Plantar fasciitis and menopause: heel and foot pain, what helps and when to get it checked

The first few steps out of bed are the worst. A sharp pain stabs into your heel or the arch of your foot. It eases once you get moving, then creeps back after a long day on your feet. Or perhaps the ache is in the ball of your foot, or around your toes.

If this has started in your 40s or 50s, it's natural to wonder about plantar fasciitis and menopause. The timing certainly fits. The NHS says plantar fasciitis is more likely if you're aged about 40 to 60. It also lists muscle aches and joint pains among the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause.

But foot pain itself isn't on the NHS list of menopause symptoms, and the research on a direct link is very thin. Here's what's known, what helps, and when to get your feet checked.

What is plantar fasciitis?

The plantar fascia is a tough band of tissue under your foot. It joins your heel bone to the base of your toes. Plantar fasciitis is when it gets strained, causing pain under your heel and arch. The NHS says the exact reason is often unclear.

The Royal College of Podiatry calls it the most common type of heel pain. It says there's often nothing to see on the heel. Instead, you get deep, sore spots in or around the middle of the sole of your heel.

The NHS says the signs are:

• pain on the bottom of your foot, around your heel and arch
• pain that's worst when you take your first steps after sleeping or resting
• pain that eases once you get moving, but comes back after a lot of standing or walking
• pain when you stretch the sole of your foot, such as raising your toes or climbing stairs

Is plantar fasciitis linked to menopause?

The honest answer is: maybe, but nobody knows yet.

The timing overlaps. The NHS says you're more likely to get plantar fasciitis between about 40 and 60. The Royal College of Podiatry says it's common in middle age, in people who are overweight or stand for long periods, and in athletes.

Women in midlife seem to get it more. A 2026 UK study from Newcastle notes that heel pain affects women aged 40 to 60 at about twice the rate of men, at the same time as perimenopause and menopause. But the authors say it's uncertain whether menopause actually causes it.

Few people have thought about it. That same study ran focus groups with 17 people who had heel pain and were in perimenopause or past the menopause. About three in four hadn't thought there might be a link. Many said no health professional had raised it either. Everyone agreed it needs more research.

Aches are a known menopause symptom. The NHS lists muscle aches and joint pains as menopause symptoms. Our pages on menopause joint pain and the musculoskeletal syndrome of menopause explain more about why your body may ache at this stage of life.

So it's fair to say that heel pain is common at the age most women go through the menopause. But no one has shown that menopause causes plantar fasciitis. Be wary of anyone who says otherwise.

What else could be causing my foot pain?

Not all foot pain is plantar fasciitis. Other common causes include:

Cause	Clues
Morton's neuroma	Sharp, burning or shooting pain near your toes. It can feel like a small stone under your foot
Corns or calluses	Hard, thick skin that hurts when pressed or when you walk
A verruca	Hard skin with a black dot in it, painful when pressed
A sprain	Pain, swelling and bruising, often after hard or repeated exercise
Flat feet	No arch when you stand, so the whole sole presses on the floor
Gout	Sudden, severe pain, usually in the big toe, with hot, swollen skin
Nerve damage	Numbness, tingling, burning or shooting pain in your feet

These come from the NHS pages on pain in the bottom of the foot, gout and peripheral neuropathy.

A few of these are worth knowing more about in midlife:

• Gout is more common in men. But the NHS lists menopause as one of the things that can make it more likely.
• Nerve damage in the feet is most often caused by diabetes in the UK, the NHS says. Pins and needles, numbness or burning feet should always be checked by a GP.
• Other heel problems. The Royal College of Podiatry lists a sore heel pad, which gives a dull ache that gets worse through the day. It also lists heel bursitis, a trapped nerve that causes burning or tingling under the heel, and problems with the Achilles tendon. It adds that heel pain can come from lower back problems or from inflammatory joint conditions.

What helps plantar fasciitis and foot pain?

The good news is that the NHS says you can usually ease plantar fasciitis yourself. The Royal College of Podiatry agrees that most heel pain settles with simple self-care.

Things to try now

From the NHS:

• Rest and raise your foot when you can.
• Use ice. Hold an ice pack, or a bag of frozen peas, wrapped in a towel on the sore spot for up to 20 minutes every 2 to 3 hours.
• Wear shoes with good cushioning and support, and try insoles or heel pads.
• Do gentle stretches for your foot and ankle.
• Swap to low-impact exercise, such as swimming.
• Ask a pharmacist which painkiller is right for you.
• Aim for a healthy weight if you're carrying extra weight.

Things to avoid

• standing or walking for long periods
• high heels, and tight, pointy shoes
• flip-flops and backless slippers
• walking barefoot on hard floors

Tips from the podiatrists

The Royal College of Podiatry adds a few more:

• avoid shoes that don't fit well or aren't comfortable
• choose shoes with good heel cushioning and arch support
• walk and exercise on hard ground as little as you can
• rest often, and try not to walk or run too fast
• a slightly raised heel can help, rather than completely flat shoes (the college suggests no more than 6 to 10mm higher than normal)

Because the NHS advises against walking barefoot on hard floors, it may help to keep supportive shoes by the bed for those painful first steps.

What a pharmacist can offer

A pharmacist can advise on the best painkiller for you, insoles and pads, and whether you need to see a GP, the NHS says. They can also suggest treatments for hard skin and verrucas.

What a GP, physio or podiatrist can offer

If it isn't getting better, the NHS says you may be referred to:

• a physiotherapist, who can teach you exercises
• a podiatrist (a foot specialist), who can suggest insoles, the right shoes, or splints to wear at night

If those don't help, other options include steroid injections or a treatment called shock-wave therapy. Surgery is rarely needed.

In many areas you can refer yourself to NHS physiotherapy or community musculoskeletal (MSK) services without seeing a GP first. The NHS says podiatry may not be free on the NHS everywhere, and waits can be long. If you see a podiatrist privately, the Royal College of Podiatry says to check they're registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

Does HRT help foot pain?

We couldn't find any good research on whether HRT helps plantar fasciitis or foot pain. If you have other menopause symptoms as well, such as hot flushes, aches or poor sleep, it's worth talking to your GP about them all together. Our symptoms checklist lets you tick them off and print a list to take with you.

When to see a GP or podiatrist

As well as the signs in the box at the top, the NHS says to see a GP if:

• the pain is severe or stops you doing normal activities
• it's getting worse or keeps coming back
• it hasn't improved after 2 weeks of looking after it at home
• you have tingling or loss of feeling in your foot
• you have diabetes and foot pain

The Royal College of Podiatry says that if heel pain lasts longer than 3 weeks, it's best to get advice from a podiatrist. That's because there are several types of heel pain, and they need different treatment.

Related

Foot pain often comes with other aches in midlife. You might find our pages on menopause joint pain, the musculoskeletal syndrome of menopause and hip pain in menopause useful, or see all the perimenopause symptoms.

This page is general information, not medical advice. If you're worried about any symptom, please talk to your GP or pharmacist.

See all perimenopause symptoms