Can plantar fasciitis cause neck pain? If you’ve been battling heel pain and suddenly find your neck stiff or aching, you might be surprised to learn the answer is likely “yes.” While it seems strange that your feet could affect your neck, the body works as a single, interconnected chain.
At Back on Track Therapy, we see this happen frequently. A patient comes in for foot pain but mentions headaches or neck tension, or vice versa. The reality is that your feet are the foundation of your body. When that foundation is unstable due to conditions like plantar fasciitis, the effects ripple upward, potentially causing pain in your knees, hips, back, and yes—even your neck.
In this post, we’ll explore how this “kinetic chain” works, why ignoring foot pain can lead to issues elsewhere, and what you can do to fix it.
The Kinetic Chain: How Your Feet Affect Your Neck
To understand how plantar fasciitis can cause neck pain, you have to look at the body as a connected system, often referred to by physical therapists as the “kinetic chain.”
Think of your body like a building. If the foundation (your feet) shifts or becomes unstable, the walls (your legs and torso) and the roof (your head and neck) have to adjust to keep the structure standing.
When you have plantar fasciitis, the sharp pain in your heel often forces you to change the way you walk—a phenomenon known as “compensatory gait.” You might limp slightly, shorten your stride, or put more weight on the outside of your foot to avoid the pain.
This change in movement doesn’t just stay in the foot. It travels up the chain:
- Ankles and Knees: Your ankles may roll, causing your knees to rotate inward or outward.
- Hips and Pelvis: To balance the uneven gait, one hip may hike up higher than the other, tilting your pelvis.
- Spine: A tilted pelvis curves the lower spine (lumbar), which forces the upper spine (thoracic and cervical) to curve in the opposite direction to keep your head level.
- Neck: Finally, your neck muscles have to work overtime to stabilize your head on top of a misaligned spine.
Over time, this constant muscle tension leads to stiffness, soreness, and pain in the neck.
Why “Compensating” for Pain Causes More Pain
Our bodies are incredibly smart. When we feel pain, our brain instantly tells our muscles to guard that area or move differently to avoid the hurt. While this protects the injured foot in the short term, it creates long-term problems elsewhere.
If you are dealing with chronic plantar fasciitis, you may have been walking with an altered gait for months. This means your neck muscles have been compensating for months.
Common signs that your foot pain is affecting your upper body include:
- One shoulder appearing higher than the other.
- Chronic tension headaches.
- Stiffness in the neck that doesn’t go away with stretching.
- Lower back pain on the opposite side of your foot pain.
If you are in Lima, OH, or the surrounding areas and suspect your neck pain might be rooted in your feet, our Physical Therapy team can perform a full gait analysis to see exactly how your body is compensating.
The Role of Fascia
Another reason plantar fasciitis can cause neck pain lies in the fascia itself. Fascia is a thin casing of connective tissue that surrounds and holds every organ, blood vessel, bone, nerve fiber, and muscle in place.
It’s not just separate patches of tissue; there are continuous lines of fascia running through the body. The “Superficial Back Line” runs from the bottom of your toes, around the heel, up the calves and hamstrings, along the spine, and over the scalp to your eyebrows.
Because this tissue is continuous, tightness in the plantar fascia (the bottom of the foot) can create tension along the entire back line, pulling on the fascia in the neck and head. This is often why rolling a tennis ball under your foot can sometimes release tension in your neck!
Treating the Root Cause, Not Just the Symptom
If your neck pain is caused by your feet, treating only the neck won’t solve the problem. You might get temporary relief from a massage or neck stretches, but as soon as you stand up and walk on that painful heel again, the cycle restarts.
To get lasting relief, you need to address the foundation.
1. Fix the Foot Mechanics
The first step is addressing the plantar fasciitis directly. This might involve Orthopedic Therapy to strengthen the small muscles of the foot, improve ankle mobility, and reduce inflammation in the fascia.
2. Correct Your Gait
Once the pain is manageable, we need to retrain you to walk correctly. A Running Analysis or gait training session can identify where you are limping or compensating. By consciously correcting your stride, you allow your hips and spine to realign, taking the pressure off your neck.
3. Release the Tension Up the Chain
Physical therapy isn’t just about exercises. We use hands-on techniques to release the tight muscles that have been overworking.
- Dry Needling: This is highly effective for releasing trigger points (knots) in the calf, hamstring, and neck muscles that have developed due to poor mechanics.
- Cupping: This can help lift and separate the fascia, increasing blood flow and mobility along that “Superficial Back Line” we discussed earlier.
4. Strengthen the Core and Hips
A strong core acts as a buffer between your lower and upper body. If your hips and core are stable, they can absorb some of the impact from walking, preventing it from traveling all the way up to your neck.
When Should You See a Physical Therapist?
If you have been treating neck pain for weeks with no relief, or if you notice your neck flares up after a long day of walking on a sore foot, it’s time to get a professional assessment.
You do not need to live with chronic pain. Whether it’s a sports injury, age-related mobility issues, or just the wear and tear of daily life, our team at Back on Track Therapy is here to help. We are problem solvers who look at the whole picture—connecting the dots between your foot pain and your neck tension.
We serve patients in Lima, Shawnee, and the surrounding communities with personalized care plans designed to get you back to the active lifestyle you deserve.
Ready to Align Your Body?
Don’t let a foot problem become a neck problem (or a back problem!). If you are ready to find the root cause of your pain, contact us today.
Request an appointment at our Lima or Shawnee clinics and let our expert team help you heal naturally. Most patients feel relief after their first session!
