Heel Pain: Pressure Points for Plantar Fasciitis (KI1 and BL60)

Where the Heel pain area (KI1, BL60) Zone Sits

This page is different from the other foot pages. It is not one reflex zone but three places, all used for the same complaint: a sore heel.

The first is the heel pad itself. Turn your sole toward you. The thick, rounded cushion at the back is the heel pad. In plantar fasciitis the sore spot is usually toward the front of the pad and slightly to the inner side, where the heel meets the arch. Many people can put a fingertip on it.

The second is a hollow in the sole. Curl your toes hard. A small dip appears in the sole behind the ball of the foot, a little toward the inner side of centre. Standard reference works place it about a third of the way from the base of the second and third toes to the back of the heel, not counting the toes. In Vietnamese traditional medicine it is the first point on the line known in English as the Kidney channel. Its old name translates as the gushing spring.

The third is on the outside of the ankle. Find the round bone that sticks out there. Slide your finger straight back from its most prominent part into the soft hollow between the bone and the thick cord at the back of the heel. That hollow belongs to the line known as the Bladder channel, which runs down the back of the body and ends at the little toe.

Under the heel pad lies the heel bone, cushioned by a dense pad of fat that thins with age. Attached to the front of its underside is the plantar fascia, a tough band of tissue. It fans forward to the bases of the toes and holds up the arch like a bowstring. Where it pulls on the heel bone is where most heel pain sits. The skin of the inner heel is supplied by small branches of the tibial nerve. The sole hollow lies over the same band of tissue and, deeper, the small muscles that curl the toes. The ankle hollow sits beside the heel cord, with a small skin nerve (the sural nerve) and a surface vein close by.

Why This Area

Plantar fasciitis is the commonest cause of a sore heel in adults. It shows up as a stabbing pain under the heel with the first steps out of bed, or when standing up after sitting. It eases a little as you walk, then aches again by the end of the day.

The three places on this page come at it from different directions. The heel pad is the local tissue, the place that hurts. The sole hollow sits on the same band of tissue, further forward, so you can ease it without pressing on the sorest part. The ankle hollow is the traditional distant point, a place practitioners commonly reach for when the heel, ankle or back of the leg aches.

We will not tell you what happens inside the heel when you press. What is honest to say is that these three places are commonly used together for a sore heel and for plantar fasciitis, and that they are easy to reach sitting in a chair.

Where This Map Comes From

Unlike the reflex zones elsewhere on this site, two of the three places on this page have a long written history.

The earliest layer is the Spiritual Pivot (Ling Shu), the second half of the Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic, compiled in the Han dynasty. One of its chapters describes the Kidney channel starting under the little toe and slanting across to the centre of the sole. Another lists, for each main channel, five points running from the tips of the fingers and toes up toward the elbows and knees. The gushing spring is the first of these for the Kidney channel: the place where, in the old picture, the channel's flow first rises out of the ground. The hollow behind the outer ankle bone is named in the same list for the Bladder channel.

That hollow carries a name taken from a great mountain range in western China, because the ankle bone beside it rises like a peak. Later manuals added a caution for pregnancy to this point. That caution has been copied forward ever since, which is why it appears on this page.

The heel pad is a different story. In modern foot reflexology, the heel as a whole is mapped to the pelvis and the base of the spine. That system began with William Fitzgerald and Edwin Bowers's book Zone Therapy in 1917. It was turned into detailed foot charts by Eunice Ingham in the 1930s, and spread through Taiwan, mainland China and Vietnam from the 1980s. Those reflex maps are modern and are not in the classical Chinese texts. On this page we work the heel pad for its own sake, as the place that hurts, not as a reflex of anything else.

Zones That Work With the Heel pain area (KI1, BL60) Zone

The sciatic bands on the lower leg. From the hollow behind each ankle bone, a band climbs the back edge of the leg bone toward the knee. Many people with a sore heel have tight calves, and walking these bands loosens the area above the heel. See the sciatic nerve zone.

The inner tailbone band, round the inner back corner of the heel. It curves from the sole up toward the heel cord. Working it covers the back of the heel without pressing on the sore spot underneath. See the inner tailbone zone.

The outer tailbone band, round the outer back corner of the heel. The mirror of the inner band, ending close to the ankle hollow on this page. Work it on your way to the ankle hollow. See the outer tailbone zone.

How to Press the Heel pain area (KI1, BL60) Zone

Getting Into Position

Sit in a firm chair with your back supported. Rest the sore foot across the opposite knee, so the sole turns toward you. Keep your shoulders down; your hand should rest on the foot, not hover over it.

If crossing your leg is hard, rest the foot on a stool and lean forward only as far as is comfortable. For the sole, a bottle of water rolled under the arch while you sit is a fair alternative. The ankle hollow is easy to reach in almost any position, even sitting on the edge of the bed.

How to Find It

For the sole hollow, curl your toes. Look for the dip that forms behind the ball of the foot, a little toward the big-toe side of centre. Put your thumb in it, then relax the toes. Press gently and you will usually feel a sharp, pinpoint tenderness that is clearly different from the tissue around it.

For the heel pad, press your thumb slowly across the front of the heel until you find the tender spot. Note its edges. That is where you will work, not the centre.

For the ankle hollow, put a fingertip on the most prominent part of the round bone on the outside of the ankle. Slide straight back until the finger drops into a soft gap before the heel cord. A dull ache there, spreading a little toward the heel, means you have arrived.

