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Ditch your shoes? new study tests barefoot walking as heel pain remedy

NCT ID NCT07600229

Symptom relief Sponsor: Elisabetta Brigo Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now This study
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026

Summary

This study looks at whether walking barefoot can ease heel pain (plantar fasciopathy) better than standard stretching and strengthening exercises. Adults aged 18 to 70 with heel pain will be randomly assigned to either a 12-week barefoot walking program or a stretching program. They will complete weekly questionnaires and follow-up surveys for 6 months to see which approach works best.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Not a phased trial

Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.

Participants

About 74 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

May 2026

Expected to finish

Oct 2027

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 to 70 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Aged 18-70 years; * Clinical diagnosis of Plantar Fasciopahty, defined by: a) Pain localised to the medial calcaneal tubercle of sharp or stabbing quality; b) Pain worst with the first few steps in the morning or after a period of rest (first-step pain); c) Pain reproduced with palpation of the medial calcaneal tubercle OR positive Windlass Test; * Symptom duration greater than 4 weeks; * Able to walk independently without a mobility aid * Able to provide informed consent and comply with study protocol Exclusion Criteria: * Prior surgery on the affected foot * Diabetes with peripheral neuropathy or other neurological condition affecting lower limb sensation or motor control * Active inflammatory arthropathy, uncontrolled vascular disease, or inability to walk unaided * Current or recent (less than 6 months) bony stress fracture or other acute foot or ankle injury on the affected side * Pregnancy during the intervention period * BMI greater than 40 kg/m² * Corticosteroid injection to the affected foot within the previous 3 months * Night splints initiated less than 4 weeks prior to enrolment * Any condition that would make participation unsafe, including open foot wounds

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

plantar fasciitis

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Heel pain Plantar fasciitis Plantar fasciitis, chronic Plantar fasciopathy

How to take part

Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.

  1. The places running it

    1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.

  2. The official record

    ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.

    Open the record ↗

  3. A doctor treating you

    A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • South East Technological University

    RECRUITING

    Carlow, Carlow County, R93 V960, Ireland

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