Four Days, Ten Minutes a Day: My Unexpected Foot Recovery Experiment

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Written by Michelle Davies

Published: 19 September 2026

Created: 19 September 2026

Last Updated: 19 September 2026

For the last few weeks, I’ve had something similar to plantar fasciitis.

I have a pretty good idea what triggered it.

Over winter I’d been wearing shoes with more of a heel. Then I changed to barefoot shoes.

Barefoot shoes aren’t necessarily the problem. But changing quickly from a raised heel to a much flatter, minimal shoe changes how the forces travel through your feet, calves and Achilles.

And apparently my feet had something to say about that.

Ouch.

I tried acupuncture and sports massage, but the problem persisted.

Then my acupuncturist suggested something I hadn’t thought of:

“Try your red-light mask on your feet.”

My face mask?

On my feet?

Why not.

For the last four days, I’ve rested my feet directly on my red-light mask for just five minutes a day.

And something has shifted.

The problem has noticeably reduced.

My mask uses 630 nm red light and 850 nm near-infrared light.

Near-infrared penetrates more deeply into tissue and can produce what’s called photobiomodulation - using light to influence cellular activity.

Research suggests red and near-infrared light can influence cellular signalling, local circulation, inflammatory processes and pain. Photobiomodulation has even been studied specifically for plantar fasciitis.

And this is the part that interests me:

Changing the mechanical load may have irritated the tissue.

Light may now be helping to change its biological response.

I can’t say four days of red light has healed me. Problems can improve for several reasons.

But after weeks of noticing intermittent sore feet, five minutes a day has coincided with the biggest improvement I’ve noticed.

So I’m carrying on with my experiment.

Especially because I’m about to spend a year travelling the world.

These feet have got a LOT of walking to do.