The study
A systematic review with meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials testing stretching exercises as a conservative treatment for plantar fasciitis, published in the Journal of Manual & Manipulative Therapy on 12 September 2026 by authors from Nagpur, India.
It included 12 RCTs comparing stretching against other interventions, with pain and function as the pooled outcomes.
What they found
Pain. Across 11 trials, stretching was not significantly better than comparators: standardised mean difference -0.54, 95% CI -1.20 to 0.13, I² 92%.
Function. Across 7 trials, stretching was not significantly better than comparators: standardised mean difference 1.08, 95% CI -0.25 to 2.40, I² 94%.
Certainty. The certainty of evidence was very low across every pooled outcome.
We could not confirm the authors' conflict of interest or funding statement, which sits behind a publisher access check.
What it means for your practice
The point estimates lean towards stretching, and the intervals cross zero. Both pooled effects point in stretching's favour, but neither reached significance, and with heterogeneity above 90% the trials disagreed with each other substantially. The data cannot separate stretching from the alternatives it was tested against.
Nobody has yet shown stretching beats the alternatives. Plantar fascia and calf stretching remain cheap, low-risk and easy to prescribe, and there is no signal of harm here. What this paper removes is the basis for presenting stretching as uniquely effective or as the treatment to build a plan around.
Heterogeneity this high usually means the trials were testing different things. Stretching protocols, comparators, durations and populations vary across the plantar fasciitis literature. A pooled null across that mix says less about any single well-designed program than a clean trial would.
Bottom line
Stretching for plantar fasciitis did not significantly outperform comparator treatments for pain or function, and the evidence is very low certainty. It remains a reasonable low-cost adjunct, with no evidence yet that it beats the alternatives.
For the injection and shockwave evidence in stubborn heel pain, see which treatment actually works for stubborn plantar fasciitis.