How Plantar Fasciitis Stretching Exercises And Orthotics Can Help Your Heel Pain

Foot care specialists recommend the exercises for plantar fasciitis shown below in addition to wearing orthotics to ease heel pain as a result of plantar fascia inflammation due to over pronation. You should understand that these exercises for plantar fasciitis should not be painful, but rather a pulling feeling. Each exercise should be done 2 or 3 times over the course of the day; these exercises should not necessarily be done in one session.

Exercises to do before rising from bed to help relieve heel pain:

Plantar Fasciitis will cause many people to experience terrible heel pain in the morning, when they get out of bed and take their first steps. This pain is a result of tightening of the plantar fascia that happens during are asleep. Massaging and stretching the plantar fascia prior to getting up will help reduce heel pain.

A helpful exercise to do prior to sitting up is to stretch your foot by extending it up and down 10 times. An additional exercise you should perform while seated is to utilize your foot’s arch to roll a rolling pin or tennis ball. Once you can, advance to doing this exercise at the same time you are standing up. Once you complete these exercises, put on your shoes with orthotic shoe insoles inside them, or wear sandals with proper arch support. Do not start the day walking in your socks on hard floors or tiles, or your heel pain will return, guaranteed.

During the day you can perform these exercises to help lessen your heel pain:

Calf stretch: Stand up and face a wall. At the level of your eyes, rest your hands on the wall. Position the leg you wish to stretch about a step behind your other leg. Holding your hind heel on the floor, flex your front knee until a stretch is felt in the rear leg. Hold the stretch for 15 to 20 seconds. Repeat 4 times.

Achilles Tendon Stretch: Get up on a stairstep. Gradually extend your heels down over the ledge of the step while relaxing your calf muscles. Continue the stretch for about 15 to 20 seconds, then tighten your calf muscle a little to lift your heels back up to the prior level. Repeat 4 times.

Hamstring Stretch: Stretch one leg in front of you with the foot flexed. Lean back a bit and bend the opposite knee. Try to keep your pelvis angled forward. Your torso should remain vertical as you hold the stretch for ten to twenty seconds, then change sides. You should feel the stretch up the back of your extended leg, throughout your calf and thigh.

Marble Lifts: Marbles should be placed on the floor alongside a cup. Using your toes, try to pick the marbles up from the floor and place them in the receptacle. Repeat this motion 15 times.

Towel stretch: Grip a rolled-up towel at both ends, as you hold it under the ball of your foot. Smoothly, pull the towel toward you while keeping your knee straight. Maintain this pose for 15 to 20 seconds. Repeat 4 times.

If you complete these exercises regularly, you will probably relieve that heel pain.

By: Fred Salomon

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Whether you suffer from over-pronation like 70% of the population, or you have truly flat feet, in both cases your poor walking pattern may contribute to a range of different foot ailments. These can be prevented by wearing shoe inserts and orthotic insoles regularly.