Plantar Fasciitis Exercises and Treatments

Although plantar fasciitis sufferers can experience a range of symptoms ranging from pain underneath the toes to under arch pain to calf to shin and over foot pain, the majority of sufferers also agonize with heel pain which can be especially excruciating first thing in the morning or on rising following a period of inactivity, such as working at a desk.

The heel pain comes from the sharp tugging of the plantar fascia against the heel bone, as it struggles to lengthen in time for the first step. The tugging of the tendon aggravates the damage to the plantar fascia, reigniting cycle of pain. After the first few steps, the tendon has warmed and lengthened and the pain subsides somewhat.

Long term plantar fasciitis sufferers will often go to extreme lengths, including steroid injections into the heel to get relief from the painful condition. However, some of the best relief for Plantar Fasciitis mild to moderate cases comes from stretching out and massaging the plantar fascia prior to stepping on it. This is easily done and takes just a few minutes a day to complete.

A word of caution, however. Remember to warm your feet up by slowly flexing and relaxing your feet and rotating the ankles gently before doing any exercises, even the Basic Stretch for the plantar fascia. This tendon is already damaged and inflamed and the last thing you want to do is to damage it more!

This is the simplest and most basic exercise for relief from plantar fasciitis and yet, it can be the single most effective change you make if you are serious about curing your foot pain. It can be done with any sort of strap such as a belt, pilates band or twisted towel so long as it is long enough to reach from your hands around your toes and back to your hands again with your legs straight.

First warm up your plantar fascia with as few simple foot flexes and ankle rotations. Then sit on the floor with your feet straight out in from of you and your knees straight. Loop your strap (twisted towel, belt, pilates band etc) over the balls of your feet, just underneath your toes. Then gently and evenly pull on the ends of it so that your toes are pulled back and your Achilles and plantar fascia tendons are gently stretched. Count to 10 before releasing the stretch. Repeat for a total of five times.

(Note - This exercise can of course be done by simply reaching down and pulling back your toes with your hands, but as most plantar fasciitis sufferers have tight hamstrings, calf muscles and Achilles tendons, it is likely you will need a band).

If you follow the Basis Stretch in a "little and often" manner, you will quickly feel the improvement in your plantar fasciitis.

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The next level up of exercises for plantar fasciitis relief is the calf stretch. This works equally on the calf, Achilles and plantar fascia tendons. This is important because plantar fasciitis can be caused by an overly tight Achilles tendon pulling sharply on the heel bone and causing stress on the plantar fascia. Stretching out the calf muscle, which attaches to the heel bone by the Achilles tendon, is the best way to lengthen and stretch this ligament.

Firstly, stand a comfortable distance away from a wall so that you can place your hands on it at eye height. Now take one leg backwards and bend your front knee whilst keeping your back knee straight and both heels on the ground. If you can feel a good stretch at this stage, hold for a count of 10, release and repeat three times. For a more advanced stretch, slightly bend the back knee and the stretch will clearly be felt up the calf of the back leg. Hold for a count of 10, release and repeat 3 times. Repeat the whole exercise on the other leg.

If done correctly, this can provide a very deep stretch but go slowly as improved flexibility does not happen overnight! And, it is very likely that you will get the same intensity of stretch at different stages for each leg. This is normal as most people are more flexible on one side than the other.

A more intense stretching exercise for the Achilles tendon is the step stretch, also called the drop stretch or the hanging heel stretch. This is done by simply lowering the heels off a step whilst standing on the toes only, holding the stretch for a count of 10 and then relaxing the feet and repeating.

A more intense stretching exercise for the Achilles tendon is the step stretch, also called the drop stretch or the hanging heel stretch. This is done by simply lowering the heels off a step whilst standing on the toes only, holding the stretch for a count of 10 and then relaxing the feet and repeating.

Sounds simple? It is. However, this is an intense stretch in the Achilles tendon, which must be done gradually so that no further injury occurs. If you are attempting it for the first time, I recommend you start by lowering one foot into the stretch at a time - and hold on to something to keep your balance! Only when you have mastered the stretch with one foot should you lower both heels together for a two footed simultaneous stretch.

All of these exercises for plantar fasciitis relief work very well but you should practise them little and often rather than sporadically and intensively. For more tips and exercises just sign up for the free plantar fasciitis reliefs e-course by clicking the link.