or restricted movement through targeted manual adjustments, helping restore optimal muscle function and improve recovery for patients worldwide.
In addition to ART, manual release techniques are applied to often-overlooked muscles such as the arch of the foot, the peroneals along the outer shin, and the posterior tibialis deep behind the calf. Tension in these muscles can alter foot mechanics, placing extra stress on the plantar fascia. By releasing these trigger points, the foot and ankle can function more naturally during walking or running.
For deeper fascial restrictions, instrument-assisted techniques such as Functional and Kinetic Treatment with Rehabilitation (FAKTR) are used. These tools help reach stubborn areas and promote a more profound release.
Together, these therapies improve tissue pliability, enhance local circulation, and decrease inflammation. The result is less pain, greater mobility, and a faster path back to activity.
Functional Rehab: Rebuilding Strength, Stability, and Mechanics
While stretching can provide temporary relief for plantar fasciitis, it rarely addresses the underlying issues that cause the condition to persist. Lasting recovery requires functional rehabilitation that rebuilds strength, stability, and proper movement mechanics from the ground up to provide plantar fascia relief without cortisone.
At PPC, rehab begins by targeting the weak foot musculature that often allows the plantar fascia to become overloaded. Dr. Chandler also targets poor ankle mobility and glute and core weakness, which shifts excess stress downward.
A foundational plantar fasciitis recovery exercise is the short foot exercise, which trains the intrinsic foot muscles to support the arch. From there, patients progress to toe yoga, isolating toe movements to enhance coordination and strength across the foot.
To prevent tight or dysfunctional calves from contributing to plantar fascia strain, eccentric calf raises are introduced. These not only stretch the Achilles–calf complex, but also build resilience in the tissues that absorb impact with every step.
Exercises such as glute bridges and single-leg stability drills retrain the body to distribute forces properly through the kinetic chain.
PPC’s model gradually progresses these exercises—from simple, controlled movements to more dynamic, sport-specific drills—ensuring strength and stability carry over into real-life activity like running.
The Power Performance Chiropractic Difference
Dr. Chandler’s extensive background in sports chiropractic equips him to treat athletes of all levels with precision and insight. With a deep-rooted passion for athletics, he is committed to helping all athletes enhance their performance with first-rate, advanced treatments, whether your sport is golf, weightlifting, running recovery, pickleball, or other activities.
His goal is to empower patients to move better, feel better, and achieve their highest potential.
At PPC, athletes receive one-on-one, athlete-focused care designed to get them back to peak performance. What sets PPC apart is its unique blend of therapies. Chiropractic adjustments restore alignment and mechanics, ART breaks up adhesions, functional rehab builds lasting strength and stability, and Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) training is integrated when targeted strengthening is needed.
PPC is also the only sports chiropractic clinic in Bend offering WinBack Tecar Therapy, an advanced recovery treatment that harnesses the power of TECAR (Transfer of Energy Capacitive and Resistive) technology to help active bodies heal faster, move better, and stay in the game safely and naturally. The treatment works by delivering a high-frequency to stimulate deep tissue healing, circulation, and cellular regeneration. By targeting muscles, tendons, and joints at the cellular level, TECAR therapy helps reduce inflammation, manage pain, and enhance rehabilitation.
Most importantly, every program is customized—not just to the condition, but to the runner’s biomechanics, personal goals, and even their race calendar.
Typical Recovery Timeline & Real Runner Results
At PPC, plantar fasciitis recovery is mapped out in clear, progressive phases to ensure lasting results.
Phase 1 (1–3 weeks):
The focus is on pain reduction through manual therapy and mobility work. This stage helps calm irritation in the plantar fascia so athletes can move more comfortably.
Phase 2 (3–6 weeks):
Once pain is under control, rehab shifts toward rebuilding strength, foot control, and proper gait mechanics. Targeted exercises retrain the foot, calves, glutes, and core to handle daily and athletic demands without overloading the fascia.
Phase 3 (6–10 weeks):
The final stage emphasizes sport-specific return. Runners gradually reintroduce long runs and load tolerance, while continuing corrective exercises to maintain strength and mobility.
Many athletes report noticeable relief within the first few weeks and steady progress as they move through the program. By 8–10 weeks, runners are often back to consistent training with reduced pain, improved mechanics, and greater resilience against future setbacks.
Run Pain-Free in Bend
Plantar fasciitis can be one of the most stubborn injuries for runners, but with the right plan, it’s absolutely treatable.
At PPC, Dr. Chandler’s approach blends modern sports chiropractic care with proven rehab techniques to address the root causes of pain, not just the symptoms. From hands-on adjustments and soft tissue therapy to targeted strength and mobility training, every step of care is tailored to the unique demands of running.
Don’t let heel pain or runner foot pain set you back.
PPC helps Bend runners return to the trails, roads, and races stronger, more efficient, and pain-free.
