That stabbing heel pain with your first steps in the morning? That's plantar fasciitis — and Dr. Rob Kelch, Peoria's only CCEP-certified chiropractor, treats it by correcting the biomechanical root cause rather than masking it with cortisone shots.
Plantar fasciitis is caused by excessive mechanical stress on the plantar fascia — the thick connective tissue band running from your heel to your toes. This excessive stress almost always comes from a biomechanical problem: calf tightness, ankle joint restriction, foot overpronation, or a combination of all three.
Cortisone injections reduce the inflammation temporarily — but they do absolutely nothing to correct the foot mechanics that are causing the excessive tension on the fascia. Patients get a few weeks of relief and then the pain comes back, often worse, because the mechanical cause is still driving the problem.
Dr. Kelch's approach corrects the ankle joint mobility, calf flexibility, and foot arch mechanics that are overloading the plantar fascia — addressing the actual cause rather than temporarily suppressing the symptom. For many patients, this approach resolves plantar fasciitis in cases where injections have repeatedly failed.
Tight gastrocnemius and soleus muscles limit ankle dorsiflexion and force the foot to overpronate to compensate — dramatically increasing the load on the plantar fascia with every step. Releasing and stretching the calf complex is often the single most impactful intervention for plantar fasciitis.
Restricted subtalar and talocrural joint motion forces the foot to compensate in ways that overload the plantar fascia. Dr. Kelch's CCEP training allows him to specifically adjust the ankle joint complex — directly improving the mobility that plantar fasciitis patients need to recover.
Excessive inward rolling of the foot during walking and running places enormous tension on the medial plantar fascia. While this can be partially addressed with footwear modifications, custom orthotics provide the most precise biomechanical correction for overpronation-driven plantar fasciitis.
Suddenly increasing running mileage, starting a new job with prolonged standing, or beginning a new exercise program overwhelms the plantar fascia's capacity to handle load. Dr. Kelch provides specific activity modification guidance alongside treatment to allow healing without complete rest.
Calcium deposits that form at the plantar fascia attachment on the heel bone. While the spur itself is often not the primary pain source, it indicates long-standing excessive plantar fascia tension. Correcting the biomechanical cause reduces the loading that creates and perpetuates heel spurs.
Lumbar nerve root irritation affecting the S1 nerve and hip joint restriction can alter gait patterns that increase plantar fascia loading. Dr. Kelch evaluates the entire kinetic chain — not just the foot — to identify all contributing factors to your heel pain.
A comprehensive lower-extremity approach that corrects the biomechanical cause — not just the inflammation.
Dr. Kelch evaluates your foot arch, subtalar joint mobility, ankle dorsiflexion, calf flexibility, and gait pattern. This comprehensive assessment identifies every biomechanical factor contributing to your plantar fasciitis — a level of analysis most patients have never received.
CCEP-certified manipulation of the talocrural, subtalar, and midfoot joints restores normal joint mechanics and mobility — reducing the compensatory patterns that overload the plantar fascia. Most patients notice immediate improvement in foot and ankle mobility after the first treatment.
Direct soft tissue therapy to the plantar fascia and its attachment on the calcaneus reduces fascial tension and promotes healing. Combined with joint adjustments, this produces faster resolution than either approach alone.
Stretching and soft tissue release of the gastrocnemius, soleus, and Achilles tendon — the most critical intervention for restoring ankle dorsiflexion and reducing plantar fascia tension. Dr. Kelch teaches specific stretching techniques for home use that accelerate recovery.
When overpronation or arch collapse is a primary driver of your plantar fasciitis, custom orthotics provide the precise biomechanical support that over-the-counter insoles cannot. Absolute Wellness offers custom orthotics specifically designed for plantar fasciitis presentations.
The small muscles of the foot support the arch and reduce plantar fascia load. Specific exercises to strengthen the intrinsic foot muscles provide long-term protection against recurrence — particularly important for runners and those with physically demanding jobs.
The CCEP certification gives Dr. Kelch specific post-graduate training in foot and ankle joint adjusting that standard chiropractic training doesn't include. This means his plantar fasciitis patients receive genuine extremity joint care — not just general spinal treatment that happens to include some foot stretching.
Absolute Wellness offers custom foot orthotics — not generic arch supports. Dr. Kelch takes a biomechanical assessment and creates orthotics specific to your foot mechanics and the demands of your daily activity. For plantar fasciitis driven by overpronation, this is often the difference between temporary and lasting relief.
Dr. Kelch treats plantar fasciitis across a wide range of patients — recreational runners, people whose jobs require prolonged standing or walking, and patients who developed heel pain after weight gain or a change in footwear. He adjusts his treatment approach to each patient's specific situation and activity demands.
"I'd had three cortisone shots over two years and the heel pain always came back. Dr. Kelch adjusted my ankle, did some work on the fascia, and got me custom orthotics. That was eight months ago and the pain hasn't returned."
— Karen W., East Peoria ★★★★★
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CCEP-certified foot and ankle joint adjustments that restore the normal mechanics plantar fasciitis patients need to recover.
Learn More →Precision-fit orthotics correct the overpronation and arch mechanics that overload the plantar fascia with every step.
Learn More →Foot overpronation that drives plantar fasciitis often causes knee pain too. Learn how Dr. Kelch treats the full lower extremity kinetic chain.
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