My Heel Told Me to Slow Down….
Plantar fascia pain is teaching me about load, adaptation and keeping an ageing body movingdy moving
There is something mildly irritating about deciding to get fitter and stronger in your 60s, only to have a body part lodge a complaint. In my case, it was my heel. Over recent months, I'd been deliberately doing more — walking more briskly, increased wood stacking; gradually increasing the weights I use for strength training and generally trying to build a stronger, more capable body. Add flat feet and ageing orthotics and eventually my heel decided it had something to say.
My heel isn't completely settled, so this isn't a triumphant "Here's how I cured plantar fasciitis" story.
It's simply what I'm learning while working my way through it. And the biggest lesson hasn't really been about feet. It's been about adaptation. As we get older, there will inevitably be times when a knee, shoulder, back, hip — or in my case, heel — objects to something we're doing.
Maybe healthy ageing isn't about avoiding the niggles. It's about learning how to keep moving when they arrive.