As yoga is becoming more and more popular, its no surprise that its being experimented in the prevention and healing of plantar fasciitis. Professional athletes such as Ryan Giggs have attributed yoga for prolonging his career, and its also on the rise in the NBA.
You may have tried different anti-inflammatories, months of physical therapy or adapted pricey custom orthotics but nothing has worked. Since the onset of Plantar Fasciitis is usually accompanied by inflammation, the doctor will most likely prescribe pain killers.
For some people, this is a good short term treatment but the pain eventually returns. The pain killers will probably be combined by over stretching exercises which involve the use of a night splint. However, when Plantar Fasciitis is more stubborn than usual, and you are running low on options, you may start considering surgery.
This is not a happy place to be
If this is your situation, you are probably at the end of your rope and yoga is just the solution that you may have been looking for. During a yoga session, the calves, heels, tendon, ankles and connective tissue on the sole of the foot are repeatedly stretched out. More often than not, you will feel some sort of immediate relief and a slight pulling sensation.
Even when sitting on your heels for a few minutes before indulging in other yoga poses, you get to rebuild the shape of your legs. This is referred to as the thunderbolt pose. However, if you experience knee pain that results from other conditions, this yoga pose is not advisable for Plantar Fasciitis.
While yoga many have been considered an exercise that only helps us decompress, it also serves as a physically efficient form of exercise. Aerobic exercises may be more high-paced and impactful and may not work for the pain on your heel.
However, simpler yoga poses provide the desperate relief that you so much need in your feet. Where traditional poses may not work, yoga suffices. Yoga is more effective in women suffering from Plantar Fasciitis them men. This is because women are used to straining their feet through the shoes that they wear.
Most women do not want to do away with fashionable wear and adapt inserts, therefore, yoga is an exercise that is sure to give relief. At the convenience of the comfort of your own home, this common yoga exercises will come in handy:
- Coming on to fours in a way that your back forms a table top and your hands form the legs of the table.
- As you breathe out, lift the hips up, straightening your knees and elbows. This will enable you to form an inverted V-shape with your body. At this point, your hands should be parallel to each other.
- Press your hands into the ground. Widen through the shoulder blades and keep the neck lengthened by touching the ears and inner arms.
- Hold this position and take long breaths while looking towards the navel. Then you can exhale, bend your knees and return to the table pose.
When practicing yoga, proper foot alignment will enable you to get relief from the Plantar Fasciitis pain that you have been experiencing. It also eases with stiffness by gently stretching the ankle and the connective tissues of the foot.
The stiffness experienced during Plantar Fasciitis can be dull or sharp, worse on the first few steps out of bed in the morning and recurs if you have been sitting for a long time and wake up again.
Standing for a long time and climbing stairs, or taking part in intense activities also cause the stiffness that can be relieved by yoga.
The Little Known Secret to Treating Plantar Fasciitis Using Yoga
The pain that you experience in the sole of your feet results due to aggravation. So icing your foot and consuming ipobrufen in double doses may not entirely combat what you feel.
What you need is flexibility and this comes with yoga. Yoga brings about flexibility not only in the ligaments but also all of the muscles in your leg, so that your whole foot and lower leg is flexible enough to absorb whatever impact you subject it for.
If you have been fighting Plantar Fasciitis for a long time but stretching multiple times is all that you need to keep the pain at bay. The counter piece of your Plantar Fasciitis treatment is the basic calf stretch.
The following yoga poses will work best on your heel pain. In order for the poses to work, consistency and duration are the ultimate tricks. Give it at least a few weeks to start working. These exercises will surely help:
The Reclined Leg Stretch
This provides a safe stressful for the hamstrings and the tissue that runs along the back of the hip, tight and calf will tug at the sole of the foot when it gets tight. It is simply done by lying on your back, legs together and while keeping the left leg pressed on the ground, bend the right knee to the chest.
Place a strap around the arch of the right foot this making sure that you are not throwing your head back. Do not be too over-enthusiastic about pulling your leg toward your chest.
Instead, emphasize on the grounding of your left leg as your draw your arms back into the sockets and lift your collarbones.
Figure Four
This yoga purse relieves pain and tension in the hips which limits the movement of the leg muscles. Limitation puts stress on the back of the legs and increases tension on the Plantar Fascia. By lying on your back with both knees bent, place the right ankle just above the left knee, flex the right foot.
Reach your right hand through the ‘triangle’ open space created by your right leg and interlace your fingers in the right hand with those on the left, reaching around the outside of the left thing.
Keep the hips, spine, and head on the floor and relax. Hold for 30 seconds to one minute and then repeat the pose again.
It is important to know that yoga is not a complete substitute. However, what I really like about it is it brings the mental and physical health benefits that assist in treating plantar fasciitis.
