Plantar fasciitis can be extremely painful and something you’d probably want to solve right away. Advanced treatment is available as well as plantar fasciitis aids like compression socks and night splints. Thankfully, their are a handful of exercises you can start doing immediately at home to alleviate the pain.
You might be asking, what can I do to relieve plantar fasciitis pain?
Well…Here are 5 plantar fasciitis exercises you can do at home, at the office or on holiday.
Tennis Ball Massage
As long as you have an old tennis ball in the house, this is one you get started with right away. Place the tennis ball under your foot and slowly roll it around for 2-3 minutes applying pressure as you go. This will help loosen up the Plantar Fascia however, if you find that your foot is becoming sore, you should stop.
Water Bottle Massage
Use a frozen water bottle and roll your foot over it back and forth for about 10 minutes. Not only will you be massaging the inflamed area, you’l be icing it at the same time. Before going ahead with this exercise, lightly stretch out the fascia area. We do not recommend going this afterward as it may lead to further stress.
Calf Stretching
When your calf muscle is tight, it pulls on the heel bone which can make the planta fascia susceptible to injury. If you’ve got a belt or towel lying around (which i’m sure every house hold does), you can use it to stretch out your tight calf muscle and help loosen it up. Make sure you’re sitting down, then loop the belt, towel or band around the ball of your foot, keeping your leg straight and outright. Very gently, pull the towel/belt/band towards your body until you feel the lower part of your leg stretching. You can repeat this action 4-5 times, holding it for about 25 seconds.
Stretching out the calf and lower leg muscles are an important step in overcoming plantar fasciitis, so i’ll go into detail about another one you can try.
Frozen Golf Ball Massage
The old golf ball under the foot massage may be considered a little bit strange, but there is no doubt about it being effective. Grab an already frozen gold ball from the freezer, and roll your foot over the ball from front to back stopping midway on the fascia and holding for about 15-20mins whilst applying pressure. You’ll notice some sort of relief immediately, and you’ll have a nice cold foot to go with it (perfect for those hot days).
Step Stretch
Got a step at home? If so, you can apply this simple yet affective exercise to your recovery routine. Its very simple, all you have to do is stand with your toes on the step and your heel out the back with no support underneath. Slowly, lower your heel downwards until you feel a pull or stretch in your calf.
Keep your knee straight and hold the stretch for about 15-20 seconds. Its a great stretch to apply to your calf and achilles but must be done with care. Do not over do it.
You’ll notice that these 5 plantar fasciitis exercises you can do at home are simple and and effective. Apply each of these to your routine, keeping in mind not to go overboard with any of the stretches.
