A self-assessment is not a diagnosis. It is a way to pay attention — and in almost every case, paying attention for 90 seconds tells you more about your feet than you've learned in the last decade.
Run through these four tests on a quiet morning. Write your results down. If anything is surprising, it's a good signal to either change what you're doing or book an appointment.
Why self-assess
Feet are information-rich. They tell you about load patterns, footwear problems, structural quirks, and in some cases genuine red flags. Most people never check them beyond "do my shoes hurt?" A five-minute screen once a season is a reasonable habit to build.
The four tests
The wet-footprint test (arch type)
Wet the bottoms of your feet, then step onto a piece of dark paper or cardboard. Look at the outline. A full-shape print (sole completely filled in) suggests a flat arch. A narrow strip connecting heel and ball suggests a high arch. A moderate curve is neutral. This isn't diagnostic, but it tells you what your foot type likely is.
The heel-squeeze test
Sit down. Squeeze the sides of your heel firmly between your thumb and fingers. Does that reproduce your heel pain? If yes, consider a stress fracture and book an appointment within the week. If no — and pressing on the inside of the heel underneath hurts — you're more likely looking at plantar fasciitis.
The ankle dorsiflexion test
Stand in front of a wall. Place the big toe of your painful foot roughly 10cm from the wall. Keeping your heel flat, try to touch your knee to the wall without lifting the heel. If your knee can't reach the wall without the heel popping up, you have limited ankle mobility — a strong risk factor for plantar fasciitis. Do the same on the other side and compare.
The single-leg balance test
Stand on one foot, arms relaxed at your sides. Close your eyes. Time yourself until you either wobble dramatically or have to put the other foot down. Repeat on the other leg. Under 15 seconds on either side suggests weak foot and ankle stabilisers — a rehabilitation target, not an emergency.
What the results tell you
Some patterns the four-test combination reveals:
- Flat arch + limited dorsiflexion + heel pain underneath: Classic plantar fasciitis risk profile. Conservative care is likely to help.
- High arch + normal dorsiflexion + heel pain underneath: Also plantar fasciitis, but the high arch version tends to be more stubborn and benefits more from cushioning than from arch support alone.
- Heel pain reproduced by squeezing the sides: Red flag for stress fracture. Book this week.
- Normal arch + poor balance + pain: Often biomechanical, with weak intrinsic foot muscles contributing. A loading programme (see our exercise piece) will help.
- Very different findings between sides: Asymmetry suggests an underlying habit or injury. Worth a professional opinion.
Self-assessment is a prompt to think, not an answer.
If something doesn't feel right, no home test replaces a proper clinical examination. Use the self-assessment as a starting point, not an end.
What to do next
If the tests suggest ordinary plantar fasciitis, start with our home exercise programme and think about footwear. If anything surfaced that you weren't expecting, book a podiatrist. If you want to understand the arch-type result in more depth, our flat feet, high arches and everything between piece is the next read.
Do the four tests once, then again in three months. The change over time is the interesting bit. Feet are not static — they respond to load, age, training, and footwear. A self-assessment is simply the easiest way to notice.
References & further reading
- Cavanagh PR, Rodgers MM. The arch index: a useful measure from footprints. Journal of Biomechanics, 1987.
- Piazza SJ et al. Reliability and validity of clinical measurements of ankle dorsiflexion. Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy, 2012.