A Lesson From My Cough
Let’s talk about two things you didn’t expect in the same sentence: heel pain and a lingering cough.
I’ve had this dry, scratchy cough for over a week now—started with fever and chills, tested negative for COVID and flu, but the cough won’t quit. And somewhere between a lozenge and another useless cup of herbal tea, it hit me…
This cough is following the exact same frustrating pattern I see in people with chronic heel pain.
Let me explain.
When people first get plantar fasciitis or heel pain, the most common advice they get?
“You should stretch your calf.”
And at first glance, it makes sense. Calves feel tight, the Achilles is connected to the heel, and stretching seems gentle and proactive.
But here’s the truth:
Stretching doesn’t fix the problem.
In fact, it might even delay your recovery.
Just like my cough.
The False Friends of Recovery
Lozenges. Steam. Honey tea.
These things made my throat feel better—for five minutes.
But the root problem wasn’t being addressed.
The virus had passed. What I was left with was nerve-driven hypersensitivity.
In podiatry terms:
That’s like trying to treat a sensitised plantar fascia with more stretching—when what it actually needs is load management and progressive capacity building.
The Real Fix for Heel Pain
So if calf stretching isn’t the answer, what is?
- Understand what phase you’re in.
- Are you flared up and inflamed (acute)? Or sensitised and deconditioned (chronic)? The plan changes accordingly.
- Identify the true load issue.
- Is your tissue overloaded? Or underprepared for what you’re asking it to do?
- Stop chasing temporary relief.
- Massage guns, rolling your foot on a frozen Coke bottle, toe curls with a tea towel—they’re the lozenges my podiatry world.
- Progressively build capacity.
- Like we retrain airways post-cough, we retrain tendons and fascia with smart loading.
The Takeaway
If you’re still stretching your calf, hoping your heel pain will go away…
You’re treating the symptom.
Not the system.
Just like my cough.
Both need a smarter approach—less soothing, more strategy.
Not sure where your heel pain is coming from—or why it’s still hanging around?
Book a consult at Pride Podiatry and let’s figure it out together.
We’ll skip the calf stretch and get you back to moving well, with a plan that works. Things like shockwave therapy and exercises to build capacity or orthotics and shoe changes to reduce overload.
About the Author
Tim Mulholland is a podiatrist in Melbourne who—like your plantar fascia—was recently inflamed, sensitive, and easily triggered. A lingering cough gave him a strange kind of clarity: that a lozenge for your throat is a lot like a calf stretch for your heel. Comforting. Common. But probably not the fix.
