Why I built this

My feet started hurting in the spring of 2021. I was training for a half marathon — nothing serious, just a goal I'd set to get myself moving after spending most of the pandemic at a standing desk that I mostly sat at. Around mile six of my long runs, I'd feel this familiar pulling sensation under my left heel. By the time I finished, it was a sharp stab with every step. By the next morning, the first few minutes out of bed felt like walking on broken glass.

Plantar fasciitis. My GP said it like it was something that just happened to people, the way knees wear out or backs give way. He referred me to a sports podiatrist, who was great — thorough, patient, clearly knew his stuff. He took one look at my gait, watched me walk, pressed his thumb into the inside of my heel, and said: "Custom orthotics, calf stretches, rest from running."

The orthotics were $385. I did the stretches religiously. I rested for eight weeks. And it helped — the acute pain calmed down. So I went back to running. And within three weeks it was back, worse than before.

I went back to the podiatrist. He said the orthotics needed adjustment, and that I probably needed to accept that this would be a chronic management situation. He wasn't wrong, exactly. But I wasn't satisfied with chronic management. I was 34 years old and I'd barely started running.

So I went down the rabbit hole.

I read every paper I could find on plantar fasciitis treatment. I found the research on toe spacers — specifically a systematic review that found consistent evidence for pain reduction and alignment improvement. I ordered three different brands and wore them while I worked. I found the McKeon foot core paper and started doing the intrinsic strengthening exercises my physiotherapist had mentioned but never really emphasized. I started rolling a lacrosse ball under my arch every morning, then switched to a cork ball after reading about optimal fascia release pressure, and the difference was immediate and noticeable.

Somewhere around week eight of doing all three things together — spacing, rolling, strengthening — I realized the morning pain was gone. Not better. Gone. I did a cautious four-mile run. Nothing. I did eight miles two weeks later. Fine.

I don't fully understand why the combination worked when individual interventions hadn't. The most honest answer is probably this: plantar fasciitis isn't one problem, so treating one thing was never going to be enough. The alignment, the fascial tension, and the muscular weakness all needed addressing at once. Ten minutes a day did what months of orthotics and rest hadn't.

I started telling everyone who would listen. My partner, who had her own low-grade bunion pain. My colleague who'd been limping through his morning commute for two years. My neighbour who'd given up running at 52 because of heel pain. All of them tried the combination. All of them reported meaningful improvement.

What bothered me was that I couldn't find a brand selling quality versions of all three tools together, with honest copy about what they do and what the science shows. What existed was either cheap Amazon generics with no guidance, or expensive individual products sold separately with no system logic connecting them.

I spent the better part of a year finding the right silicone formulation for the spacer, sourcing cork from the right Portuguese supplier, calibrating the band resistance for the intrinsic muscles specifically. I tested prototypes on about forty people before I was satisfied. Then I built the website.

The Foot Method is the system I wish had existed in 2021. Three tools, ten minutes a day, research-backed, no miracle claims. Method, not magic.

— Founder, The Foot Method