Yesterday my fiance Kevin and I went to an end-of-summer gathering in Malibu.  After chatting with friends a bit, we snuck away for a walk down the beach.  We were walking, running and playing along the shore - skipping rocks, throwing a ball and chasing each other.  Towards the end of the walk I noticed that I had heel pain - a slight stinging preassure in the middle of my heel. 

"Can you point to the exact area of the pain?" Kevin asked

I could with the tip of my finger as it wasn't centeralized or an overal aching but rather a specific pain.

Kevin, who is a pedorthist and foot specialist, immediately responded that it was because I was digging my heels lower in to the ground than I normally would on a hard surface and that was causing the strain.

Because of this I was stretching the plantar facia beyond its normal limit of stress.  Stressing or causing undo strain on the plantar facia in many situations can cause heel pain because the plantar facia becomes inflammed. 

How did he suggest I alliviate this?  Walk more on the forefoot and toes of my feet (imagine balancing on the whole "palm" of your foot rather than just your tipy toes; in doing this one almost naturally spreads ones toes apart).

So the next time you're walking on the beach, take a few steps in wet, but not drenched, sand and examine your footprint.  Does your heel dig very deep into the sand (think the reverse of a high heel)?  Or do you barely make an impression at the heel and rather have more of an imprint near your toes?

Practice the way you walk in sand and examine your prints as they may be overexacherated expressions of how you walk daily.  If you seem to have a lot of pressure on your forefoot, you may walk on more on your tiptoes in everyday life.  While less harmful than placing too much preassure on your heel, you need to be aware if your feet are keeping you appropriately balanced in your forefoot.  Your toes should, in a sense almost be creating a tripod.  If you have a week or fallen metatarsal arch (not the arch that runs front to back on your foot, but rather the raised triangular area created at the based of your toes) then you could experience different types of foot pain (sharp, stinging, cramping and the desire to quickly remove your shoes).

Enjoy your next walk on the beach.  Notice the ocean, the sunset, the animal like....and your footprint!!