Barefoot running on grass as a potential treatment for plantar fasciitis: a prospective case series

Key Points

1. This study presents a case series of recreational runners with plantar heel pain who undertook a barefoot running intervention on grass for six weeks.

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BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE

Plantar heel pain - the contemporary term that encompasses plantar fasciitis – is a common cause of foot pain in both athletic (active) and non-athletic (sedentary) individuals. Most plantar heel pain research has been conducted in non-athletic populations and there is limited research that reports treatment outcomes in athletic populations, including athletic-specific interventions (1).

This study presented a case series of runners with plantar heel pain who undertook a barefoot running intervention on grass.

There is limited research on plantar heel pain that reports treatment outcomes in athletic populations.

For at least a subset of recreational runners, barefoot running (on grass) might be a feasible/tolerated treatment option.

METHODS

• 28 recreational runners (minimum 5km/week) with existing symptoms of plantar heel pain participated in the study.

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