How to Press It

Sole hollow: thumb tip, pressing in and slightly toward the heel. Hold for five slow breaths, ease off, rest one breath, and repeat three times.

Heel pad: walk your thumb in small steps round the edge of the sore spot, and forward along the inner arch toward the ball of the foot. Use the pad, never the nail. Do not dig into the centre.

Ankle hollow: pinch gently between thumb and first finger, with the finger in the outer hollow and the thumb in the matching hollow on the inside of the ankle. Squeeze toward each other, not into the cord. Five slow breaths, rest one, three times.

How Much Pressure

On the sole hollow and the ankle, firm enough to feel a sharp, pinpoint tenderness, light enough to keep talking. On the heel pad, lighter than you think. A sore heel will tell you quickly if you have gone too far: a sharp, bright pain that lingers after you lift off means ease back next time. If you take blood-thinning medicine or bruise easily, use half the pressure.

How Long

About a minute on each of the three places, three minutes per foot. Start with the sore foot, then do the other more briefly. Two or three times a day is plenty, and more is not better.

When to Do It

The most useful moment is before your first steps in the morning. Sit on the edge of the bed, work the sole hollow, flex your ankle up and down ten times, then stand. Do the same before standing up after a long sit. A third round in the evening, with your feet up, suits many people. Wait an hour after a meal, and drink a glass of warm water afterwards.

What This Won't Do

It will not dissolve a heel spur, repair the band of tissue under the foot, or rebuild a heel pad that has thinned. A spur, by the way, is common in people with no heel pain at all, and is often not the cause.

What people report is smaller. The first steps of the morning are less of a shock. The heel tolerates a walk round the shops a little better. Some feel nothing for a week or two. Some feel nothing at all. Most plantar fasciitis settles slowly over months whatever you do. Calf stretches, supportive shoes with a cushioned heel, insoles and not walking barefoot on hard floors usually matter more than pressure work. This sits alongside them.

Some heel pain is not plantar fasciitis. See a doctor if the pain began with a fall, a jump or a sudden snap at the back of the heel. The same goes for a heel that is hot, red or swollen, pain at night when you are resting, or pain with fever. Burning, tingling or numbness spreading into the sole needs checking too, as do several joints swollen at once, or a heel you cannot put weight on. Pressure work sits alongside medical care. It does not replace any medicine or exercise you have been given, and should never delay an appointment.

Safety First

If you are pregnant, skip this one. The hollow behind the outer ankle bone carries a caution in pregnancy going back to the old manuals. We make no claim about what it does or does not do, but there is no reason to take the chance. The manual we follow also says foot work is not suitable during pregnancy or while menstruating.

If you have varicose veins or have ever had a blood clot in the leg, do not press round the ankle; keep to the sole. If you have diabetes, keep a session under 10 minutes and check your feet, especially the heels, for cracks or marks. If feeling in your feet is reduced, ask your doctor before you start. Do not press cracked, broken or infected skin; use the matching spot on the hand instead. If you have kidney disease, keep the glass of water to about 150 ml. Stop if the sensation turns burning or numb, or the pain stays after you lift off, and read the full safety guide before you carry on.

Questions People Ask

Where are the pressure points for plantar fasciitis on the foot? Three places are used. The first is the hollow in the sole, behind the ball of the foot, that appears when you curl your toes. The second is the edge of the sore area on the heel pad itself. The third is the soft hollow on the outside of the ankle, between the round ankle bone and the thick cord at the back of the heel.

Should I press right on the sorest spot of my heel? No. Pressing hard into the centre of an angry heel usually makes it worse. Work slowly around its edges and along the arch in front of it. As the heel settles over the weeks, you can move a little closer.

Is it safe to press these points if I am pregnant? If you are pregnant, skip this one. The point behind the outer ankle bone carries a caution in pregnancy going back to the old manuals, and the source we follow says foot work as a whole is not suitable in pregnancy. Ask your midwife or doctor about heel pain instead.

Why is my heel worst with the first steps in the morning? Overnight the band of tissue under your foot rests in a shortened position. The first steps stretch it suddenly. That is why many people find it helps to press the sole hollow and flex the foot gently a few times before standing up.

Should I work one foot or both? Start with the sore foot and give it more time. Then do the other foot more briefly. Many people find the second heel is more tender than they expected, because they have been shifting weight onto it.

Can I roll my foot on a bottle instead? Yes, as an alternative if bending is hard. Sit, put a bottle of water on the floor and roll the arch slowly over it, from behind the ball of the foot back to the front of the heel. Stop short of the sorest part of the heel. Some people use a bottle from the fridge.

Other Zones on the Foot

These zones sit close by on the same foot and are often worked in the same sitting.

Read More

• The Foot Pressure Point for Sciatica and Tailbone Pain

This page shares general information about a traditional practice. It is not medical advice and does not replace what your doctor has given you. If you are pregnant, managing a health condition, or unsure whether this applies to you, check with your doctor first.

The whole inner edge of the foot, laid out on one page with photographs, is in The Foot Map — the free book. For every zone on the foot, see the full foot zone index.

Prefer to work on your hands? See the hand pressure point library — 15 points you can press with your thumb, sitting in a chair.

(Area shown: heel · KI1 Yongquan · BL60 Kunlun.)